Members of and visitors to the Society of the Four Arts will have to pardon the institution’s dust this upcoming season, as the longtime cultural campus on Palm Beach began renovating two of its signature buildings this past spring—part of a $250 million Centennial Campaign to cover both construction costs and an endowment. The renovation marks the largest such undertaking in the Four Arts’ 90-year history.
But that doesn’t mean its programming will cease, only that some of it will move to nearby venues. Meanwhile, the campus buildings that will remain open will maximize their space. In fact, the Four Arts is even launching a new cabaret series this season, welcoming Broadway stars Seth Rudetsky (Dec. 2) and Faith Prince (Jan. 6), Metropolitan Opera singers Alexsandra Kurzak and Matthew Polenzani (Jan. 31), and musical-theater titans Norbert Leo Butz and Andy Roninson (March 17), all from the familiar confines of the Four Arts’ Dixon Education Building (240 Cocoanut Row).
The campus’ Phillip Hulitar Sculpture Garden will also remain as vibrant as ever, even if, this season, it is going to the birds. “The High Life: Contemporary Photography and the Birds,” running season-wide from Dec. 5 to May 2, will feature a curated selection of avian-themed art from more than 50 photographers from around the world, including artist-in-residence Kristin Schnell, Robert Clark, Robert Walker, and Anastasia Samoylova, fresh off her celebrated solo exhibition at the Norton Museum of Art. (BELOW: “Victoria Crowned Pigeon” by Tim Flach)
The Four Arts’ Dixon Education Building will also remain open for the majority of the popular Campus on the Lake educational/lifelong learning series of lectures, master classes, and workshops, which this season will focus on themes including “Creating a Nation” (with guest speakers Eugene Robinson, Marie Arana, and Dr. Justin Dyer), “Creating Legacies” (featuring Clive Aslet, Devin DeCiantis, and Bénédicte Gady), and “The Art of the Violin” (with Aaron Boyd, Samuel Zygmuntowicz, and Carlos Tome). Lectures unconnected to such series include Kerry Kennedy (Dec. 15), who will speak about her mother in “Ethel Kennedy: The Extraordinary Life and Bold Legacy.”
The Four Arts’ renovation will be felt most prominently in the series that are changing venues. Most of its live music programming will be presented at Royal Poinciana Chapel (60 Cocoanut Row), a historic setting whose superb acoustics lend themselves to top-shelf chamber music. Enthusiasts can look forward to live performances from the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (Dec. 9 and Jan. 20), Aaron Diehl Trio with soprano Mikaela Bennett (Jan. 27), and pianist Gabriela Montero (Feb. 10), as well as a three-part Violin Festival (Feb. 17, 21, and 24), bluegrass duo Dailey and Vincent (April 4), organist Felix Hell (April 7), and the Viano String Quartet with pianist Sir Stephen Hough (April 21).
Another Four Arts tentpole that is moving this season, the Friday Film Series, will now run at Palm Beach Day Academy (241 Seaview Ave.) from Nov. 6 to March 19, before concluding with the final three screenings on April 2-16 at the Dixon Education Building. Highlights include Steven Soderbergh’s art world-set The Christophers (Nov. 13), four-time Oscar nominee Train Dreams (Jan. 8, pictured above), and the 1998 globetrotting marvel The Red Violin, part of the Four Arts’ multidisciplinary, season-wide focus on the violin.
As for the Big Kahuna of the Four Arts’ season, the O’Keeffe Speaker Series, this too will be relocating to the Royal Poinciana Chapel, though its lineup of speakers will not be announced until later this fall. It will continue to run at 3 p.m. on Mondays from January to March, and if previous lineups are prologue, then expect A-list names from the worlds of media, politics, style, culture, and the arts.
For the Four Arts’ full schedule of programming announced thus far, visit fourarts.org/events.
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