Photo of this year's EOD exhibit, courtesy of GCCF.

Embracing Our Differences’ annual, outdoor juried art exhibition is currently on display at Sarasota's Bayfront Park, which the community is still able to enjoy (following CED guidelines) until further notice. The larger-than-life fixtures celebrate the theme of "enriching lives through diversity and inclusion,” and created by young creatives worldwide, including hundreds of area-based students and educators. 

This week, the local nonprofit announced they received a $40,000 Arts Appreciation grant from the Gulf Coast Community Foundation. “Embracing Our Differences brings international attention to our beautiful region while educating and enriching life for tens of thousands of people who live here,” says Greg Luberecki, Director of Communications for Gulf Coast Community Foundation. The grant will be helping the nonprofit adapt its new educational outreach programming in response to the COVID-19 crisis. “The ability of EOD to keep reaching community members right now, especially teachers and students, is vital. It’s a critical time for philanthropists with the means to continue investing in strong arts organizations like this.”

Sarah Wertheimer, executive director of Embracing Our Differences re-emphasizes that this grant, “could not have come at a better time.” It allows the organization to continue its top priority, which is providing interactive resources to area educators and students. Wertheimer is currently working closely with EOD’s education director Ben Jewell-Plocher to create outreach programs accessed via online and virtual platforms. These include annual teacher workshops and intensives, which will provide our area educators with skills, strategies and resources that relate to arts appreciation and character building. Some of these initiatives can be found here. 

Luberecki goes on to say, “EOD’s messages of diversity, tolerance, and respect are timeless, but they feel especially urgent of late. This organization is a leader in leveraging the arts for education. We can’t wait to see the creative new ways that Sarah and her team at EOD find to continue advancing their mission.”

For more information about Embracing Our Differences, call 941-404-5710, or visit embracingourdifferences.org.

Photo of this year's EOD exhibit, courtesy of GCCF.