Art and Nature

Driving through a bumpy back road of Osprey, you could easily think you have the wrong address. 

Your directions end with a destination in a public park, the Bay Preserve. There are boathouses, a miniature amphitheater and  nests of middle and high school members of Sarasota Crew carrying their boats after a long afternoon practice.

But if you’re looking for the art gallery of the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast, you’re in exactly the right place.

The gallery’s location matches its purpose perfectly, seeing as its profits go toward educating and advocating for land and environmental conservation in Florida.

The Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast was founded in 2003 as a land trust to acquire endangered land and natural oases on Florida’s west coast.

 In 2005, the organization received a $6.6 million grant and acquired the Bay Preserve location as its headquarters, where it has set aside more than 8,500 acres of land on 31 properties for preservation. And besides the more traditional means of conservation such as advocacy, fundraising and lobbying, the Conservation Foundation has adopted a more creative approach in its fight for environmental awareness.

The foundation’s artist residency and gallery programs bring in local and national painters and photographers to the Bay Preserve to work and show their landscapes and portraits on the first floor of the palatial estate.

 “We try to have artists who are inspired by nature because it’s that inspiration that’s reflected in their work,” says Suzanne Gregory, director of programs and marketing at the Conservation Foundation, “and then we bring guests in from the public and they connect with that artwork emotionally and then connect to our mission and what we’re all about.”

It’s this chain of inspiration that keeps the foundation fostering and sponsoring various artists such as Clyde Butcher, Jan Christensen and Lori Putnam. Artists can apply and live on the Bay Preserve property for several weeks. While here, they create new works inspired by the Florida landscape. And with a recent partnership last year with the Englewood Art Center, the artists residing there and showing their work in the gallery lead workshops and classes for Englewood residents.

Jacobina Trump, a local artist whose work will be showcased in the next exhibition at the Bay Preserve March 3, got involved with the foundation for personal reasons.

“I was in Englewood at the farmers market and there was field of trees right next to it,” says Trump. “But land developers chopped it all down a couple of months ago for a parking lot. This angered me so much that I knew I needed to actively get involved, period.”

Each artist’s work is available for purchase; a portion of the funds go toward the foundation.

“I like to see my paintings as a starting point to create more awareness,” says Trump. “I really see my paintings as an instrument toward conservation more than anything else.”

Gregory added to Trump’s sentiments, saying, “All of the art we have in the Bay Preserve prompts a conversation. It might not answer a question, but it starts that conversation.”

IF YOU GO
Jacobina Trump-Art Exhibit Opening
When: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. March 3; Runs through May 28
Where: Bay Preserve, 400 Palmetto Ave., Osprey
Info: Call 918-2100 or visit conservationfoundation.com.