A former graduate student of Florida State University’s Department of Art History is now the Tibbals Curator of Circus at The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art’s Circus Museum and is leading the creation of a new permanent gallery space that highlights the contemporary era of circus.
Jennifer Lemmer Posey is the lead curator of the museum’s “Greatest Show on Earth Gallery,” which opens Saturday, April 6, featuring interactive exhibits and a behind-the-scenes look at how circus performances are planned, intricate costumes and more. As the State Art Museum of Florida and part of Florida State University, The Ringling fulfills an important educational mission by offering formal and informal programs of study serving as a major resource for students, scholars and lifelong learners of every age within the region, across the country and around the world.
“The exhibit features a theater that combines a video with real props to simulate the feeling of being at a live circus show,” Lemmer Posey said. “We can’t give people live performance every day all the time at the museum, however, this exhibit creates a moment of wonder and a reminder of the experience of going to the circus.”
Lemmer Posey worked closely with Feld Entertainment® to acquire objects and digital content while managing a team of design specialists from London to develop the experience. Her writing on various circus-related topics has appeared in books such as “The American Circus” and “Bandwagon” and the journal of the Circus Historical Society, for which she has been editor.
“Jennifer was critical to the development of our newest experience at the Circus Museum, ‘The Greatest Show on Earth,’” said Stephen High, director of The Ringling.
“This is just one example of how Jennifer has taken on significant projects to elevate the status of our Circus Museum.”
As a graduate student, Lemmer Posey worked closely with Howard Tibbals, whose love for the circus led to a lifetime devoted to collecting and preserving the history of America’s first major popular entertainment. She didn’t know that the position would be the beginning of a more than two-decade career at the museum or that it would make her one of the nation’s leading experts in the circus arts.
“Howard was very kind,” she said. “He had loved the circus from the time that he was a child, fascinated by the logistics, stories and how the tented circus happened.”
Tibbals, who gave his name to the museum’s building, catalogued his collection of circus memorabilia and helped install the famous 3,800-square-foot Howard Bros. Circus model — one of the museum’s most popular attractions that gives visitors a birds-eye view of an early 20th century traveling circus.
“I feel like Howard’s passion is infused in the work that I do,” she said. “I couldn’t have fallen in love with this subject in the same way if it hadn’t been for the love that he showed. I am fortunate to work with the whole circus community and the community of collectors, but Howard certainly stands apart.”
Lemmer Posey continues to support FSU by serving as an adviser and mentor to students of the Department of Art History’s Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies Ringling Course. Students spend their second year of study at The Ringling and work closely with staff from across the organization, with some even curating exhibits at the Circus Museum with guidance from Lemmer Posey and her team.
For more information, visit Ringling.org and ArtHistory.fsu.edu/MCHS.
