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.

MAACM Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie Style Glass Class Intermediate Level
Thursday, February 19 and 26, 2026; 10am-1pm
Level up to this fun, intermediate level class and craft your own leaded glass panel in the iconic and uniquely American Prairie Style celebrated by Frank Lloyd Wright. Registration for this class includes two 3-hr glass sessions, 2/19 and 2/26. Closed-toed shoes are required to participate in class. Class price: Non-Member: $200; Member: $190.

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.

Mexican sculptor Jacobo Alonso brings a dynamic new body of textile work to Central Florida in this site-specific exhibition. Situated Body reimagines the classical human form through contemporary materials, especially felt, transforming traditional sculpture into colorful, expressive abstraction. Inspired by both pre-Columbian traditions and the Art Center’s Mayan Revival architecture, Alonso’s work, created during his 2025 residency at A&H, challenges assumptions about form, identity, and material.

Circus magic reaches new heights as the Circus Arts Conservatory announces "Circus Sarasota™ EPIC"—a jaw-dropping assembly of some of the planet's most extraordinary performers, including record-shattering daredevils and beloved "America's Got Talent" stars, coming together for just 23 days. This annual one-of-a-kind production of circus artistry arrives Sat, February 14 to Sun, March 8, 2026, under the iconic Big Top at Nathan Benderson Park.

Circus Sarasota™ EPIC features performers collectively holding more than 18 world records, including juggling phenomenon Danyl Lysenko making his North American debut, hand-balancing virtuoso Quincy Azzario (Gold and Silver Clown winner at Monte Carlo), master of balance Rubel Medini, and the breathtaking aerial straps of Duo Disar. Ringmaster Joseph Dominic Bauer, 15th-generation circus artist, returns to lead audiences through performances that honor Sarasota's rich circus heritage while introducing contemporary acts. The lineup also includes Duo Sirca Marea - Le Cadre, finalists on "America's Got Talent" 2025, performing their heart-stopping blindfolded aerial cradle act, and circus comic Chris Allison, Ringling Bros.' former Boss Clown and AGT alum, who will have the audience doubling over in laughs. The Olate Family Dogs, winners of AGT Season 7, bring their award-winning rescue dog spectacular, while international sensation Florian Blümmel, fresh from "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," delivers his world-famous artistic bike act. Precision, power, and raw courage collide with The Wheel of Steel, performed by The Cardenas Team from Chile, and more!

This family-friendly show is 50% off for opening weekend courtesy of ABC7; tickets are available at CircusArts.org or by calling 941-355-9805.

Hermitage Sunsets @ Selby Gardens: “The Highs and Lows of Going Solo,” featuring Hermitage Fellows Morgan Bassichis and Doug Wright, Thursday, February 19, 5:30pm: Hermitage Fellow Morgan Bassichis is a comedian, musician, and writer who has been called “fiercely hilarious” (The New Yorker) and “a tall child or, well… a big bird” (The Nation). Their hit show Can I Be Frank? is a solo piece about the late performer Frank Maya that recently completed an acclaimed Off-Broadway run. Returning Hermitage Fellow Doug Wright knows something about solo shows as well, having won a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award for his iconic Broadway play I Am My Own Wife, based on the true story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. Bassichis and Wright will be in conversation about the challenges and opportunities of the form and will treat us to excerpts of their work in the beautiful sunken gardens at Selby Gardens’ Historic Spanish Point as the sun sets into the bay. Presented in partnership with Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. Registration is required at HermitageArtistRetreat.org ($5/person registration fee). Selby Gardens’ Historic Spanish Point, 401 North Tamiami Trail, Osprey, FL 34229

Now in its 16th year, Make-A-Wish® Southern Florida's Cooking for Wishes is a four-course, interactive dinner where guests at each table prepare their own meal under the direction of Executive Chef Jamil Piñeda and Phil Mancini of Michael’s on East. The evening features wine selected by Michael Klauber, a live auction, and perspective from a family on the life-changing nature of its wish experience.

Hosted by Michael’s on East co-owners Phil Mancini and Michael Klauber, with event chairs Terri Klauber, Renee Phinney, and Lauren McComb Dixon, Cooking for Wishes returns this year with the theme “Studio 54: A Night of Funk and Flavor,” raising critical funds to help grant life-changing wishes for local children with critical illnesses.

Make-A-Wish Southern Florida has granted more than 15,000 life-changing wishes since 1983 for children who have critical illnesses. It aims to grant a wish for every medically-eligible child in its territory and understands these experiences are more than nice, they’re necessary to the health and well-being of families at a critical time in their lives.

Wish kids most often ‘wish to be’ (something), ‘wish to meet’ (someone), ‘wish to go’ (somewhere), ‘wish to have’ (something), or ‘wish to give’ (something) and the nonprofit organization makes this happen for the child and his/her entire family at no cost or obligation.

The Southern Florida chapter’s territory includes 22 counties/four regions: the Suncoast (Sarasota, Manatee, and surrounding counties), Tampa Bay, southeast and southwest Florida. It also includes the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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!