ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT DECEMBER 28, 2023
YOUROBSERVER.COM
Monica Gagnier
Brian Hersh spent more than 20 years in the field of nonprofit arts administration before becoming president and CEO of the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County in June.
Dr. Richard Mones (center) and Ringling College Chief Curator Tim Jaeger (left) are surrounded by Ringling College of Art and Design students who produced “Fluid Impressions,” an exhibition of three dozen Syd Solomon paintings that Mones and his wife, Pamela, lent to the college.
Image courtesy of Cliff Roles
Mauricio Martínez starred in Asolo Rep’s production of “Man of La Mancha,” directed by Peter Rothstein.
CHANGING 20
23
OF THE GUARD As arts stalwarts departed, newcomers arrived and plans were made for state-of-the-art venues. MONICA ROMAN GAGNIER ARTS + ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
T
here was a changing of the guard in Sarasota’s arts community as sev-
eral longtime cultural champions retired, moved on to new jobs or departed our Earthly plane. In some cases, they’ve been replaced by dynamic new leadership, but in others, the gap cannot be filled. Among Sarasota’s boldface names whose deaths made national headlines in 2023 were artist John Sims and comedian Paul Reubens, better known as Pee-wee Herman.
John Sims died in December 2022, but it wasn’t until the new year that the loss of the artist, former Ringling College of Art and Design faculty member and Black rights activist became widely known. The year 2023 was also noteworthy for big anniversaries, whether measured by the year or season — 25 for the Sarasota Film Festival, 50 for Florida Studio Theatre and Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, and 75 for the Sarasota Orchestra. It was also a year of breakout artistic achievements. They ranged from KT Curran’s local indie film production, “Bridge to the Other Side,” to the WEDU PBS documentary directed by Shaun Greenspan, “The Sarasota Experience,” to the colorful Syd Solomon exhibition curated by Ringling College of Art & Design students. On the stage, the Peter Rothstein era at Asolo Repertory Theatre arrived with a pair of exciting productions: “Man of La Mancha” at the end of the 2022-23 season and “Crazy For You” at the beginning of the 2023-24 season. Another artistic triumph in 2023 was an independent production: Scott Ehrenpreis’ one-man show, “Clowns Like Me.” In a year where eye-popping rents downtown forced Art Uptown Gallery and Dabbert Gallery out of business and drove artists and
File Photo
cultural advocates out of town, some people weren’t afraid to start anew. The Define and Mara galleries both moved downtown to South Palm Avenue, and Chasen Galleries opened a new emporium dedicated exclusively to glass artwork in The Marc downtown. SEE 2023, PAGE 2
John Sims in the 2021 multimedia presentation of his “Recolorized Confederate Flag” project at the Historic Asolo Theater.