Visit the Art of the Olympicans Center for Excellence
Calendar of Events
Upcoming Events:
January 6 - Art Walk: Special Performance by Dance Alliance.
Now Showing:
Legends of 68', featuring artwork from four dynamic USA Olympians from the 1968 Olympic Games.
Click here for other events and details
Art of the Olympians Partnered with USA Gymnastics
Art of the Olympians partnered with USA Gymnastics for the second consecutive year bringing sport and art together at the 2011 Visa Championships held this year in Saint Paul, Minn.
The artwork of four-time Olympic discus gold-medalist and AOTO founder, Al Oerter, was used to as the background for all community awareness posters. Art of the Olympians has allowed USA Gymnastics to use selected works from Oerter's contemporary art collection as the backdrop for the event's signage and look. This year's campaign includes Al Oerter’s "8th Movement" and "The Red Chair."
Art of the Olympians helped build awareness and excitement for the four-day national gymnastics championships and its accompanying USA Gymnastics Congress and Trade Show that was held at Xcel Energy Center, Roy Wilkins Auditorium and Saint Paul River Centre.
AOTO encouraged gymnastics fans and citizens of the Twin Cities to help celebrate the Olympic values and connect art and sport through a community art project, Painting in the Park. Visitors to Rice Park dipped their hands and/or feet into paint and did handstands, cartwheels or walked across large canvas, developing a communal piece of art. Gymnasts competing in the event, local and gymnastics celebrities and dignitaries, gymnastics fans, aspiring gymnasts and residents of the Twin Cities area participated in the canvas project. Olympic Gymnasts Shannon Miller, David Durante, Bridget Sloan, Nastia Liukin and Peter Vidmar participated in the event.
The finished canvas was featured during the final session of the Visa Championships on Aug. 20.
Pieces of the canvas were presented as special gifts to selected organizations and individuals affiliated with theVisa National Championships and some canvas will travel to events in 2012. Painting in the Park is presented by Art of the Olympians, founded by CathyOerter and her late husband, Al, who was a four-time Olympic discus champion. Works of Al Oerter provided the background in the signage and visual imagery for the 2011 Visa Championships.