NEW YORK, NY.- Mikel Rouse has been hailed by The New York Times as “a composer many believe to be the best of his generation.” Yet the art that he has created goes beyond just music. In Passport: 30 Years Drawn on the Road, a new exhibition at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, a collection of rarely seen sketches, collages, and prints by Rouse are on display. Passport: 30 Years Drawn on the Road are on display from December 9, 2010 to January 29, 2011 in the Plaza Corridor of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

The exhibition, Passport: 30 Years Drawn on the Road, celebrates the announcement that The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts has acquired the archive of Mikel Rouse as part of the Library’s permanent collection. The archive will include Rouse’s scores, manuscripts, digital media including audio, video, and film material, as well as art work, sketchbooks, diaries and correspondence. Materials featured in the exhibition will also be found in the archive.

“The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts is honored to have Mikel Rouse’s archive in the collection,” said Jacqueline Z. Davis, Barbara G. and Lawrence A. Fleischman Executive Director for the Performing Arts. “The rich and important work of this wonderfully diverse artist will be available for patrons to study and learn from for years to come. “

Passport: 30 Years Drawn on the Road features a collection of never before exhibited sketches and watercolors from Mikel Rouse’s touring career, selected from over 200 sketch and manuscript books. The books have been indispensable in Rouse process of creating works for the stage. The exhibition also includes music manuscripts, original librettos, cartoons and memorabilia from performances.

“In many cases, the books have also served as visual storyboards for the films and stage works,” said Mikel Rouse. “Not in a literal or traditional way, but in conjuring and suggesting imagery that might fit a particular musical or dramatic context. It’s for this reason I’m so pleased to present this work at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, my home away from home in those early days in New York City.”