Wolcott, Nancy Interview

Permanent Link:: http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/MBVM000004/00001

Material Information

Subjects / Keywords:: Oral histories -- Miami Beach (Fla.)
The Bass Museum of Art
New World School of the Arts
Genre:: Video Recordings
Spatial Coverage:: North and Central America -- United States -- Florida -- Miami-Dade -- Miami Beach
Coordinates:: 25.7802568 x -80.1303866

Scope and Content:: Nancy Wolcott is a long-time South Beach resident who loves the arts. She was an administrator at the Bass Museum and heavily involved in their programs for many years. In the interview she talks about the arts scene in Miami Beach prior to the arrival of Art Basel, which, she says, happened because of the vibrant art scene already flourishing here. She describes a fusion of performing and visual arts that was exciting. She helped promote and raise funds to nourish the talent and the emerging Miami City Ballet company, among others. She also was an administrator at the New World School of the Arts in its early days and watched South Florida's most talented students emerge, spread their wings, and, eventually, fly back to South Florida because it was now feasible to make a living as an artist or performer here without the high rents and cold winters of New York. Ms. Wolcott's grasp of the art world here is also grounded in a deep appreciation of the architecture and history of Miami Beach. She and her husband, Jeff Donnelly, a Miami Beach historian and Deco tour guide, have been avid supporters of the work of the Miami Design Preservation League. Ms. Wolcott talks about the MDPL work and ongoing concerns about historic preservation on the Beach.