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Arts + Culture

Rapper Ryanito poses with the Riverview Kilties, who were featured in his recording of the theme song for the Sarasota Paradise soccer team.
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • August 15, 2023
Hip-hop meets high school in soccer team song

Rapper Ryanito teamed with Riverview High for the Sarasota Paradise's anthem.

  • Arts + Culture
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • August 14, 2023
Sarasota Ballet names principal dancer

Jennifer Hackbarth, a Dresden Semperoper Ballet veteran, replaces Danielle Brown, who retired.

  • Arts + Culture
Derek Blankenship is the new executive director of the Venice Institute for Performing Arts.
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • August 11, 2023
Venice Institute of Performing Arts names executive director

Derek Blankenship succeeds Reno Manne, who died in March.

  • Arts + Culture
Jaiden Johnson and Sharon Preston-Folta
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • August 10, 2023
Suncoast Black Arts Collaborative adds two new team members

Sharon Preston-Folta and Jaiden Johnson are joining the nonprofit.

  • Arts + Culture
Sarasota artist John Pirman in his studio.
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • August 9, 2023
Selby Gardens goes 'meta' with John Pirman show

Life imitates art imitates life in the retrospective of the Sarasota artist's work.

  • Arts + Culture
Michael DeWulf painting at his live art show at Wyland Gallery on Aug. 4.
    By
  • Petra Rivera
  • August 9, 2023
Sarasota artist draws audience with live show at Wyland Gallery

Sarasota-based artist Michael DeWulf paints for 10 to 14 hours to grow in his craft.

  • Arts + Culture
Spearheading the fundraising effort for the Stage at Payne Park: Brian McCarthy, William Skaggs, Bill Porter, Bill Rusling and Steven Butler
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • August 5, 2023
The Players raises curtain on fundraising for Payne Park theater project

The theater will match up to half of the $8 million in community donations that The Stage hopes to raise for the project.

  • Arts + Culture
Paul Reubens appeared at the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, in 2016.
  • By Robert Plunket
  • August 4, 2023
Pee-wee Herman's big adventure started in Sarasota

Remembering Paul Reubens, 1952-2023.

  • Arts + Culture
Kate Mulligan is EnsembleNewSRQ's first general manager.
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • August 4, 2023
Kate Mulligan joins ensembleNewSRQ as its first general manager

The Sarasota contemporary classical music group is in expansion mode.

  • Arts + Culture
The 2024 Forks & Corks Food and Wine Festival will be held from Jan. 25-29.
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • August 2, 2023
Forks & Corks moves to January 2024

The popular fest hosted by Sarasota-Manatee Originals is moving back to its original schedule.

  • Black Tie
"White House by the Sea," Kate Storey's book about the Kennedy family compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, became a New York Times bestseller when it was published in June.
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • August 2, 2023
Sarasota writer chronicles 100 years at the Kennedy family’s summer home

Kate Storey's book, "White House By the Sea" became an instant New York Times bestseller when it was published in June.

  • Arts + Culture
"A Comedy of Tenors" is the sequel to Ken Ludwig's "Lend Me a Tenor," but the play stands on its own.
    By
  • Marty Fugate
  • July 30, 2023
'Comedy of Tenors' creates a clockwork comedy

The beloved characters of “Lend Me a Tenor" are reunited in "A Comedy of Tenors," playing at Florida Studio Theatre from Aug. 2-27.

  • Arts + Culture
Jennifer Welch Cudnik is the principal of the Sarasota Ballet School, which will perform its summer intensive showcase, "InMotion," from July 25-27.
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • July 27, 2023
Sarasota Ballet School gets a new principal

Jennifer Welch Cudnik is a former dancer and longtime arts educator.

  • Arts + Culture
Broadway flop became fodder for Ann Morrison’s one-woman show
    By
  • Marty Fugate
  • July 25, 2023
Broadway flop became fodder for Ann Morrison’s one-woman show

Stephen Sondheim's “Merrily We Roll Along” debuted on Broadway to poor reception in 1981. Morrison, an original cast member, tells the story in her one-woman cabaret.

  • Arts + Culture
Sarasota artist Beck Lane's paintings of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo are on display at the Unitarian Universalist Church's art gallery through Aug. 18.
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • July 23, 2023
Sarasota artist shows lots of love for Frida Kahlo

Sarasota artist Beck Lane is painting 55 oil portraits of the famous Mexican artist.

  • Arts + Culture
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