Exhibit to continue through May 9
On April 28, Art Center Sarasota will continue its centennial season “with one of the region’s longest-running and most anticipated exhibitions: the 71st Annual North Sarasota County Schools Spring Art Show,” Art Center has announced.
Featuring more than 1,500 student artists from grades K–12, the exhibition will transform the gallery “into a dynamic showcase of emerging creativity from across Sarasota’s northern public and charter schools,” a news release explains. For many students, this show will mark their first time exhibiting in a professional gallery, “an experience that signals not just participation, but arrival,” the release points out.
“Organized by longtime coordinators Angela Hartvigsen and Debra Markley,” the exhibition will capture “the strongest work produced throughout the academic year, offering a compelling snapshot of the next generation of artists,” the release adds.
The show will culminate in a high school awards ceremony, during which local partners will “contribute more than $20,000 in scholarships and prizes,” the release notes. Elementary students will be recognized during “two dedicated evening ceremonies celebrating imagination, skill, and artistic growth,” it points out.
“The level of creativity in this show is remarkable,” said Christina Baril, curator and director of exhibitions at Art Center Sarasota, in the release. “Year after year, this exhibition proves that meaningful artistic work is happening at every age, and it deserves to be seen,” she added.
While the North County exhibition will fill Art Center Sarasota, “the South County Spring Art Show will be held at Venice Art Center, continuing a countywide tradition that has endured for more than seven decades,” the release notes.
Art Center Sarasota is located at 707 N. Tamiami Trail in downtown Sarasota. The Venice Art Center stands at 390 Nokomis Ave. S. in Venice.
“As Art Center Sarasota marks 100 years,” the release continues, “the Spring Art Show underscores a simple truth: the future of the arts isn’t coming, it’s already here.”
“Founded in 1926, “ the release says, “Art Center Sarasota serves as the first and oldest visual arts organization in Sarasota. Art Center Sarasota is admission-free and open to the public; our mission is to bring together creatives and the broader public to increase understanding of our human condition, support wellbeing, and build community connection through the universal language of art.”