Art Center Sarasota closes out its 2023-24 season with a slate of four exhibitions opening this week, including solo exhibitions for two up-and-coming artists, as well as a group show from the young artists of the Boys & Girls Club of Manatee County, and a massive end-of-summer juried show, Flora & Fauna, with guest juror Dr. David Berry of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. Currently on display at Art Center Sarasota, all shows run through September 28.

The first solo exhibition comes from Precious Darling, a recent New College graduate whose latest work unflinchingly explores femininity and objectification, the male gaze and its effects on the individual and society as a whole. Through both sculpture and photography, primarily nudes, Darling challenges viewers to question their assumptions and expectations. “It’s definitely a little bit provocative,” says Art Center Sarasota Curator & Director of Exhibitions Christina Baril. “But very exciting.” Darling will be giving an artist talk about the exhibition on September 12 at 5pm.

One gallery over, the budding artists of the Boys & Girls Club of Manatee County have their own exhibition, showcasing the work they made over the summer, spending Saturdays at Art Center Sarasota with their artist-mentors. From sculpture and painting to poetry and the written word, the work grapples with questions of identity and self-worth, belonging and fear for the future. It is, at times, startlingly profound, says Baril. “They have a lot going on in their lives and they’re tackling pretty big issues,” she says. “And this is validating not only their artwork but their struggles and their commitment to pushing forward. It gives them a voice they might not normally have.”

The second solo exhibition highlights the oil paintings (and strange plush creations) of Tanner Simon, an artist with a penchant for the absurd and a wry sense of humor that looms large from every canvas. In Simon’s playful world, the crescent moon over Paris can be a croissant, and subject matter ranges from an aggressively childlike interpretation of Napoleon Crossing The Alps to a misshapen figure howling with dread over a bowl of alphabet soup that says, “BOO.” But under the weirdness, there’s an iconography at play, says Baril. “He’s not overtly political,” she says, “but he’s using art history and sort of flipping it on its head.” Simon will be giving an artist talk on September 14.

And last but definitely not least, the Flora & Fauna juried show fills the art center’s largest gallery space with nearly 90 original works of art, all celebrating the beauty of the natural world. From hyper-detailed botanical drawings and digital art to ceramic sculpture, woodworking, fabric art and abstract painting, medium and approach run the gamut, as each artist pays tribute in their own way. “Every juried show just highlights the diversity of our community,” says Baril. “And it’s always exciting and fun.” A special presentation with the show’s guest juror, Selby Gardens Chief Museum Curator Dr. David Berry, will take place on August 21 at 3:30pm. 

Pictured: We're All In This Together by Olive W., as featured in the Boys & Girls Club of Manatee County exhibition.

So many siblings share the same dream: that one day they will create something so special that the whole world will have to recognize them for their talents. That one day, their endless bedroom brainstorming will turn into something real, something concrete and that their childhood creations will be more than just fond memories to look back on.

Unfortunately, those dreams rarely turn into reality–unless you’re Daniel and Patrick Lazour, two brothers who have harnessed their combined love for musical theater into becoming one of the leading voices in the discipline. The Lazours, who hail from Boylston, Massachusetts, first made waves in 2019 when their award-winning musical We Live in Cairo premiered at the American Repertory Theatre. The show, which centers around the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, served as a vehicle for the Lazours, who are Lebanese-American, to explore different styles of musical storytelling, delving particularly into the Arabic music that they grew up listening to.

Since then, the Lazours have kept themselves pretty busy–they recently worked as artists-in-residence at the American University in Cairo and teaching artists at Lincoln Center Theater and are developing an array of future projects. On August 23, the Lazours, who have residencies at the Hermitage Artist Retreat and are finalists for the 2024 Hermitage Greenfield Prize, will come to the organization’s beachfront campus to speak on their creative partnership. “We have always wanted to work together and I think it came organically from just two brothers who lived in a small town and didn’t have many opportunities for socializing,” says Patrick. “It was just us playing together and even today, we’re still just playing together.”

In “The Lazour Brothers: A Lifelong Collabrotion”, audience members get a glance under the hood to see what fuels one of the most prolific creative partnerships in theater today. The Lazours are at the forefront of the musical theater scene, currently developing a theatrical sing-along experience about cancer patients and their caretakers in Night Side Songs and a musical movie Challenger: An American Dream, which centers around the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. “I look back at many of the things that we write and they are really about youth and the idealism of youth and the disillusionment of growing up. That is one thing that we’re very interested in: the way that a young person can be emboldened to change the world. And how they contend with the truth of the world as years go on,” says Patrick.

