Not two months ago, Matteo Caloiaro was onstage in front of his peers winning an award in the Portrait Society of America’s International Portrait Competition for an oil painting he made of his mother. Today, he’s screen printing octopus graphics on t-shirts. This is not a demotion. “You can find yourself getting into a bit of a rut with a particular style,” Caloiaro says by way of explanation. “And I was looking for new avenues to get some of my other work out there.” And with Santino Surf Designs, named after his newborn son, Caloiaro found that avenue in printing a signature surf clothing line bearing his own original illustrations.

Though a hard pivot from the portraiture and slice-of-life scenes he’s known for, Santino Surf Designs represents, in many ways, a return to Caloiaro’s roots and the years spent surfing on the west coast of Florida, discovering art through the whimsical and offbeat illustrations of OG surf artist Rick Griffin. “Art and surfing go hand-in-hand for me,” he says, and Santino Surf Design’s illustrations play out the nautical theme, featuring everything from aforementioned octopi and grumpy groupers to pelicans perched on pilings and a shot of what looks suspiciously like Caloiaro himself riding a crashing wave emblazoned with the word “Santino.” But just because he’s returning to his roots doesn’t mean Caloiaro isn’t pushing himself forward.

“Sometimes it feels like more pressure,” Caloiaro says of the jump from painting to graphic printing. “Because you can get away with a lot of ambiguity with the way I paint,” he says, “but a logo or graphic has to be very clear.” And whereas part of the beauty of a Caloiaro painting comes from the viewer letting themselves get lost in a sea of brushstrokes and nuanced color work, allowing the artist to demand more of the audience, graphic work is just a different beast altogether—and much less forgiving of artistic indulgence. “The idea needs to be communicated easily and the imagery has to be very readable,” says Caloiaro. “That forces me to simplify a lot, which has been very challenging.”

There have also been mechanical challenges, as every shirt is printed by the artist himself—with no computer shortcuts. From the initial pen-and-ink design, Caloiaro creates what is called a linocut. Much like woodblock printing, linocuts are made by carving the image into a pad of linoleum, which can then be inked up and used as a stamp. For Caloiaro they become the basis of a silkscreen, which, with a little tutelage from fellow Ringling College instructor Steven Strenk, Caloiaro uses to print the image onto t-shirts, hoodies and, soon enough, hats.

And though today it’s octopi, gnarly and tentacled, Caloiaro looks forward to releasing new designs each month over the summer, building to a Fall or Winter collection. “I’m getting to play around,” he says. “I’ll never walk away from painting, but this allows me a different outlet.”

Currently available only online, Caloiaro hopes to bring Santino Surf Designs to skate and surf shops in the next year. 

Pictured: Matteo Caloiaro sports one of Santino Surf Design's new shirts on a surf trip. Photo by Pascal Koch.

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“I love that this project is being produced again today, because we are in such polarizing times. says Kate Alexander, director of Florida Studio Theatre’s Black Pearl Sings!“ It’s wonderful to bring back a piece that takes place in a time that was also very polarizing and racially divided with barriers for women, immigrants and minorities. It just feels right and reminds us that we’re all a part of the same family, the human family.”

This summer’s production marks Alexander’s second run as the director of Black Pearl Sings!, which was originally developed by FST as a part of their 2008 Burdick Reading Series before premiering in the company’s Winter Mainstage Series in April 2009. Now, over a decade later, Black Pearl Sings! is returning to FST’s Keating Theatre from June 28 to July 30. The play, set in 1935 Depression Era Texas, follows the relationship between two women from starkly different backgrounds: Susannah, a Library of Congress musicologist set on finding and recording undocumented slave songs and Pearl, an African-American inmate in a high-security female-prison whose memory holds a large collection of undocumented slave-era music.

“The play tells the story of two women, Susannah and Pearl, who form the unlikeliest of bonds. Susannah is an anomaly of her era, she wants more than what’s expected from her and is trying to make her mark on the world in by part by collecting, what she calls slavery songs, in the vernacular of the time,” says Alexander. “One day when visiting a prison she hears the most amazing singing voice–which happens to be Pearl singing from her jail cell–and so begins an extraordinary relationship between two women in their discovery of their personal power, the importance of heritage and how we all are so deeply connected by our humanity.”

Black Pearl Sings!, June 28 to July 30, Florida Studio Theatre, 1241 North Palm Avenue, Sarasota, 941-366-9000. 

Pictured: Black Pearl Sings! at Florida Studio Theatre. Photo courtesy of FST.

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Running June 30 to July 2, The Players Centre is happy to produce the 2020 winner of The Players New Play Festival, The Mantle by Jalex Scott. Directed by Amanda Schlachter, this production will take place in The Players’ new black box theatre in the Rosemary District, Space is limited, and there will be a talkback after each performance led by Artistic Director Steven Butler.

On the anniversary of the most traumatic experience of his life, Benny Craft records a suicide note and sets it up to post on social media at midnight. Armed with a to-do list and pursued by a handsome, pushy stranger, he sets off on his ‘last day’ to visit his therapist and the two most important women in his life. But is Benny really looking to say goodbye or desperately searching for a reason to not have to?Trigger Warning: Adult language and content, discussion of suicide. Dates: July 7-8 at 7:30pm; July 9 at 2pm.

1400 Blvd. of the Arts, Suite 200 (Second Floor) Sarasota, FL 34236. 

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Creative Liberties Artist Studios and Gallery, based on a foundation of artists helping artists, continues its season’s offerings with an all-packed July. The “#artfail: Stories from the Artistic Journey,” exhibit at 927 N Lime Avenue continues through July 29 with artwork documenting "failures" artists make on their journey of creation. 

Pictured: Shakuntala Persaud and sons at Family Art Day.

The 39th annual Sarasota Powerboat Grand Prix, produced by P1 Offshore in partnership with Visit Sarasota County, will return to Sarasota County with two days of high-performance powerboat racing along Lido Beach. This free to watch event will attract more than 60 powerboat racing teams from Europe, Australia, Canada and the United States. Sarasota is the second longest-running US powerboat race, after the Key West Championship. Unlike other racing locations, Sarasota offers a more technical racecourse with varying degrees of turns and obstacles for powerboat competitors. The weekend kicks off with a pit party on Friday, June 30th at the Van Wezel pits, which will feature live music from Nashville recording artist Andy Velo, food trucks, vendors, and a chance for visitors to view the powerboats. The pre-event party is open to the public and will begin at 6:00PM. The first race of the weekend kicks off at 1:00 PM on Saturday, July 1st. The schedule for the entire weekend can be seen here: https://p1offshore.com/Race-info/Sarasota/2023/86693. Spectators are welcome to watch the races from Lido Beach at no cost, but those interested in upgrading their viewing experience can purchase VIP tickets online at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-39th-annual-sarasota-grand-prix-tickets-601417805847. 

A Daughter's Final Gift | Director Brooklyn Sudano on Love to Love You, Donna Summer, the documentary she made about her mother Donna Summer, May/June 2023. 

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