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Arts + Culture

Travis Ray smiles and poses in front of his handiwork at Monark Custom Framing and Art Gallery. (Photo: Spencer Fordin)
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • February 23, 2022
Local entrepreneur is crafting art one bowtie at a time

Travis Ray is making custom bowties inspired by art, and he's doing it with locally sourced material and selling them at a local art gallery.

  • Arts + Culture
Dan Houston's life in art became richer when he rekindled his relationship with Judith Turrentine-Houston. (Photo: Spencer Fordin)
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • February 23, 2022
Rekindled love leads to new art and new gallery

Dan Houston waited decades of his life to paint, and now he's mastering his art with the help of a new relationship and a new gallery space.

  • Arts + Culture
Hymn for Her got creative to pay the bills during the pandemic. (Photo: Spencer Fordin)
    By
  • Marty Fugate
  • February 21, 2022
Local musicians get creative to pay the bills

Area artists and bands have found creative ways to pay the piper in the time of COVID-19.

  • Arts + Culture
Patti Smith read from "Just Kids" and "The Coral Sea" and also sang a few songs from her canon. (Photo: Spencer Fordin)
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • February 16, 2022
Patti Smith fondly walks down memory lane

It's been decades since Patti Smith last spoke with her late friend Robert Mapplethorpe, but the memories of their time together remain as indelible as any image in her celebrated life.

  • Arts + Culture
Hermitage fellow Paula Vogel shared her knowledge with a captivated audience at Booker High School on Friday. (Photo: Spencer Fordin)
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • February 15, 2022
Playwright puts plot on paper at Hermitage event

Paula Vogel has seen her work brought to life on the world's largest stages. And she helped a Sarasota audience find the sweet spot in crafting their own elements of style last Friday.

  • Arts + Culture
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • February 14, 2022
Selby honors legacies of photographer and rock star in 'Flowers, Poetry And Light'

The artistic legacy of Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith is being displayed as a living exhibit at the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.

  • Arts + Culture
Trumpet player Luca Stine is excited to come home to Sarasota and play his own original compositions for the first time. (Courtesy photo)
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • February 14, 2022
Sarasota native Luca Stine returns home as mature artist

The trumpet player left Sarasota to pursue his musical dreams at the University of Miami, but he's coming back to play Selby Gardens with his own compositions for the first time as a professional.

  • Arts + Culture
It's rare for Adelaide Boedecker and Calvin Griffin to perform together, but they savor the moments when they do.
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • February 10, 2022
A trip home and then The Met beckons for Adelaide Boedecker

Adelaide Boedecker will sing with her husband in her hometown a week after Valentine's Day, and right after that, she has an opportunity to achieve a career highlight.

  • Arts + Culture
The triceratops needed armor to protect itself from dinosaur predators.
    By
  • Marty Fugate
  • February 10, 2022
Bishop exhibit offers a lost (and found) world

“Dino” Don’s DinoVenture brings long-lost dinosaurs to realistic life at The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature.

  • Arts + Culture
Melanie Marcotte, Kelsey Wehde Wilson, Luke Johnson, James Ashford, Susan Angermann, and Bruce Price in 2018. (Photo courtesy of FST )
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • February 9, 2022
Florida Studio Theatre mourns loss of James Ashford

Coordinator of casting and hiring worked at FST for 21 years.

  • Arts + Culture
The cast of "Ruby" includes Casey Murphy, Aleah Vassell and Brian L. Boyd. (Photo courtesy of Sorcha Augustine)
  • By Spencer Fordin
  • February 7, 2022
WBTT teases musical 'Ruby' after extended delay

The theatrical run of "Ruby" has been postponed twice due to circumstances beyond its control, but the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe is working overtime to give it a new life.

  • Arts + Culture
Fernando and Betsy Traba are poised to play as part of the Sarasota Orchestra's "Be Mine" program.
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • February 4, 2022
Trabas build life out of love for music and each other

Forget love at first sight. For Sarasota Orchestra couple Betsy and Fernando Traba, it was more like love at first sound.

  • Arts + Culture
Sharing is located at the corner of Second Street and Pineapple Avenue.
    By
  • Eric Garwood
  • February 3, 2022
City's public art master plan looks ahead to an even more creative city

Sarasota works its way toward a master plan for public art, setting guiding principles for a lot more than roundabouts.

  • Sarasota
  • News
The work will go on right to the opening of the circus and beyond for the workers who toil behind the scenes.
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • February 2, 2022
Big top takes big effort to assemble

Before the animals, the clowns or the performers arrive, the hard work at Circus Sarasota lies in putting the tent together.

  • Arts + Culture
The Newsies panel included Travis Ray of the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, Richard Russell of Sarasota Opera, Iain Webb of Sarasota Ballet and William Skaggs of The Players Centre for Performing Arts. (Photo: Spencer Fordin)
    By
  • Spencer Fordin
  • January 28, 2022
Entertainment execs chat in front of Newsies panel

The Observer brought together four local arts and entertainment executives to discuss how their organizations have fared during the pandemic and beyond.

  • Arts + Culture
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