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National Comedy Center, Jamestown NY, Named Best New Museum in the Country by USA Today

February 29, 2020

The National Comedy Center, the nation’s official cultural institution and state-of-the-art museum dedicated to comedy as an art form, was named the “Best New Museum” in the country by USA Today as part of the 2020 USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Travel Awards.

Jamestown, NY — The National Comedy Center, the nation’s official cultural institution and state-of-the-art museum dedicated to comedy as an art form, was named the “Best New Museum” in the country by USA Today as part of the 2020 USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Travel Awards.

The National Comedy Center was one of 20 new museums nominated for the award by a panel of nationally-recognized travel journalists, tourism experts and USA Today editors for this USA Today travel award series, which celebrates outstanding destinations, attractions and experiences. All of the nominees were museums that opened over the past two years, including art galleries, science museums and children’s museums in cities across the United States and Canada, including Dallas, New Orleans, St. Louis, Seattle, New York City, St. Petersburg, FL , St. Paul, MN and Edmonton, Alberta. The Comedy Center was selected as the #1 museum in the “Best New Museum” category by popular vote after a four-week voting period from January 20 through February 17, 2020.

“We are tremendously proud to be named the Best New Museum in the United States and Canada,” said Journey Gunderson, National Comedy Center Executive Director. “We have reimagined the museum experience with immersive exhibit design and unprecedented personalization. This distinction is a testament to the significance of comedy, and talented comedic artists, to our culture and our daily lives.”

“Our visitors — from all 50 states and 18 countries — already know what a must-see destination the Comedy Center is,” added Gunderson. “We look forward to welcoming thousands more comedy fans from across the country and around the world to the Best New Museum, here in Jamestown, New York.”

“The National Comedy Center team is grateful for the incredible support from our local community, the entire Western New York region, and from comedy fans across the country, all of whom voted for the Comedy Center to receive this national recognition and high honor” said Tom Benson, National Comedy Center project chairman. “It’s tremendous validation of the hard work and vision of our staff and board, our partner organizations, and our community, who believed in this project and worked tirelessly to make it happen.”

“The National Comedy Center is one of my favorite places in the world, and I am thrilled that everyone will now know what I already knew — it is absolutely the best new museum in the country. It’s an extraordinary showplace for all things comedic –- and interactive from the moment you walk in. I promise you will smile from beginning to end. Now that the Comedy Center is officially the country’s Best New Museum, you need to make plans to visit. You won’t be disappointed,” said Lewis Black, comedian, actor, author and National Comedy Center Advisory Board member.

New York State Executive Director of Tourism Ross D. Levi said, “We are very excited that USA Today readers chose the National Comedy Center as the best new museum in the US and Canada. Anyone who loves comedy should plan a pilgrimage to this world-class, one-of-a-kind attraction as part of a New York State vacation that includes nearby destinations like the Lucy Desi Museum, the Chautauqua Institution, Panama Rocks and Niagara Falls.”

Last summer the National Comedy Center was named by TIME magazine as one of the “World’s Greatest Places” and People magazine selected it as one of its “100 Reasons to Love America.”

In early 2019, the National Comedy Center was nominated for the USA Today Readers’ Choice “Best New Attraction” award, where it was voted #2 out of 20 new attractions by USA Today readers and chosen as the #1 museum and #1 ticketed attraction in the USA Today poll.

The National Comedy Center is the United States’ official cultural institution and museum dedicated to presenting the vital story of comedy and preserving its heritage for future generations, as formally designated by the U.S. Congress in 2019. Opened in August 2018 in Jamestown, New York, the museum complex offers an unprecedented visitor experience using state-of-the-art technology, interactivity and personalization to create the first true 21st Century museum environment.

Comedy industry authority The Interrobang named the design team second on its list of “Innovators Who Changed Comedy” in 2018. Visitors from all 50 states and eighteen countries have given the Center a rare 5/5 raring on TripAdvisor, ranking among the highest in the attraction and tourism industry.

Based on the vision of Jamestown native Lucille Ball for her hometown to become a destination for comedy, the National Comedy Center showcases comedy’s great minds and unique voices in ways that engage, inspire, educate and entertain. As a non-profit institution, the National Comedy Center was funded by a mix of federal, state and private philanthropic support, including partnerships with I LOVE NY, Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York State’s Empire State Development.

Design for the National Comedy Center was led by the most prominent cultural and interactive design firms in the world, whose portfolios collectively include the award-winning 9/11 Memorial Museum, The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, The College Football Hall of Fame, SNL: The Experience, and more.

The National Comedy Center has been embraced by the entertainment industry, with props, costumes and archival material provided by many of the most revered names in comedy. The Comedy Center recently announced a major initiative to preserve Carl Reiner’s personal “Dick Van Dyke Show” script archive. Exhibition partners include the Kelly Carlin and the George Carlin estate, George Shapiro and Jerry Seinfeld, Dan Aykroyd, Alan and Robin Zweibel, Joan Dangerfield, The Lenny Bruce Memorial Foundation, Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner, The Harold Ramis Family, The Garry Shandling Estate, George Schlatter, Bill Marx and the Harpo Marx Family, the Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams estate, Desilu Too, NBC Universal, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Corporate Archive, and many more.

