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Arts + Culture

This year's La Musica Festival in Sarasota will include performances by top row (left to right) Wu Han, piano; Dmitri Atapine, cello; Aaron Boyd, violin; Chad Hoopes, violin; and bottom row (L-R) Milena Pajaro-van de Stadt, viola; Orion Weiss, piano; Kristin Lee, violin; and David Finckel, cello.
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • April 2, 2025
La Musica Chamber Festival gets a lift from new leadership

The Sarasota chamber music festival nearly ended after its co-founder died of COVID.

  • Arts + Culture
Director Peter Amster is directing "Good Night, Oscar" at Asolo Repertory Theatre.
    By
  • Marty Fugate
  • April 1, 2025
Director Peter Amster celebrates a troubled genius in Asolo Rep's 'Good Night, Oscar'

Pianist and raconteur Oscar Levant bared his mental health struggles on national TV.

  • Arts + Culture
Anne and Frank Folsom Smith in 2013.
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • March 31, 2025
Sarasota architect Frank Folsom Smith dies at age 93

The Virginia transplant designed Plymouth Harbor and helped shape downtown.

  • Arts + Culture
You can consult a Ouija board at The Ringling's new exhibit, "Conjuring the Spirit World," which runs through July 13.
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • March 31, 2025
On the trail of things that go bump in the night at The Ringling

"Conjuring the Spirit World" explores efforts to contact denizens of unseen realms.

  • Arts + Culture
“Bag Work” by Tanaka Yu Fukuromono, “Red Vessel” by Ogawa Machiko, and “Untitled (Crushed Asahi Beer Box)” by Mishima Kimiyo are part of the “Radical Clay” exhibit at The Ringling through May 11.
    By
  • Su Byron
  • March 28, 2025
Add these 5 sizzling arts events to your spring calendar

Theater, art and a walk in a musician’s garden highlight our top arts picks.

  • Arts + Culture
Michael Deshield sings on the balcony.
    By
  • Ian Swaby
  • March 27, 2025
Balcony opera performances share the music form with the public

Apprentice artists have joined the lineup in the Sarasota Opera's weekly performance for the public, held each Saturday on the balcony.

  • Sarasota
  • Neighbors
Cheryl Taub has been drawing since she was old enough to hold a crayon.
    By
  • Su Byron
  • March 27, 2025
These Key artists take inspiration from their surroundings

Local creators share how their home bases on Sarasota's barrier islands give them an artistic boost.

  • Arts + Culture
In the festival closing night film "Lovers," two women return to their hometown for a funeral and meet up with some local characters at a dive bar.
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • March 26, 2025
27th Sarasota Film Festival offers fresh flicks, communal screenings

"Marcella" will open the 2025 Sarasota Film Festival on April 4.

  • Arts + Culture
Azara Ballet uses dance to address screen addiction in its second season
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • March 25, 2025
Azara Ballet uses dance to address screen addiction in its second season

Choreographed by company co-founder Martin Flowers, "7 Hours" uses cellphones as props.

  • Arts + Culture
Jazz vocalist Synia Carroll died on March 14 after a short illness.
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • March 24, 2025
Connecticut schoolteacher Synia Carroll found her voice in Sarasota

Jazz vocalist Synia Carroll, who died March 14 at age 67, helped build musical bridges in the Tampa Bay area.

  • Arts + Culture
Magician Star Newman will perform at the Glenridge Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, April 1.
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • March 23, 2025
Star Newman is all about the abracadabra

Card tricks, movie lore and mentalism are in the Sarasota magician's bag of tricks.

  • Arts + Culture
Sarasota Film Festival Rising Star Award winner Austin Abrams, SFF President and CEO Mark Famiglio and "The Listener" director and producer Steve Buscemi at the 2024 Sarasota Film Festival.
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • March 22, 2025
Sarasota Film Festival poster sparks a Facebook firestorm

Humorous mentions of the 51st state and the Gulf of America fall flat with festival fans.

  • Arts + Culture
The Sarasota Ballet performs Sir Frederick Ashton's "Romeo and Juliet" March 28-29 at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall.
    By
  • Monica Roman Gagnier
  • March 19, 2025
Sarasota Ballet finally presents Sir Frederick Ashton's 'Romeo and Juliet'

The Florida premiere of the romantic, rarely seen ballet was delayed by the pandemic.

  • Arts + Culture
PAC Sarasota Co-Chairs Chris Voelker and Dick Lynch.
    By
  • Observer Staff
  • March 19, 2025
Sarasota Arts & Culture Coalition rebranded PAC Sarasota

The goal of the Sarasota Arts & Cultural Coalition is to advocate for Sarasota's arts and cultural organizations.

  • Sarasota
  • Business
Joe Dowling, former artistic director of both the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis and the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, is directing Asolo Rep's production of "Dancing at Lughnasa."
    By
  • Marty Fugate
  • March 17, 2025
The past is present in Asolo Rep's 'Dancing at Lughnasa'

For Joe Dowling, directing Brian Friel's play is like visiting an old friend — and making a new one.

  • Arts + Culture
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