50 years strong, SV Center for the Arts changes its name
BY ERIC VALENTINE
The Sun Valley Center for the Arts won’t be prepping for its 50-year anniversary coming up next year. But the Sun Valley Museum of Art will be.
Sun Valley Center for the Arts, an integral Wood River Valley arts nonprofit since 1971, today unveiled a new name and identity as Sun Valley Museum of Art (SVMoA). The organization said the new name and identity celebrate the arts experience, clarify its offering, and deepen its impact on the community. The new identity includes a reimagined logo and brand aesthetic as well as a new website at svmoa.org.
“Sun Valley Center for the Arts has enriched our community through transformative arts and educational experiences for nearly 50 years,” Christine Davis-Jeffers, Sun Valley Museum of Art executive director, said. “At this pivotal moment, we honor our proud heritage while we look to a dynamic and bright future.”
The name change is an attempt to reflect the multidisciplinary arts and education opportunities SVMoA provides the community. As an accredited museum and a professional theatre company, its mission remains the same: to enrich the community through transformative arts and educational experiences.
“For 50 years this organization has been a pioneer in the arts,” said Davis-Jeffers. “Our goal is to provide this community with transformative arts experiences. That goal will not change. In fact, it will allow for even more world-class arts opportunities for the valley, state and region.”
Some things won’t be changing. SVMoA will continue to offer BIG IDEA projects and visual arts exhibitions, K-12 education programs, Company of Fools professional theatre, youth and family education programs, adult education, music, dance, film, featured speakers, talks, tours, panel discussions and special events, including the Sun Valley Wine Auction. Company of Fools is an integral partner in delivering SVMoA’s mission and multidisciplinary approach to arts programming. Company of Fools and The Museum will continue to work hand in hand and support one another financially, operationally and programmatically.
“A museum is who we are and who we’ve been for a long time,” said Kristin Poole, SVMoA artistic director. “For 50 years we have been using the arts as a means to discovery—using multiple disciplines—with visual arts at the core. We all look to museums to learn, to be surprised, to shift our thinking. We believe the new name reinforces our work and honors the artists and the community we serve.”
The name Sun Valley Museum of Art speaks to the caliber of its exhibitions as the organization joins the ranks of 21st-century museums with multidisciplinary offerings, world-class performing and visual arts exhibitions and an interactive, educational approach.
“Across the world, the definition of a ‘museum’ is changing, becoming more inclusive of all art forms and embracing the creativity and connection that are at the heart of artistic expression,” said Scott Palmer, Company of Fools producing artistic director. “The change to SVMoA is simply a reflection of who we are, what we do, and what we provide to our community—the arts, in all their glory and in all their forms.”
Stemming from questions dating back to 2001, Sun Valley Center for the Arts created a task force to address its brand and identity challenge. SVCA selected brand consultants Studio Lodato and Studio Riley and the strategic creative agency Red & Co. to develop its new identity.
“We set out to create a brand visual that was timeless, sophisticated, flexible, joyful and evoked a sense of place,” said Holly Bornemeier, Sun Valley Museum of Art marketing director. “The red is vibrant, energetic, identifiable and unique to this valley. The continuity of using a circle provides a consistent graphic element from the old logo to the new logo. SVMoA will remain ‘central’ or ‘at the center’ of the arts in our community.”