Exhibition season is well underway at Ringling College of Art and Design, where Monday marks the opening of  Teaching and Learning, a multigenerational photography exhibition charting the evolution of the medium and exploring how each generation of practitioners impacts the next. Beginning with 12 vintage gelatin silver prints from mid-century photographers Bill Brandt and Harry Callahan, Teaching and Learning traces a line of mentorship through decades of photography, as each student becomes a teacher to the next generation, culminating in the work of Ringling professor Thomas Carabasi and recent Ringling graduate Jesse Clark, whose large-scale contribution to the exhibition reframes black student protest through a Romanticist lens.

“Photography started as a way to capture the world around me in its simplest form,” says Clark. But as a kid born in Haiti and growing up in Lakeland, FL, the simplest form of the world around him often left a lot to be desired—especially in how it portrayed black people like Clark. “Mostly stereotypes,” he says. “And very limited portrayals of me and who I thought I was.” But it impressed upon him the power of the camera and the images it made and so Clark went to Ringling to study photography formally. “Now I can use it as a way to reshape how people view the world,” he says. And with his series, To Sting Like A Bee, Clark merges his eye for painterly beauty with his conviction for social justice.

Clark’s sole contribution to the exhibition and perhaps the culmination of the aforementioned series, Liberty stands as the artist’s largest work to date. Inspired by Eugene Delacroix’s Liberty Leading The People, Clark’s work reimagines the iconic French Romanticist’s image of revolution in the context of modern protest by black students in America. “Especially at a time when we’re looking at changes happening at New College and the taking away of diversity and inclusion programs,” he says. “I wanted to create a piece that says, ‘This is who we are, we still exist and we’re still fighting to be seen.’” And what began as a sketch in his notebook eventually became a full-scale production with more than 30 people and at least one motorcycle. “And each person is someone actually affected by the issue,” says Clark.

So how does Carabasi, the white professor, fit in? “Attention to detail,” says Clark. “As an instructor, that’s something he made sure we paid attention to.” And whether it be the emphasis on pinks and pastels in costuming, the careful avoidance of aggression in posture or countenance of the models, the “1804” motorcycle decal paying tribute to Haitian independence, nothing is an accident in Clark’s latest work. “Everything within the frame has an importance,” he says. “And we’ll see in this exhibition how photography can shape culture.”

Teaching and Learning opens Monday, August 21, in the Patricia Thompson + Skylight Alumni Galleries located in Ringling College’s Keating Building. The exhibition runs through October 20. 

Pictured: : Liberty by Jesse Clark. Image courtesy of the artist.

“We want to encourage artists to feel comfortable sharing their work,” says Andy Sandberg, Artistic Director and CEO of The Hermitage Artist Retreat. “It’s part of building their connection and engagement with the audience. Sometimes, artists will ask me, ‘what do you want me to do?’ and they are shocked when I respond, ‘well, what would you like to do?’”

Programming at The Hermitage Artist Retreat looks a little different than most other performing arts organizations, because well, it’s not a performing arts organization. It’s a retreat, a haven for the top artists from all over the world across every type of genre. That doesn’t mean, however, that The Hermitage doesn’t put on great programming, like From the Heart of Philly: The Works of Dave Harris this Friday at the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe. The program, presented in conjunction with The Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, features the work of Hermitage Roundabout Fellow Dave Harris, a Philadelphia-based playwright and poet. Harris, who is a fellow at New York’s Tony Award-winning Roundabout Theatre Company, is brought to The Hermitage due to the organization's new partnership with Roundabout, which is designed to continue The Hermitage’s mission of being on the forefront of new and creative work.

“I expect that in Dave’s program you’re going to see a mix of newer and older work–both in sharing pieces of his work and talking about his creative process as well. You might notice that we’re somewhat vague in our programming and how we market our events and that’s because we truly leave it up to the artist,” says Sandberg. “Sometimes they’ll have a plan in mind and will tell us what they’re going to do way ahead of time and other times they’ll pivot. We’re often guarded about locking down exactly what you’re going to see because we want to give the artist that flexibility and trust to explore what they want to explore.”

Friday, August 18, 6:30pm, Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1012 N Orange Ave, Sarasota. 

Pictured: Dave Harris. Photo courtesy of The Hermitage.

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Southface Institute recently named Sarasota Opera Association, Inc. as a GoodUse Sarasota recipient, providing $75,000 in funding and technical assistance to make cost-saving efficiency improvements. These resources will support Sarasota Opera’s Pavilion Project, a campaign to raise funds for replacement of the failing HVAC system in its Pavilion building and to make targeted building upgrades that will increase Sarasota Opera’s environmental and financial sustainability. Southface is a nonprofit that transforms all kinds of buildings and infrastructure to be more efficient, affordable, and environmentally responsible. But their GoodUse program specifically answers the need for sustainability and operational savings among other nonprofits, including food banks, Boys & Girls Clubs, schools, and historic performing theatre spaces like Sarasota Opera’s Pavilion Building—a hub for the company’s professional artist training, technical staff, production rehearsals, and youth and adult education programs. With tight budgets to address urgent community needs, nonprofits often own or lease older buildings with hefty utility bills from ongoing issues like air leakage. By increasing the energy and water efficiency of their facilities, nonprofits with GoodUse projects save mission-critical dollars they can invest back into their core services to the community year after year, all while improving their environmental impact. For Sarasota Opera, reduced operating costs can help direct funds saved to programs and other pressing facility needs that often come with owning and maintaining a historic theatre complex. Sarasota Opera is proud to be granted funding from Southface to help replace an aged HVAC unit that supports a building key to its operations. “Southface understood the urgency of this project and will be partnering with us to evaluate additional energy efficiency that will help the company, so that we can better provide our programming and serve our community,” said Sarasota Opera’s General Director, Richard Russell. To learn how you can support Sarasota Opera’s Pavilion Project, call Director of Development Scott Guinn at (941) 366-8450, ext. 416 or visit SarasotaOpera.org/PavilionProject. 

This single-night exhibition celebrating creative expressions will feature the artworks of LGBTQ+ youth artists ages 10-24 from Sarasota and Manatee Counties. The Expressions Exhibition will include a silent auction of local artists’ works, live music, free light bites, and a cash bar. We know we say "now more than ever" a lot when we are talking about supporting our mission, and we mean it sincerely every time. With the recent trends in Sarasota-Manatee, our LGBTQ+ youth need to know that there are people here that care about them, now more than ever. This event provides an opportunity to show up and celebrate this amazing community of youth with incredible talents and important stories to tell through their art. We hope you will join us. 

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ensembleNEWSRQ (enSRQ), the innovative chamber music ensemble, has collaborated with Sarasota-based Soundbox Ventures in the Suncoast Composer Fellowship Program (SCFP), a new residency program for six emerging composers and nine classical musicians. The group is producing the program’s first concert, Tuesday, September 5, 7 p.m., at First Congregational Church, 1031 S. Euclid Ave., Sarasota. The event will include a pre-concert lecture and salon, featuring wine and refreshments, while the composer fellows speak about the work that will be performed that evening. Audiences can meet and greet the artists and composers following the concert. Tickets are $25 for the general public; free for enSRQ subscribers if a season subscription is purchased before September 5; and can be purchased at www.EnSRQ.org. 

GO ARTS | Immerse yourself in the arts and culture world Sarasota and Bradenton are so famous for, July/August 2023. 

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