Art enthusiasts look back on the historic Longboat Key Center for the Arts

In a corner of the Longboat Key Center for the Arts’ courtyard, a bronze statue titled “Future” stands out.

The woman, striding forward with her head held high, is a metaphor for the students, teachers and volunteers of the LBKCA. At the end of the month, the popular spot will close. And though the art center will be relaunched in the proposed Longboat Key Center for Arts, Culture and Education, that construction is years away.

Until then, art enthusiasts of Longboat Key are moving ahead without a home.

Since its opening in 1952, the center has provided a creative space and a hub for social, artistic and creative gatherings. From jazz concerts and community art classes to lecture series and exhibit openings, the art center has served as a focal point.

“Well, you know, there’s a beginning and ending to everything, and this isn’t really an ending,” former center president Joan Partridge said. “It’s a new renaissance. It’s a renaissance because the essence of all of us will still be here.”

The final classes at the art center were held April 28, and the last day staff will be present is May 12. But for local artists there is hope that the essence of the center will come back to life in 2020.

Controversial closing

In February, word came that the art center would close by summer, some say without much discussion. 

The Ringling College of Art and Design, which owns the property, sold it to a developer, who intends to build homes.

“The north end will effectively lose all of its community space once the art center closes,” said Art Tankersley, a long-time student of the center who lives on the north end.

That sense of community is what many love. Carolyn Glassman said the center was a drawing point — an identity — for those on the north end.

“It’s a joy, and when part of the joy goes out of your life, it’s hard to accept,” Glassman said.

Until the new center opens, local artists will need to take their hobby elsewhere. 

Talks are underway to hold classes and events at the site of the former Amore restaurant, the Bayfront Park recreation center and the Longboat Education Center.

“We’re sorry because it was a place where we could communicate with other people with similar interests and interest in the community. It was just a hub,” Glassman said.

But for Partridge, who joined the art center in 1989 and served as president, board member and volunteer over 12 years, this is a new beginning, but she’s aware of people’s discontent.

“It takes people a while to get used to the closing of a legendary center for creation, enjoyment and friendship,” she said.

Ringling’s role

In 2007, during Partridge’s presidency, the arts center decided to merge with the Ringling College of Art and Design, transferring ownership of the property to the college. For Partridge, that ownership and transition gave the building a much-needed update.

After all, the art center was a major reason Partridge moved to Longboat Key in 1987.

“I went down one coast and up the other, and I came to Longboat, and bingo that was it,” she said.

Tankersley said under Ringling something was lost. 

“I think that’s what it was, the community spirit, and once it became Ringling, we lost,” he said.

But others say Ringling saved the Center for the Arts.

“They did it well, and quite frankly, had we not merged with Ringling, I think we would have had to dissolve,” said Dan Idzik, a former board member and board president. “So the fact that the merger with Ringling permitted [us] to have a vehicle for art classes and exhibitions on the island, that was important.”

Jane Buckman, who directed the center for 10 years, said Ringling provided about half of the operating costs for that decade. She also said some of the facility and programming had to be shut down because it was not prudent financially, and she knows it upset some people.

“We had to make some changes,” she said. “We needed to make the programming at the art center be more aligned with the quality of the programming going on at the college, and we did that. We changed up exhibition schedules, we brought in different exhibitions, we brought in different talent for concerts, we brought in visiting artists.”

Joan Webster, former Longboat Key mayor and vice president of the art center, said the move to be part of the coming Longboat Key Center for Arts, Culture and Education was a good one, especially since Longboat is a smaller island. Competing art venues wouldn’t help, she said.

“We have to have a cooperative venue,” she said. “I think this is going to really promote it, and I think we need a new facility. I think the best move made was to have it be adopted or taken over by Ringling because we have grown from this little grass hut in the village kind of thing to this really kind of sophisticated program.”

A mosaic of memories

Regardless of its ownership, the Longboat Key Center for the Arts provided locals a spot to build friendships and create memories. As Glassman said, pun intended or not, it was a drawing point for people.

Webster’s favorite part of the art center was the exhibit openings.

“They were great because that’s when the community would get together, and we would mingle and have a wonderful time,” she said.

Between the concerts, art openings, lectures and special events, it’s hard for Partridge to choose a favorite part. But in 2014, she received the Longboat Key Achievement Award for a green alabaster stone sculpture she made. 

For her, that moment stands out.

“I have great memories of having my name announced and being in the audience and the explicit joy of knowing someone else liked my work,” she said.

For others, like Glassman, the teachers provided an open outlet that allowed for creativity and exploration.

“I love the way the teacher was so interested in our progress, and we were not only limited to the classroom but able to go out on the grounds,” Glassman said. “I have a small drawing of the cottage because my neighbor and I wanted to have a memory of it.”

For Buckman, she drew inspiration from people’s creativity as they went through the aging process.

“I did enjoy the programming, and the audience that we had on Longboat, for them really finding their creativity and really finding the joy of being creative,” she said. “I mean that delighted my heart every day.”