Powerwalking and perpetually late, desperately looking for gate numbers or signs to the nearest restroom, it’s understandable that few travelers really take the time to stop and appreciate the art in an airport. Time, tide, and the TSA wait for no one. But in SRQ’s case, this also means that a massive mural project celebrating the history of Sarasota has been sitting largely unnoticed for decades. With tonight’s opening of Echoes of Sarasota: A Historical Preservation, Palm Avenue Fine Art finally brings the work out of the terminal and into the gallery light.

“Sarasota deserves to see these,” says Gallery Director Colin Thomsen, “because each one is a piece of Sarasota history.”

Commissioned in 1989, the project comprises a total of 15 large-scale murals—five from painter Frank Hopper and 10 from illustrator Regan Dunnick. Together, the work commemorates the industries, arts, cultures and peoples who made Sarasota what it is. It amounts to roughly 465-square-feet of mural—and it’s all jockeying for space on the walls of Palm Avenue Fine Art.

Working in pastel on great 3’x10’ swaths of watercolor paper, Dunnick’s contributions highlight the artistic and agricultural sides of Sarasota’s history, each mural a careful collage of portraits and small scenes, historic buildings and the unsung heroes who have no name for the artist to scrawl next to them but built their community all the same. Previously, the work could be found hanging in the SRQ Airport Ticketing Office.

Hopper’s murals, all acrylic on 5’x9’ sheets of plywood, chronicle Sarasota’s history through five images of goods in transport. From a Florida Seminole gathering firewood and a conquistador wading ashore with trunks and chests, to an orange farmer at market, a Scottish golfer in full kit, and a beleaguered clown pushing a trunk fully his size, each represents a pivotal Floridian people and their industry. Fittingly enough, these were displayed in the baggage claim area.

Viewed together, says Thomsen, the collected murals present a valuable window to the past.

“Just in the last 10 years, Sarasota has transformed and grown,” says Thomsen. “And it’s important to look back and see how it was created and all of the different people who contributed.”

Echoes of Sarasota: A Historical Preservation opens tonight at Palm Avenue Fine Art with a reception from 5pm to 9pm. 

Pictured: A mural by Regan Dunnick depicts the famous DeSoto Hotel, which once stood where Palm Avenue Fine Art is located today. Image courtesy of Palm Avenue Fine Art.

Strange how coincidences go, but while reading the novel What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez (another book, this one fiction, that I’d highly recommend about grappling with mortality), I spied the book Getting to Know Death: A Meditation by Gail Godwin on our store’s Biography table.

Death, for me, as I’m sure it is for many, is the elephant in the room that I’d rather not discuss. Normal, since I enjoy living so much and am blessed with so many loving people and advantages, but as the title states, Getting to Know Death is inevitable.

The circumstances surrounding Gali Godwin’s (three time National Book Award finalist albeit awhile ago 1975, 1980 and 1983) recent book are thus: at 85, she fell attempting to water a dying dogwood tree, breaking her neck. What transpires is a beautiful rendering of a life lived, with pain and suffering that I won’t spoil here, suffice to say she’s dealt with death on many levels.

What I think anyone can appreciate about her book is the tackling of the question; what do you do when faced with circumstances beyond your control that alter your life in such a way that border on being too much to bear? What have others done, those famous (Henry James, Samuel Beckett) and not so (her father and half brother) when faced with quality of life compromising occurrences?

Even more inspiring is Gail’s gallant grace, accepting what she can and can no longer do, but still fighting to remember and honor what she did accomplish in award-winning books and libretti (co-written with her partner, composer Robert Starer). Godwin sprinkles the memoir with passages of her own and other writers she’s admired, all while gently sharing the unexpected silver linings produced due to her accident. Getting to Know Death: A Meditation is a solace and elder field guide for people of any age.

Getting to Know Death: A Meditation by Gail Godwin Publication Date June 11, 2024 ISBN #: 9781639734443. Now available at BookStore1 Sarasota at 117 S. Pineapple Ave., or on their online store at www.sarasotabooks.com. 

The Art of Performance @ the HAT has become the most global, unexpected and vibrant performing arts series in Sarasota. No matter if you are a loyal fan or brave newbie to our programming, we have performance and engagement options for you! Choose from the wide range of shows activities this season with single events or packages to suit your schedule and appetite for live arts. 

