The Herrig Center for the Arts is worth a trip to Bradenton

The road to Bradenton is well-traveled by commuters who work in Sarasota but can’t afford to live here. But driving north 13 miles doesn’t always occur to locals in search of art.

Sarasotans sometimes make the trip to visit the Bishop Museum of Science and Nature or the Manatee Center for the Performing Arts. But how many would name the Herrig Center for the Arts as their next cultural destination?

One reason is that they may not have heard of the Herrig, long known as ArtCenter Manatee. Or they may not realize the 90-year-old art center moved into a new $15 million building in April.

The driving force behind ArtCenter Manatee’s recent transformation is Carla Nierman, who started at the arts organization as a receptionist in 2007 and was named executive director in 2012. 

Nierman says she didn’t know much about art when she joined ArtCenter Manatee, but that’s not exactly true. Her mother was an artist.

These days, Nierman is passionate about the role the arts can play in early childhood education and in building community. As she escorts a visitor through state-of-the-art studios and gallery spaces, she asks, “Have you seen the research that shows how children who take art classes score better in math and science?” 

The Herrig offers more than 400 classes and workshops year-round in disciplines such as painting, drawing, pastels, pottery, jewelry design, photography and more. Classes take place during the day, evenings and on weekends to accommodate varying schedules of its members.

Photo by Monica Gagnier

Nierman’s rise through the ranks probably wouldn’t have been possible without the hands-on experience she gained from owning several businesses. Among them were a concierge service, a tech company and an auto repair shop.

During her tenure at the Herrig, Nierman has worked tirelessly to expand the art center’s offerings, improve its facilities and draw visitors to Bradenton. Together with government officials and her counterparts at the Bishop Museum and other cultural organizations, she has helped create a walkable arts district downtown.

Even though Bradenton may not immediately beckon Sarasota arts patrons because they have many cultural attractions in their own hometown, the Herrig has become a destination for regional, national and even international art shows.

So far this year, it has hosted the National Association of Women Artists Florida Chapter Exhibition, the American Watercolor Society’s 158th Traveling International Exhibition and Fiber Art Now’s curated exhibition of 29 original works selected from 500 global entries.

 As one walks from Manatee County’s bus station in downtown Bradenton the few minutes to the Herrig Center, you can’t help but notice all the hotels downtown.

Not all visitors to the area are keen to rent a car after arriving at the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, especially Europeans. It’s possible to stay in a refurbished 1920s-style hotel that now houses a Hampton Inn and literally walk across the street to the Herrig.

Pushing back against Med-Rev

Given the many Mediterranean-Revival buildings still in existence in Bradenton, Nierman and her board faced considerable pressure to build a new art center in the Med-Rev architectural style. 

Nothing doing, said Nierman. “We’re an art center, and we don’t want to look like everybody else,” she says.

To stand out in the crowd, the Herrig chose a modern design by award-winning Wannemacher Jensen Architects of St. Petersburg sheathed in copper panels with a turquoise sheen. The design won the American Institute of Architects Tampa Bay Merit Award for Architecture in 2021, and Wannemacher Jenson won the AIA chapter’s Firm of the Year Award in 2023.

The Bradenton firm NDC Construction was chosen to build the new art center. NDC built the nearby Manatee Center for the Performing Arts and is lead firm on the McGillicuddy Arts Plaza project currently going up in Sarasota at Florida Studio Center.

After delays due to COVID-19, ArtCenter Manatee broke ground in 2023 on a modern 28,000-square-foot, two-story facility, nearly three times the size of its previous building, which was next door.

The pandemic changed the financial equation involved in building a new art center. “Before COVID, the cost of the building was going to be $8 million,” Nierman says. “After COVID, it was $15.5 million. It doubled and it never came back down.”

Like an actor accepting her Oscar, Nierman doesn’t want to leave out anyone who deserves credit for the new building. “We’ve been supported by so many foundations, so many individuals, including the family whose name is on the building. We’ve also been supported by state and local government. We’ve been very fortunate to have such great support for the arts in our community,” she says.

But at the end of the day, “income streams” are the name of the game for a community art center that doesn’t charge admission. Nierman says that the Herrig generates about 60% to 70% of its income through its operations.

Like for-profit organizations, the Herrig Center sells memberships that cost $35 for youths, $60 for adults and $80 for families.

Another revenue stream is the roughly 40% commission the Herrig earns when artists sell their works in the center’s galleries and in the lobby gift shop.

Like the Bishop Museum, the Herrig Center earns money from renting its spaces for parties and other events. While the Bishop is a popular destination for upscale weddings, Nierman said the art center attracts all kinds of events.

Anna Pohl, the Herrig’s assistant director, is a former event planner, Nierman notes. That makes her well-suited to explain the benefits of holding a party at the art center. Among them are cheaper rates than the Bishop and no requirement to use a particular caterer. The latter is also a selling point of the Bishop.

Let the music play

One event space currently in the making is a sculpture garden in front of the Herrig. Nierman said the art center faced pressure to place its new building close to the sidewalk, a common design feature in Florida. But the board pushed back to preserve land for a community gathering space. When three sculptures arrive and the weather cools, it will be time to toast the new Herrig Center for the Arts in the new sculpture garden.

“One of our dreams is to have live music in the front courtyard. Bradenton has a lot of bars downtown, but we don’t have much live music,” Nierman says. She plans to partner with performing arts organizations in Sarasota to bring music to the Herrig.

The art center dates back to 1937, and Nierman wants to make sure it’s around to celebrate its 100th anniversary. One promising sign: When the Herrig attended a seminar for nonprofits held by the Patterson Foundation of Sarasota, Nierman said, “We were told, ‘You don’t need to be here. You’ve already got it.’”

Besides diverse sources of income, management longevity and the ability to plan for the future are other reasons the Herrig can skip how-to seminars. On second thought, maybe Nierman and her team have some lessons to share with their Gulf Coast neighbors.