Sarasota Sculpture Center (SSC)—formerly known as “Season of Sculpture”—has earned a new accolade: Season of Sculpture, Biennial Exhibitions 1999-2012, a retrospective coffee-table book chronicling six seasons of the organization’s bayfront sculpture, recently won first place in the book category at Xerox Premier Partners Global Network’s 2016 “Best-of-the-Best Awards.”

The Best-of-the-Best Awards—the ceremony for which took place last month in Dusseldorf—recognizes innovation and excellence in digital publishing, and this recent win catapults SSC into an international spotlight. The 2016 competition included over 90 entrants from 20 different countries, with Season of Sculpture coming in as the only US winner in the books category (the second and third place winners were from Singapore and Norway respectively), and one of only three US winners in the entire competition.

The result of a year and half-long collaboration between SSC and Serbin Print Marketing & Publishing, the 181-page Season of Sculpture features 132 sculptures by 96 different artists, and has been commended for its vibrant images, attention to detail and sleek aesthetic. Originally published in 2013, the publication was entered for consideration this year, as Xerox only holds the competition once every four years.

“The whole purpose of the book was not only to showcase what twelve seasons has produced in Sarasota, but to also encourage Sarasota to embrace new sculptures from around the world,” says Robin Clark, Serbin's Vice President and director of the Season of Sculpture project. “[If] city commissioners pay attention to the magnitude of exposure that this [book] has already gotten, maybe they would help Sarasota Sculpture Center acquire more [sculptures].”

So far, the book’s impact has proved to advance SSC’s mission: Season of Sculpture has already had an instrumental role in assisting SSC obtain funding necessary to carry out its mission of continuing to provide public art for Sarasota’s bayfront. “What we have done for public art in Sarasota is a big deal and to see it all in one publication just makes that statement for us,” says Susan McLeod, current board chair of SSC, which since its founding has displayed 140 sculptures by 103 local and international artists. Currently in the curatorial process, McLeod anticipates that SSC’s next “season” of sculpture will open in May 2017. 

Pictured: "Season of Sculpture" poses with its Xerox "Best-of-the-Best" Award. Photo by Serbin Print Marketing & Publishing.

Sarasota Sculpture Center, 1662 Floyd St, Sarasota, 941-928-4445

Tomato sauce? Not on this pizza. Don’t fret: Osteria 7.13’s Fresca Pizza, with its pillowy dough, disks of melted mozzarella cheese and mountain of lemon-doused arugula topped with strips of proscuitto has no need for your old zesty companion. The creation of Chef Marco, an Italian native who now calls Sarasota home, the secret of this Neapolitan-style pie is in the proscuitto. Inspired by the health-conscious cuisine observed during his time living in Australia, Marco chooses only the thinnest, least fat-laden slices of prosciutto for his pizza: according to Marco, the lower the fat content, the greater the taste. The arugula works to cleanse the palate after gobbling up the prosciutto, and the manner in which Marco prepares the dough means you won’t be craving water for hours after dinner: he allows the dough to rise twice, thus nipping thirst-inducing yeast in the bud.  

Pictured: Osteria 7.13's Fresca Pizza. Photo by Wyatt Kostygan.

Osteria 7.13, 543 South Pineapple Ave., Sarasota, 941-203-8523

The Commission of Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation (CFA) awarded the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority (SMAA) Police Department accreditation for a three-year term. This is the first time the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport (SRQ) receives this status, following a thorough assessment by the CFA assessment team earlier this year. 

Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation

Owners Lori Davis and Randy Lane will be opening JustaBasketCase Events in Gulfgate near Heavenly Cupcakes and Clever Cup. Partnering with on-site wedding and event planner, Jennifer Matteo, this shop will contain everything one needs for any type of event or function.  

JustaBasketCase Events

Music director of the Sarasota Orchestra, Anu Tali, has signed her second three-year contract with the company that will take effect in August. She first began her position as the fifth music director in the history of the Sarasota Orchestra in 2013.  

Sarasota Orchestra

Midwest transplant Ann Frescura isn’t just the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce’s newest executive director: she’s also a photographer, expert chili chef and voracious reader of John Grisham novels. This month, in Life in Focus, we learn about Frescura’s award-winning “Wicked Woman” chili, her Jackson Pollock-inspired mother-daughter art project and her go-to pair of shoes.  

Read more