Portfolio

When my company, AST Exhibits became involved with this project in 2007, the Naples Depot was just beginning the process of renovation. My team and I worked with the Director of Museums to design all new exhibits for this 9700 square foot facility.

Even though the renovations took years longer than anticipated, we were able to maintain the original budget from 2007 three years later when we actually installed the exhibits.

The exhibits tell the story of the development of Naples, FL and the importance of rail travel in general and the Naples Depot in particular to the development of the area.

Highlights of the exhibits include a diorama depicting the arrival of the Orange Blossom Special for the first time in 1927, a full size replica of the Naples Taxi buckboard that was used to ferry passengers from the Depot to the Naples Hotel, and the chance to see and feel what it must have been like to stand in the stationmaster’s office when one of these huge trains pulled into the station.

My team at AST Exhibits designed, fabricated, and installed the first exhibits to open this community museum. The designs were accomplished in partnership with the Marco Island Historical Society and Collier County Museums.

Highlights of the design include a natural history exhibit featuring various aspects of Calusa daily life, a shell mound complete with a Chickee Hut Temple on top, and a more traditional gallery that showcases what we know about the Calusa and how we know it. The first phase of the construction was completed in February 2012.

Founded in 1959 by the Junior League of the Palm Beaches, the South Florida Science Museum opened in 1961 as a learning environment specific to natural science and natural history. Over the years a theater, several classrooms, and a planetarium were added.

In 2012, AST Exhibits was called upon to fabricated and installed new exhibits for a significant expansion, renovation, and rebranding of the museum. On June 7, 2013, the South Florida Science Museum reopened as the South Florida Science Center & Aquarium, featuring exhibits including the Sounds of the Everglades, a Florida Conservation Station, Student Science Showcase, River of Grass and Science on a Sphere.

In addition to these exhibits, AST Exhibits built and installed all the graphic signage, banners and custom aluminum reader rails for the new 3,000 square foot Aquariums of the Atlantic.

AST Exhibits developed a traveling exhibition of Rob Storter’s work and made sure it could safely travel the globe.

Rob Storter lived at a time when much of southwest Florida was considered America’s last frontier.  He was born in 1894 and wore dresses until he was 3 years old.

AST Exhibits handled logistics and conservation framing for over 30 pieces of original artwork.  We provided graphic design and production for 3 narrative introduction panels as well as 30 label graphics. We also provided highly customized crates to ensure safe shipping for all of the elements. The exhibit opened at the Mennello Museum in Orlando, Florida in 2013 and is currently available.

The story of the development of the Naples Airport is a very important one to the development of Naples itself.  The challenge was to find a way to give this story the presence that it deserves in the small amount of space that was available.

We had discussed the idea of using an aircraft to anchor the display for years, but there just wasn’t enough space or budget to allow for one.  AST was able to Source the engine and cowling from a T-6 Texan aircraft and find a way to mount it without structural modifications to the building.  This gave us the “anchor” that the exhibit needed.  In a very limited space, we were able to tell the story of the Naples Airfield from its beginning as a WWII training base to its place today as a major transportation asset for southwest Florida.

St. Thomas University needed museum display cases that met with their initial design concept for a new on campus Museum located within their Library facility. The configuration of the space was very long and linear and required custom design and fabrication to accommodate their collection of artifacts.

AST worked closely with the University Staff to create display case designs that were appropriate with their building usage schemes, flow patterns, overall budget, and the final finishes they had chosen.

AST then managed the fabrication and installation of the cases, integrating requirements for the artifact displays, the last-minute client modifications for the inclusion of audio/visual electronics and delivering all items and services in a client-driven abbreviated schedule.

The Mennello Museum of American Art in Orlando, Florida, relied on the skill of AST Exhibits when it came time to add additional interest to its galleries.

Anytime we create elements for a fine art environment, we ensure that our work doesn’t introduce anything potentially harmful into the museum. While it might be easier to simply find an old, weathered piece of wood that looks good, that solution might not be best in the long run.

One of our primary concerns in every job we do is to take the utmost care with the museum’s artwork. That means carefully choosing materials that are 100 percent free of pests and contaminates.

In this project, that meant starting with good, clean kiln-dried lumber, then aging and distressing it to fit the weathered look we had in mind.

The PMO Christmas Show is the only show of its kind in the country in which a brand new production is mounted every year. Since 1933, the Purdue Musical Organizations has produced an annual original Christmas show.

AST was brought in to raise the level of technical production as well as to increase the collaboration between the creative team and the client PMO.  The shows were produced at Elliott Hall in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Elliott Hall is a gigantic 6,000 seat art deco facility that opened in 1933, the year that the first Christmas Show was produced.  The theater’s 100 foot wide proscenium arch and enormous cast of over 300 presented many challenges.  We worked closely with PMO throughout the year to design and then build the show at our facility in Orlando.

We then brought our production team to Indiana to install and then mount the show.

Here is a sampling of other work that I have done. I have extensive experience in themed entertainment, exhibition design and production, television, live theater, classical and popular music, and much more.

Oh, and to the left is my faithful assistant Piper. She loves to help out with artwork as well as letting me know when UPS has arrived.

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