To learn more, visit.

Our partners, The Perlman Music Program proclaimed the 21st annual Winter Residency as the "Best One Yet". We are thankful for such a wonderful, collaborative effort with the PMP staff and faculty, including Mr. and Mrs. Perlman, to bring you such incredible young talent. We are also grateful for our partnership with The University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee for use of the campus, and much more. They host this special program that contributes to the education of young string music students and provides them with performance opportunities which are shared with our audiences. 

To learn more, visit

Our Mission: Empowering women to collectively fund transformational grants to nonprofits in Sarasota and Manatee Counties. Our Model: At least 100 women come together, each makes an annual $1,000 tax-deductible donation, and collectively their donations become part of a grant of at least $100,000 awarded to a nonprofit in Sarasota and Manatee Counties. Our Impact: By making philanthropy accessible for all women in Sarasota and Manatee Counties through the collective giving model, the impact is multiplied by each and every member. The more women who join the organization, the more grants Impact100 SRQ can fund. By the End of January 2025, 30 Grants Totaling $3,276,000 Will Have Been Awarded to Local Nonprofits Since 2019. 

Impact100 SRQ is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization.

Click Here To Learn More

Florida Studio Theatre (FST) honors trailblazing female artists with Divas: Time After Time, an exciting cabaret celebrating the women who have captivated the world with their dynamic personalities and fierce vocals. Created by Rebecca Hopkins, Richard Hopkins, and Ben Liebert, with musical arrangements by Jim Prosser, this original cabaret recognizes the trailblazing women whose songs still influence us. Previews begin on February 12, with the show opening on February 14, 2025, and running through June 22, 2025, in FST’s Court Cabaret. The show is part of a three-show Cabaret subscription package, which also includes Off the Charts, a celebration of Billboard pop hits from the ‘50s to the ‘90s, and 59th Street Bridge, a tribute to the early folk-rock artists in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Subscriptions for all three shows can be purchased for as little as $59. Subscriptions and single tickets are now on sale at 941.366.9000 or FloridaStudioTheatre.org. 

Immerse yourself in a world of creativity at the 5th Annual Lakewood Ranch Fine Art Festival, taking place January 25-26, 2025, on Main Street in downtown Lakewood Ranch. Admission is FREE, making this the perfect weekend outing for art enthusiasts and those looking to explore the transformative power of art.

January 25-26, 2025, Main Street, Downtown Lakewood Ranch, Admission: Free, For more information, driving directions, and updates, visit Paragon Festivals. 

Global icon and Artist in Residence at Selby Gardens, Patti Smith returns with a special performance at the Downtown Sarasota campus on February 12, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. The one-hour performance, An Evening with Patti Smith Dedicated to George Harrison, is a celebration of the ninth iteration of the Jean & Alfred Goldstein Exhibition Series, George Harrison: A Gardener’s Life, on view February 9, 2025, through June 29, 2025, at Selby Gardens’ Downtown Sarasota campus. Advance tickets for the performance will go on sale for Selby Gardens’ Members on Thursday, January 23, 2025. The remaining tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, January 24, 2025. To purchase tickets or to become a member, visit selby.org.  

Don’t miss the chance to view Skyway 2024: A Contemporary Collaboration, a partnership between five arts institutions in the Tampa Bay area, is a celebration of the region's artistic practices. Working together, curators from each institution (The Ringling, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Sarasota Art Museum, the Tampa Museum of Art, and the University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum) offer context for the diversity of art being made in Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, and Sarasota counties. Ending Jan 26. Included w/ Museum Admission. 

Florida Studio Theatre (FST) kicks off its 2025 Stage III Series with the National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere of Advice, a new comedy by Brent Askari and directed by Nancy Rominger. A clever exploration of ambition, friendship, and the pitfalls of following your own advice, the production begins performances on February 5 and runs through February 28, 2025 in FST’s Bowne’s Lab. This sharp and witty comedy follows Ron and Joy, a professional couple whose lives are upended when their well-meaning but clueless friend Gary lands a book deal for a self-help guide. As they try to dissuade him from quitting his job to become a life coach, their intervention unravels hidden secrets, plunging them into chaotic — and comedic — turmoil. Subscriptions and single tickets are available at FloridaStudioTheatre.org or by calling 941-366-9000.