Pictured: Jim Shirley. Photo provided by the Arts and Cultural Alliance.

On August 1st, the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County announced that their executive director, Jim Shirley, will retire at the end of December 2022. Shirley has assumed leadership of the Alliance since first stepping into the role thirteen years ago in 2009. Since then, he has helped spearhead the efforts of the organization responsible for being the chief advocate of all facets in the art community. Although not a native Sarasotan, Shirley’s path to the Arts and Cultural Alliance began out of a need to be more involved in the community.

“It’s kind of an interesting and convoluted story. Although I was involved in the arts as a patron for many years, I have no artistic talent myself. I grew up in a small town in Arkansas, and always envisioned myself as a hometown guy. I always thought that I’d have a job and career doing that, but my career in medical sales took me and my wife all over the country. We first began visiting Sarasota in the early ‘70s and came back for good when our children were in elementary school,” says Shirley.

That stability offered Shirley the rare opportunity to truly involve himself in the community - the way he had always envisioned he would from his time growing up in a small town. “For the first time in my life, my career and my family were in the same area for the foreseeable future - I finally had the opportunity to sink my teeth into something. I told some friends of mine if there’s anything that opens up where my skill set could be applicable, I’d love to give it a shot. Low and behold not long after, the Arts and Cultural Alliance (then called the Arts Council) gave me a call. They said it’s all about the arts but they needed business help,” says Shirley. “What we’ve continued is to serve as the umbrella organization for all of the arts and culture of Sarasota County.”

Pictured: Jim Shirley. Photo provided by the Arts and Cultural Alliance.