Kim's Corner
Page 13 of 18

With the art and the printing technology in place there was another challenge to be overcome, "We, at one time, had hoped to go into DCA, because Eric’s being a native Californian, very contemporary, it fit very much the lifestyle there. But… there’s no home. There’s no space big enough, and there’s no raw space at this time that could be formatted to house it. So we had the challenge, and working very closely with Barry Braverman, who now does both parks, and we had the challenge at the Disney Gallery, the Herb Ryman show was going away and what were we going to fill it with? So, it was serendipitous that we had a vacancy in our schedule and here’s something that could go in, but, it’s really different than anything we’ve ever done before."

Tony admitted that - even with the exhibit up and the PoD on line and product moving out the door, it was "still scary." He laughed, "I think that we’re getting great support from the Resort executives and from our guests… We had Barry… brought Marty Sklar down last Friday. And, we didn’t have everything completely up, but he was just so supportive and overwhelmed, saying, ‘You guys have a hit on your hands, because this is what the Gallery should be.’ It’s representational, you’ve got almost 100 different kinds of art there, but, all around Mickey Mouse, which is, who we all love. So, we got support from Barry. Marty gave his blessing… when Cynthia walked through… it’s just been terrific."

The five pieces featured on the note cards.
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He added, "The whole Resort has loved this art, so that’s given us the opportunity to kind of expand our horizons. Break the mold of what can go in the gallery. And we’re actually getting open arms from the Resort, so, you’ll see it in a lot of different places. Which is something we’ve never been able to do with something of this caliber either. We’re actually very excited, and I know that this sounds odd, but the popcorn buckets… They’ve actually taken the pieces, and it’s actually going to be a series of 6, one a month beginning in March. And, when you buy popcorn, you’re going to have this great bucket… the new banners that are up, it’s going to be at the attraction, we’ve made the map for this program. So, it’s… just overwhelming."

Tony was very happy with the addition of the purchase premiums - popcorn buckets and a hot beverage mug, "It’s also going to expose us to guests who don’t know the Gallery exists. And, I think, for a lot of people who know about the Gallery, they love it, it’s a haven. And, not that we’ve ever tried to keep it a secret, but it almost is like a secret…. And this is going to expose the thousands of guests that come to the park on any day and kind of look up and don’t realize that there’s more up here. But, they’ll see it on the banners and on the attraction board or the popcorn buckets and say ‘Hey, what’s the Disney Gallery?’ And, that will allow us to do more of these exhibits, more often."

The 100 Mickeys collage mug and plate.
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