August 23 6:30 to 7:30 pm, Hermitage Beach, 6660 Manasota Key Rd. Englewood, FL. To learn more visit www.hermitageartistretreat.org/event/the-lazour-brothers-a-lifelong-collabroation/?instance_id=1165

Photo courtesy of The Hermitage Artist Retreat.

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Join artist Libbi Ponce on Aug 20 at 11am as they guide us through their work featured in the group exhibition Skyway 2024: A Contemporary Collaboration. Ponce will discuss their artistic practice which uses dream logic to explore themes of Latinx Futurism, grief, and modes of decolonization in the context of their nine works in the exhibition. 

Pictured: ibbi Ponce (American, born 1997), owl_butterfly_star_heart_bird, 2023. Steel, polyurethane, scrap foam, grout, 8 x 2 x 6.5 feet. Courtesy of the artist Libbi Ponce.

For ticket information click here.

The Orioles yesterday announced their 2025 Grapefruit League schedule, which is slated to begin Saturday, February 22, at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Fla. against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The club’s 2025 spring schedule features 15 home games, including seven weekend games. The O’s will face nine different opponents during Grapefruit League play, with eight of the club’s 30 games coming against American League East divisional rivals – Boston Red Sox (two games; one at home), New York Yankees (two games; one at home), Tampa Bay Rays (one game; one at home), and Toronto Blue Jays (three games; two at home). The Orioles will play a spring-high seven games against the Pittsburgh Pirates, three of which will be at Ed Smith Stadium. Baltimore will also host the Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins, and Philadelphia Phillies during the 2025 Spring Training slate. The team’s 15-game road schedule features four games at the Pirates, three at the Phillies, two at the Tigers and Twins, and one each against the Blue Jays, Braves, Red Sox, and Yankees. Split-squad dates will be March 9 vs. Minnesota and at Philadelphia, and March 16 vs. the Phillies and at Detroit. The second annual Spring Breakout game, featuring top minor league prospects from each organization, will take place in Sarasota when the O’s host the Yankees on March 15. The 2025 season will mark Baltimore’s 16th Spring Training season in Sarasota and the club’s 15th season at the renovated Ed Smith Stadium. Game times and report dates will be announced at a later date. To be among the first notified for 2025 ticket offers, fans should subscribe to the free Orioles Insider digital newsletter at Orioles.com/Newsletter. For the complete 2025 spring training schedule, please visit Orioles.com/Schedule. 

Atlanta Braves Announce 2025 Spring Training Schedule Braves set to begin their sixth spring at CoolToday Park ATLANTA – The Atlanta Braves and Major League Baseball yesterday announced the club’s 2025 spring training schedule. The 2025 spring season will mark Atlanta’s sixth at CoolToday Park in North Port, Fla., and will feature 15 home games at the facility. Atlanta’s 32-game exhibition slate will begin Saturday, February 22, with a road game against the Minnesota Twins. The club will play its first spring home game the following day versus the Tampa Bay Rays. Atlanta will host 11 different major league teams at CoolToday Park, including a pair of games each against the Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins, Pittsburgh Pirates and Tampa Bay Rays. The Braves will host single games against the Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, Miami Marlins, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Toronto Blue Jays and Washington Nationals. The Braves and Tigers’ top prospects will square off at CoolToday Park Sunday, March 16, as part of Major League Baseball’s second annual “Spring Breakout.” As part of the initiative, each Major League club will field a team of their top prospects to play exhibition games against another club’s top prospects while also creating in-park fan engagement opportunities centered around their up-and-coming players. Atlanta will conclude the Florida portion of its exhibition schedule Sunday, March 23, versus the Baltimore Orioles. The club will play its final two spring games over the next two days against the Chicago Cubs at Sloan Park in Mesa, Ariz. The Braves will open the 2025 regular season Thursday, March 27, at Petco Park against the San Diego Padres.Season tickets and group sales for the 2024 spring season are now available, and individual game tickets will go on sale at a date yet to be determined. A-List and Beach Club Members will receive the first opportunity to purchase individual game tickets. To book a group or purchase season tickets, please contact a group sales representative at 941-413-5004 or SpringTraining@Braves.com. The Braves’ full spring schedule is attached, and is subject to change.