RMS Titanic, Inc. and Media Rare, Inc. Announce Debut of First Major Titanic Exhibition In Midwest
'Titanic - The Artifact Exhibition' to Open on New Year's Eve in Saint Paul; Exhibition to Feature 20-Ton Section of the Titanic Hull
NEW YORK, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- RMS Titanic, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: SOST - news), today announced they have signed a final contract with Media Rare, Inc. to bring the largest exhibit of rare artifacts from the wreck site of Titanic to Saint Paul. The exhibition, entitled ''Titanic -- The Artifact Exhibition,'' will be produced by Media Rare, Inc. in conjunctions with New York-based RMS Titanic, Inc., and will be open to the public for four months beginning on January 1, 1999. According to Media Rare, Inc. Executive Vice-president Erich Mische, ''This exhibition will be the first major Titanic exhibit in the midwest, attracting a projected 600,000 attendees, including families, students and tourists.''
''Media Rare, Inc. is extremely excited to be bringing 'Titanic -- The Exhibition' to Saint Paul and Minnesota,'' said Mische. ''Our intent is to provide this exhibition and its educational, cultural and historical significance to the widest number of Minnesotans and midwesterners possible. It's elegance and dignity of design and function will be warmly embraced by everyone who enters and experiences this tremendous exhibition.''
The idea of bringing the exhibition to St. Paul was initiated by Judith Neiswander, an independent exhibitions consultant in the Twin Cities. ''Because of the overwhelming success of American's Smithsonian two years ago, I knew there was an audience here for world-class exhibitions,'' said Neiswander. Neiswander approached Mische, whose work on American's Smithsonian was instrumental in its success. Media Rare, Inc. President/CEO Mike Priesnitz was enthused about the Titanic exhibition and directed Mische to move forward to bring the show to Saint Paul.
This thought-provoking exhibit, open to the public from January 1 through April 30, 1999, will illustrate the innovative technology used to explore the wreckage, while taking visitors on a narrative and visual journey to the bottom of the North Atlantic where Titanic rests. A featured element of the exhibition will be a 20-ton section of the Titanic hull recovered from the North Atlantic last August. RMS Titanic, Inc., co-creators of the exhibit, conducted four expeditions to the ill-fated Titanic wreck site to retrieve over 5,000 rare artifacts, which to date have been seen by nearly 3 million people.
''Titanic -- The Artifact Exhibition'' will be put on display in the 30,000 square foot Union Depot concourse in downtown Saint Paul. The Union Depot concourse was built between 1917 and 1923 and lends itself well to an historic exhibit.
Visitors will travel down a continuous passageway where they will experience Titanic through theatrical sights, sounds and educational displays. Along the way, they will encounter such voyages as Science, Discovery, Technology and Recovery, while experiencing the human stories behind the artifacts. At the center of the exhibit, the public will have the rare opportunity to view Titanic as if they were part of an expedition team. A replica of the Titanic wreck will rest at the bottom of an ocean environment with the precious debris recreated in their natural settings as found.
Throughout the exhibition, hundreds of artifacts, recovered between 1987 and 1994 by RMS Titanic, Inc., will be intertwined with full sensory displays that place the relics in a deeper context beyond the fate of the ship herself. Items include: the bronze cherub from the ship's grand staircase, a set of the ship's whistles, a port hole with window intact, a masthead light, a wrought-iron bench end from a deck chair, a davit from which a life boat from the ship was lowered, eyeglasses in their case, a gilt chandelier, an unopened champagne bottle, an unopened bottle of olives, sheet music with its stand, a valise, a steward's jacket, silver dinnerware, fine china, gold coins, jewelry, delicate paper objects such as a stock certificate and personal letters, communications and navigational gear, the engine room telegraph and the ship's pedestal from which Titanic was navigated.
