Meet Mark Smith Ringling Art Museum’s Director of Marketing and Communication

BY JESSIKA WARD

At first glance, Mark Smith looks like someone to know. He dresses the part and his look fits his job description because Mark Smith is someone in Sarasota to be familiarized with. He is the Director of Marketing and Communications at The Ringling and he’s an expert at building and accelerating brands.

“It’s like this wheel and it’s just spinning with events and tons of things going on,” said Smith. “As a marketer, my job is to market this Ringling brand which includes events, education, programs, performing arts, exhibitions, and development and fundraising.”

“With everything going on I try to not stop the wheel, but slow the wheel down so we can focus,” said Smith.

His proficiency comes from years of experience in branding art museums as the Exhibition Marketing Associate at Dallas Museum of Art and the Director of Marketing and External Relations at the African American Museum of Dallas.

“This position is different than any other marketing position I’ve had in the past. It’s challenging externally and internally, but I love what I do.” said Smith. “I can honestly say I get up every day the next morning ready to go and happy to do it.” Smith moved to Sarasota and began working at The Ringling in November of 2018. He’s a native of Chicago, but he has spent most of his adult life in Texas, working in Waco, Houston and Dallas. Smith says the big city to small city transition is propitious.

“You can tell the influence of the visual and the performing arts here,” said Smith. “The Ringling brand is pretty much all over Sarasota.” Though Smith has only been here for a few months, he is on the scene. He often goes to events and he recently graduated from the Gulf Coast Leadership Institute.

“GCLI taught me how to work with various personalities,” said Smith. “I’m an extrovert, but I can understand introverts.”

Smith says he enjoys living in Sarasota. Most Sarasota natives would agree there are days when traffic is awful, but Sarasota’s traffic is what he loves most about the town. “I like that it’s small enough where I can get to places without a lot of hassle,” said Smith. “Living in Texas for 20 plus years, Dallas and Houston, the traffic is just crazy.”

Mark Smith stuck to his big city ways in this exiguous town by living in downtown Sarasota and using public transportation, the bus, to get to and from The Ringling everyday. “I live downtown so to me it was just pointless togetacartodrive10 minutes to work everyday,” said Smith. “I like to ride the bus. For me it’s a way to really connect with the community that you live in. You get a chance to see certain things and meet different people.”

After being in town for a couple of months, he bought a car due to the hot summer. “I’ve had a car for a little over a month now,” said Smith. Though Smith is currently working with The Ringling and has held positions at art museums in the past, he does not have an art background. “I actually got into this space by accident,” said Smith. “I didn’t grow up in the south side of Chicago going to any art museums. The only museum I had ever been to growing up was a museum on a school field trip.” The Ringling Museum is John and Mable Ringling’s namesake museum. John Ringling was one of the five brothers who owned and operated the circus that, according to The Ringling, was once called “The Greatest Show on Earth.” Ringling’s success with the circus helped make him one of the richest men in America. He was worth nearly $200 million. John and Mable purchased 20 acres of waterfront property in Sarasota where they built a 36,000 square foot mansion and began spending their winters there. The Ringling Museum showcases John and Mable’s art collection. Most exhibits at The Ringling are permanent, but there are some temporary exhibits like The Fabrics of India. Smith’s favorite exhibit at The Ringling is Peter Paul Rubens’ The Triumph of the Eucharist Series.

“It’s one of those galleries that you have to see when you first come on the campus because the paintings are huge,” said Smith. He encourages everyone who lives in Sarasota to visit the museum once or several times.