Marc-Olivier Wahler was appointed Director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum in March of 2016. An internationally recognized curator, scholar, and museum professional, Wahler brings more than 20 years of experience to the Broad MSU. Throughout his career, Wahler has focused on contemporary art as a platform for building and strengthening communities and catalyzing interdisciplinary collaboration and exploration. Prior to his role as Broad MSU Director, Wahler served as Founding Director of the Chalet Society in Paris; Artistic Advisor for De Appel Arts Center, Amsterdam and CI Contemporary Istanbul; and Founding Director of Transformer Sculpture Park, Melides, Portugal.
At the Palais de Tokyo, where Wahler served as Director and Chief Curator from 2006-12, he brought together artists with experts from a wide array of disciplines, notably Gianni Motti’s collaboration with the Large Hadron Collider engineers at CERN, Geneva; Robin Meier's collaboration with the Pasteur Institute, Paris; and Micol Assael's collaboration with the Moscow Power Engineering Institute. Wahler exhibited established artists such as Charles Ray, Jeremy Deller, Tatiana Trouvé, Ugo Rondinone, Carol Bove, Adam McEwen, Cady Noland, and Tom Friedman, as well as young and emerging talents—including the first museum presentations in France for Camille Henrot, Ulla von Brandenburg, Oscar Tuazon, Valentin Carron, and Koki Tanaka. During this time, he also founded and served as Editor-in-Chief of PALAIS / Magazine, the museum’s publication exploring contemporary art, criticism, and philosophy.
At the Swiss Institute in New York, where he served as Director from 2000-06, Wahler curated large-scale exhibitions with artists including Urs Fischer, Takashi Murakami, Jim Shaw, and Jutta Koether, and established initiatives to encourage collaboration amongst artists and leaders in fields as disparate as urban planning, chemistry, and sociology. As Co-Founder of CAN, the Centre d’art Neuchâtel, Switzerland, and director from 1995-2000, Wahler integrated researchers at the University of Neuchâtel into the institution’s contemporary art programming, including site-specific performances and solo and group exhibitions with Steven Parrino, Fischli and Weiss, Roman Signer, Cheryl Donegan, Philippe Parreno, and Mike Kelley, among others.
Wahler has curated over 400 exhibitions around the globe, principally as museum director/chief curator, but also as a consultant and independent curator, including From Synchrony to Synchronicity (Basel, 2015), a large-scale installation with fireflies, crickets, and algorithmic music by Swiss artist Robin Meier that explored the principles of order in nature and collective intelligence. Wahler writes regularly for international magazines, including Flash Art International, Parkett Magazine, and Art Press Magazine, among others, and has contributed to many academic publications and exhibition catalogs on a range of contemporary art topics, including the art encyclopedia From Yodeling to Quantum Physics in five volumes.
A Swiss native, Wahler was honored with the Meret Oppenheim Prize in 2013, Switzerland’s highest cultural award in the contemporary arts, and was made Chevalier of the order of Arts and Letters in France in 2011. He has served as a guest lecturer at colleges and universities around the world, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Master’s degrees in Art History and Philosophy from the University of Neuchâtel.
If you are sporting a new red badge and have not participated in a New Member Orientation,please include this date on your calendar. Tobi Lyon-Moore will be leading one on Tuesday, November 1st from 3:30 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. This meeting will take place at Creole, 1218 Turner Street, Lansing. Everything you need to know about Lansing Rotary!
If you have an international project that you would like to have considered for the 2016-2017 fiscal year, then submit your proposal for funding following the outline set forth below. We are looking for a one to two page narrative that responds to the outline, plus a project budget. Your total submission should not exceed three pages. To be considered, proposals must be received no later than November 11, 2016. Please submit your proposal via email to: jdubey.wellnessdirector@gmail.com
The Outline for the information required is available at the bottom of the Rotogram under DOWNLOAD FILES
President Davis called the meeting to order, Sue Mills gave the innovation and the assembled Rotarians and guests sang the National Anthem. Emily Sutton-Smith got her Fit Bit fired up taking the microphone to visiting Rotarians and guests; Carmen Turner declared the health of the club well.
Announcements by President Davis included a note that two of the District raffle tickets purchased are BIG winners; he’s now having Cathy buy all of his lottery tickets. A red new member badge was presented to Gabrielle Johnson, an attorney with Shea Aiello, sponsored by Sue Mills. Apparently Gabrielle is a foodie; watch for her restaurant reviews and eat out accordingly. There will be a New Member Orientation on Tuesday, Nov 1st from 3:30 to 5pm. Speaking of reviews, word on the literature circuit is that Ray Walsh of Curious Bookstore has submitted a review of our 100th anniversary book to the LSJ; keep your copy close, as these are going to be in even higher demand!
Two talented members of the DeWitt High School production of Cinderella treated us to two selections, including “Do I Love You?” and “Two Minutes Ago”; Rotarians are reminded to go tell their own Prince Charming/Cinderella that they love them. Jeff Dettloff reminded us that in the past two minutes there have been 40 instances of identity theft and that Phishing is serious; ask for the handout to be mailed to you (not emailed!) if you didn’t get one.
Julie Pingston, Chair of the Month/Day, welcomed Michelle Grinnell, PR Manager with the MEDC, to speak about Pure Michigan. @PureMichigan. Pure-Michigan. #PureMichigan. There – that should have covered most of the social media tags we should all be using to share what we love about our great state. Lost? Find a 12-year-old who will fill you in.
Ms. Grinnell began by reminding us that Travel Michigan is part of the Economic Development Corporation, because tourism is a key economic driver. And, MEDC projects like infrastructure and community development enhance and encourage tourism. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the “Pure Michigan” campaign, featuring Tim-the-tool-man-Taylor and music from Cider House Rules. The campaign continues to be relevant, highlighting places (Sleeping Bear Dunes, Pictured Rocks), and now passions (craft beer, art, golf), that inspire both in-state and out-state travel. Abundant Natural Beauty, Authentic Destinations and Unique Experiences; these are the pillars of the campaign, with a goal of making memories, evoking emotion and celebrating our strengths as a state. A side benefit is supporting the more than 214,333 jobs in Michigan currently supported by visitor activity (12,041 in the Tri-County Area) and generating more than $558 million in state taxes over the past 10 years. Your trip begins at Michigan.org.
President Davis thanked Ms. Grinnell; in lieu of a speaker’s gift, we will donate money to our Bio Sand Filter project to provide pure water to under-developed countries. The meeting was adjourned. See you next week, when we will be at the Country Club of Lansing to hear from Marc Oliver Wahler, new Director of the Broad Art Museum.
If you are sporting a new red badge and have not participated in a 
below. We are looking for a one to two page narrative that responds to the outline, plus a project budget. Your total submission should not exceed three pages. To be considered, proposals must be received no later than 