A key component of the exhibit will be the science and technology used to recover and conserve these rare pieces. The exhibit will include a display of state-of-the-art technology and deep-sea equipment used in the recovery of artifacts by RMS Titanic, Inc. Visitors will see graphics as well as video and audio presentations that document the manned submersible Nautile's graceful descent to Titanic's archeological site, where it was made possible to discover, recover and conserve the artifacts.
''The story of Titanic has a captivating and emotional effect on people,'' said George Tulloch, president of RMS Titanic, Inc. ''These Titanic objects close the distance of time and space between the present and the sinking of the ship in 1912 to the depths of the ocean. Through viewing these items recovered from the wreck site, abstract thoughts about Titanic become concrete, and the viewer is able to feel the experience and the reality of this profound tragedy in a very personal and individual way,'' he said.
Charles Hass, historical advisor for RMS Titanic, Inc.'s expedition to Titanic, said, ''RMS has been exceptional in their comprehensiveness and power to teach a whole new generation about Titanic. When people see the artifacts, they begin to get a glimpse about the individuals who might have been using them. When you see a gentleman's shaving brush, for example, you begin to think about who might have owned that brush and, suddenly that person comes alive in our minds again, if only for a brief moment.''
In anticipation of a strong response to ''Titanic -- The Artifact Exhibition'' in Saint Paul, Media Rare, Inc. is currently working with several organizations and associations on special programs and packages, such as destination packages and school curriculum programs for area schoolchildren.
Many of RMS Titanic, Inc.'s artifacts are presently on display at an exhibition in Boston with an estimated 500,000 viewers. Since 1994, only five major exhibitions have been held -- Boston, Mass., Saint Petersburg, Fla., Memphis, Tenn., Hamburg, Germany and the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England. Committed to the preservation of Titanic, RMS Titanic, Inc. was granted salvor-in-possession rights to the wreck of the ship by a U.S. Federal Court order in 1994
''Titanic -- The Artifact Exhibition'' in Saint Paul is sponsored by Media One, Midwest Coca Cola Bottling, KARE 11, Minnesota News Networks, Chancellor Media, Pioneer Press, Radisson Hotels, Saint Paul Winter Carnival, Saint Paul Convention and Visitors Bureau, the City of Saint Paul and the Discovery Channel.
Formed in 1987, RMS Titanic, Inc. was granted salvor-in-possession rights to the wreck of the Titanic by a United States Federal Court order in 1994, reconfirmed again in 1996. The court award includes the exclusive rights to own all of the objects recovered from the Titanic wreck site and the exclusive rights to photograph Titanic. In a June 1998 court ruling prohibiting a proposed sightseer expedition to the Titanic, United States District Court Judge J. Calvitt Clarke, Jr. commended the Company for ''maximizing the wreck's historical value and returning the wreck's artifacts to society for the general use and education of all mankind.'' During the years 1996, 1994, 1993 and 1987, research and recovery expeditions conducted by RMS Titanic, Inc. have recovered approximately 5,000 artifacts from the Titanic wreck site. For more information about the Company, visit the RMS Titanic, Inc. web site at titanic-online.com.
Media Rare, Inc. is a 15-year old public relations/marketing communications firm located in Saint Paul's Lowertown Village. Its specialty is high profile earned media, video, audio and graphics production. The contact for Media Rare, Inc. is Erich Mische at (651) 740-5299.
In addition to historical information contained in this press release, certain matters discussed above are ''forward-looking statements'' intended to qualify for the safe harbors from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can generally be identified as such because the context of the statement will include words such as the Company ''believes,'' ''anticipates,'' ''expects,'' or words of similar import. Similarly, statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals are also forward-looking statements. All of these forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties which may cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated, including, but not limited to, possible delays in or obstacles to implementation of the Company's expedition plans. Shareholders, potentials investors and other readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made herein are only made as of the date of this press release and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
Shares of RMS Titanic, Inc. are publicly traded (Bulletin Board) under the symbol ''SOST''.
SOURCE: RMS Titanic, Inc.
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