Community Calendar

Award-winning and internationally recognized artist Janet Echelman (American) is renowned for her soaring installations that merge ancient craft with cutting-edge technology. Using centuries-old fishing net knotting techniques, Echelman transforms humble materials into ethereal sculptures that visualize natural phenomena and the interconnectedness of humanity and the environment.
Radical Softness offers a rare, intimate look at Echelman’s artistic evolution, tracing her journey from early explorations in drawing, painting, and textiles to the monumental, netted sculptures that have redefined public spaces around the world. This exhibition contextualizes the artist’s practice, revealing the narratives, influences, and processes that drive her work. At its core, the exhibition highlights Echelman’s use of softness as a powerful tool—not only in material but as a philosophy. Showcasing a selection of works from across all four decades of the artist’s path-breaking career, along with a series of never-before-seen cyanotypes, Radical Softness reveals how an artist’s work can bring people together and carve out space for reflection in an ever-changing world.
Founded in New York City and based in Boston, Studio Echelman’s impact is global. A recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship, Harvard Loeb Fellowship, Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award, Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellowship, and Fulbright Lectureship, her monumental sculptures span five continents. Recent commissions include Remembering the Future at the MIT Museum (2025), Butterfly Rest Stop in Frisco, Texas (2024), Current in Columbus, Ohio (2023), Bending Arc at the St. Pete Pier in Florida (2020), Earthtime Korea (2020), Impatient Optimist at The Gates Foundation in Seattle (2015), and 1.8 Renwick at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (2015), among others.
Janet Echelman: Radical Softness is organized by Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design and curated by Lacie Barbour, associate curator of exhibitions at Sarasota Art Museum.

Image: Janet Echelman (American). Study (Butterfly Rest Stop 1/9 scale), Rome, Italy, 2022. Courtesy of the artist. Photo: Giovanni DeAngelis.

USF’s world-renowned print atelier proudly presents a temporary exhibition in its main gallery celebrating the rich legacy of women artists who have collaborated with Graphicstudio over the decades. Showcasing the work of ten influential artists from the studio’s history—Diana Al-Hadid, Trisha Brown, Elisabeth Condon, Lesley Dill, Nancy Graves, Iva Gueorguieva, Graciela Iturbide, Mernet Larsen, Andrea Modica, and Janina Tschäpe—the exhibition highlights the remarkable diversity and innovation these women bring to the field of contemporary art.

Spanning a wide range of artistic practices, the featured works explore the boundaries of printmaking through experimental techniques that merge photography, sculpture, and mixed media assemblage. Together, they reflect the dynamic and evolving role of women in the printmaking tradition and the enduring creative impact of Graphicstudio’s collaborative model.

Graphicstudio is open to the public Monday through Friday, 10 am to 4 pm. Free parking is easily available for visitors. Closed on the weekends and USF holidays: November 11, 27 and 28, December 22 through January 2, and January 19.

Imagine Museum proudly participates in Museums for All — simply present your SNAP Benefit card and photo ID to one of our associates upon arrival and enjoy $3.00 admission to the museum. Children ages 6 and under are free.

Join us for an artistic journey geared toward young artventurers every Saturday! Led by our friendly associates, children ages 4-11 will be guided through our world-class glass art galleries. They will then have the opportunity to unleash their imagination and express themselves with a fun and engaging craft activity.

Our new speaker series, Art, Actually, explores how art intersects with identity, community, and change through conversations with artists, curators, and cultural leaders.

“Art, Actually” is a community-centered speaker series at ACS that explores the role of art in shaping Sarasota’s cultural identity—past, present, and future. Each session highlights the voices of local artists, cultural leaders, and creative thinkers as they reflect on how art connects us, tells our shared stories, and inspires meaningful dialogue. Grounded in Sarasota’s rich artistic legacy, this series celebrates the power of creativity to build community and spark change. $15 for New Friends of the Art Center. Free for Members.

Southeastern Premiere. In this heartwarming tale, a man visits a tailor to have his suit pants let out after realizing he's gained some weight since he last wore them. What starts as a simple alteration turns into a transformative journey. Through their deepening conversations both their lives are altered. A Tailor Near Me is a story of self-discovery, friendship, and the magic of a perfectly tailored suit.

Southeastern Premiere. When President Kennedy vowed to put a man on the moon, the task landed in the hands of a band of maverick engineers – once the misfits of American science. With no rulebook, they embraced “blue-skying,” drawing inspiration from Buck Rogers, Greek myths, Louis Leakey, and even Snoopy and the Red Baron. An exhilarating ride through the wild imagination that made one giant leap possible!

Go nose to nose with Big John, the World’s Largest Triceratops, in an immersive and playful dinosaur exhibit at the Glazer Children’s Museum in Downtown Tampa. Whether you have a child at home or not, all are welcome to visit this colossal exhibit, 66 million years in the making.

The exhibit introduces visitors to historical characters of the American Revolution. Interactive displays and beautiful illustrations are telling the story of our American History. Monday, January 18th & 19th, we will have Abigail Adams and Friday and Saturday, January 23rd and 24th, George Washington's War Tent will be on-site. First time on display in Florida. This will be great for families, homeschool students, or classroom field trips.

La Grande Illusion is a major exhibition of works by internationally acclaimed artist, Brian Maguire. The exhibition spans two decades of work that spotlights the artist’s lifelong quest to draw attention to global injustices, war, and human rights. One of Ireland's leading cultural figures, Maguire has turned the practice and tradition of painting into acts of visual testimony. Maguire’s paintings are global in scope and are derived from projects undertaken between 2007 and 2024 in Mexico, the Mediterranean, Syria, Sudan, the United States, and the Amazon. Maguire's artworks are painted from direct experience and involve the artist spending extensive time on the ground with the communities that welcome him. The results are, plainly put, paintings that visualize the commonality of human suffering and dramatize the plight of people in need.