The process for selecting art in the State Street Parking Garage will start anew, following a decision by Sarasota City Commissioners to toss plans to award $100,000 to the son-in-law of the city’s parking director. After a scandal that resulted in three city employees suffering suspensions and cuts in pay, commissioners say they had no choice but to reboot the process. “This is the only way that we have a process free of taint,” said Mayor Shelli Freeland Eddie.

The decision discards a year’s worth of work into selecting an artist to install murals and sculptures at the newly constructed parking garage. A total of 23 artists submitted proposals for the contract. Commissioners said artists are free to resubmit.

The previous process got derailed after an April meeting of the Public Art Committee, where members heard from five finalists chosen to develop detailed proposals for the board. Committee members ultimately divided 2-2 between two presentations, one from Mark Krucke and one from Michael Parker and Richie Brasil. The committee then consulted with Parking Director Mark Lyons, who said the use of spray paint in the Parker-Brasil proposal would be a “terrible idea” and that the project lacked wayfinding practicality; he never disclosed that Krucke was married to his daughter. The committee then broke 3-1 in favor of Krucke’s proposal.

An investigation later determined Krucke and two city officials with knowledge of the relationship, Planning Manager David Smith and Planner Clifford Smith, handled the situation improperly. City Attorney Robert Fournier recommended commissioners cancel the original call to artists, saying those who did not get selected could say the city treated their proposals unfairly. The move doesn’t completely shield the city from a lawsuit now, but Fournier said the city will be in a more defensible position because it cancelled the call without ever awarding a final contract. Furthermore, Fournier said conflicts of interest should have been disclosed before the Committee made its recommendation, and that the fact Lyons had been involved in crafting the original call to artists further complicated matters.

Krucke told commissioners this move effectively punished the artist for a mistake by city administration. “The administration did know about this relationship,” he says. “They tried to uphold the integrity of the Art Committee by not disclosing it… [The Committee] made an unbiased recommendation at that date.” A number of local artists came to a City Commission meeting in Krucke’s defense, but commissioners ultimately responded that liability outweighed other concerns.

City Commissioner Hagen Brody said he intentionally did not look at any of the artwork because the problem ultimately came in the failure for staff to reveal the relationship to the committee. “I want our staff to know this is unacceptable,” Brody said. “Full disclosure of issues and conflicts should be the standard. This whole process has been upsetting to watch.” 

A quintessential blue bungalow with a silver trailer parked out front, Canned Ham Vintage holds racks stuffed with vintage dresses, jackets and shirts, hats propped up to the ceiling and retro furniture making for kitchen and living room vignettes. In the center of the packed and colorful bungalow sits a display of jewelry. Amongst the assortment, an especially eye-catching piece shines through, a yellow bakelite bangle. The translucent plastic, a classic of the 1940s, stands out due to a seascape of fish, seaweed, jellyfish and other aquatic creatures carved into it by a local artist. Now a dying art, carving into the bakelite poses as a hazard because the artist would breathe in loose pieces of the plastic. As a result, few artists remain, making Canned Ham’s carved bangles a rarity and lucky find. It can be shown off on its own or paired with others but regardless of how you choose to wear it, the bangle proves as a pop of color and perfect accessory for any outfit, vintage or modern.  

Photo by Shelby Schwartz.

Canned Ham Vintage, 1435 7th St., Sarasota, 941-313-1280.

The William G. and Marie Selby Foundation has recently approved a grant of $250,000 to the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe (WBTT) in support of its "Heart & Soul" capital campaign. The fundraising effort, which has a goal of $6 million, will transform the organization's 2.5-acre, two-building campus at 10th Street and Orange Avenue into a cohesive, state-of-the-art performing arts center, enable the organization to more fully develop its education program and create an endowment fund for the future of the troupe. The Selby Foundation's grant will help to renovate the building on the front of the campus, called the Binz Building, which will become the headquarters for WBTT's administrative offices and education and outreach programs. The building will include a first-floor education wing; a 4,000-square-foot space that will mainly function as three multi-purpose education rooms but can also transform into an event space with a capacity of up to 200 dining guests for theatre or private functions; a second floor with weekday box office, conference room and administrative offices; a library; and a 6,000-square-foot rooftop garden terrace event space for patrons and other community organizations. To show its gratitude for the generous funding, WBTT will name the second floor of the building The William G. & Marie Selby Foundation Administrative Wing. Currently, the Heart & Soul campaign has reached $3.9 million and the community is invited to be a part of the effort. 

Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe Capital Campaign

Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation has recently awarded All Star Children’s Foundation a $1 million grant to help fund a partnership with Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital (JHACH) in designing a groundbreaking new trauma-informed treatment program. The Barancik Foundation’s investment brings world-class talent from Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital to Sarasota County to care for children in the community and begin to create a new medical model for treating trauma. This four-year grant will fund a director of pediatric psychological trauma and intervention at Johns Hopkins, train trauma-certified licensed therapists at All Star’s Sarasota campus and support development, implementation and evaluation of therapeutic interventions for abused children. Ideally, this treatment would be provided at a comprehensive center. That center would integrate trauma-sensitive principles (safety, trust, choice, empowerment and collaboration) throughout its physical environment, treatment programs and staff interactions. The facility will provide abused children, ages 0-18, with a nurturing, family-style home environment and comprehensive, trauma-sensitive treatment. Siblings will be kept together and parents and caregivers will also be offered a range of innovative services informed by the latest findings in neural research. The new campus will also be home to All Star’s community outreach program, which will serve children in the region’s child welfare system and their families on an outpatient basis. The campus is set for completion in late summer of 2018. 

All Star Children's Foundation