The National Comedy Center operates the Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum, which explores the lives, careers and legacy of the “First Couple of Comedy,” and the incredible impact they had on the world.

Now in its 30^th year, the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival in Jamestown has showcased comedy’s greatest stars and rising young comedians, including Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen DeGeneres, Trevor Noah, Lily Tomlin, Jay Leno, Amy Schumer, Brian Regan, Lewis Black, W. Kamau Bell, Jim Gaffigan, Paula Poundstone, Dan Aykroyd, Joan Rivers, Bob Newhart, the Smothers Brothers and more than one hundred other comedic artists. The 2019 Lucille Ball Comedy Festival, presented by the National Comedy Center last August, was headlined by Sebastian Maniscalco and John Mulaney. The 2020 festival will feature Jeff Foxworthy and Legends of SNL David Spade, Rob Schneider and Kevin Nealon.

Stay connected to the National Comedy Center:

Website: www.comedycenter.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nationalcomedycenter/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LucilleBallComedyFestival/

Follow on Twitter and Instagram at @ntlcomedycenter

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Tags:attractions, Best in Travel, best new museum, I Love New York, I Love NY, museums and exhibits, National Comedy Center, New York State attractions, New York State tourism
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Gold Coast Arts Center Presents ‘Warp & Woof: Beyond the Loom’, Opening Sept 15 with Artists Reception

September 12, 2019

Long Island City by Ann Cofta (medium: Fabric with hand quilting and embroidery, 16X16), on view at the “Warp & Woof: Beyond the Loom” exhibit at the Gold Coast Arts Center, Great Neck, Long Island.

LONG ISLAND, NY— The Gold Coast Arts Center is opening its newest art exhibit, “Warp & Woof: Beyond the Loom,” with a reception with the artists on Sunday, September 15, 4-6 p.m. at the Gold Coast Arts Center, 113 Middle Neck Road in Great Neck.

“Warp & Woof: Beyond the Loom” features a highly intuitive look into conventional and less conventional approaches to weaving as a fine art form, not often explored, or displayed in local galleries. Taking its title from the weaving terms ‘warp,’ or the vertical and static component of the weave, and ‘woof’ which is the dynamic and horizontal aspect of the weave, this exhibition looks at both conventional and unconventional approaches to weaving.

“While weaving is traditionally done on a loom, in our latest exhibit, artists have experimented with other materials and methods, often weaving with metal, fabric, and feathers to create beautiful, unique textiles,” explains Jude Amsel, gallery curator. “The artists exhibiting their work will open a window for visitors to gain a view into the conventional and the less conventional approaches to weaving.”

Featured artists include:

Pamela Topham was the top prize winner of the 77th Annual Guild Hall Artist Members Exhibition (2015) as selected by Marla Prather, Curator for the Museum of Modern Art.

Water Music by Pamela Topham (medium: Tapestry of silk and wool, 35X35)

Darlene Charneco has exhibited throughout the U.S. and globally at venues including the Parrish Art Museum, PINTA London, and the Korean International Art Fair. She was featured in ‘Around the Way,’ organized by El Museo del Barrio in NYC and Locate/Navigate, Exercises in Mapping – a citywide exhibition presented by the Urban Culture Project Foundation. Her work is featured in the Princeton Architectural Press book ‘The Map as Art: Contemporary Artists Explore Cartography’ by Katherine Harmon and ‘How Architecture Learned to Speculate’ by Mihall & Serbest through the University of Stuttgart.

Ann Cofta is a visual artist who uses an extended range of media, including drawing, embroidery, beadwork, bookmaking, and printmaking. She has lived abroad in Japan and Venezuela and has traveled extensively throughout the United States. She has taught art in New York City for the past 21 years after receiving a Master’s degree in Art & Art Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Love by Natsuko Hattori (medium: Fabric cotton and rubber, 10X10)

Natsuko Hattori graduated from the University of Tsukuba, Art, and Design, and moved to New York in 2010. Her work has appeared in many exhibits, and received awards, in Japan and NYC.

Zhen Guo is an artist active in the international art world. She has participated in many international exhibitions and has long been committed to the research and exploration of international contemporary women’s art. Sotheby’s and other international auction companies have repeatedly promoted her work. In recent years, she has organized and participated in the “Existence” International Women’s Art Exhibition in Changsha, China, the “Please Touch: Body Boundaries” exhibition at the Mana Museum of Contemporary Art in the United States; and South Korea’s Jeonbuk Museum of Art “Asian Women Artists Exhibition.” Zhen Guo has had solo shows at several galleries in and around New York City. She often does academic lectures at universities here and abroad.

The exhibit will run until October 27, 2019. All of the displayed work at “Warp & Woof: Beyond the Loom” runs through October 27, 2019; all the exhibited work is available for sale.

Attendance at the reception and the exhibit is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Gold Coast Arts Center at 516-829-2570 or visit www.goldcoastarts.org.