“The one thing I pride myself in is that every piece I create has a little part of myself in it, whether it's a place I’ve been, something I’ve experienced or just a certain feeling I’ve had. I refer to them as memory shards because they’re not like photographs where I’m trying to replicate a moment that I saw something, but rather just a little blip that went through my mind in a certain way,” says Liz Cole. “I try to put those little elements into each one of my pieces so that they really become a narrative.”

Cole is speaking about the 22 works of hers in her show It’s Primary, now on view at the Unitarian Universalists of Sarasota’s Lexow Art Gallery. Cole, a Sarasota-based artist with an extensive background in both the arts and education–she retired as Associate Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences at Bowling Green State University in 2005–has been creating her own work for as long as she can remember. Cole is a colorist and collagist who employs big, bright colors and expertly layered pieces of collage paper to create pieces that look more like paintings than traditional collages. The pieces found in It’s Primary are emblematic of the type of artist that she is–Cole looks for the beauty, whimsy and jovial in everyday life, transforming scenes of still-life flowers and bucolic landscapes into magical designs. Bright, colorful and buoyant, Cole’s works look almost as if Cubism-era Picasso illustrated a children’s book, in the most complimentary of ways.

Cole creates these paintings from her home studio, where she’s perfected the art of the collage. “The collage part of it really is very integral, oftentimes when colleges are created it’s pieces of paper that are glued onto a canvas to make a textured pattern, but I try to as I say, use it and lose it. I create my own collage paper, using deli paper and it takes me anywhere from three to four hours to do 12 sheets that are really layered with color,” says Cole. “What I do with the paintings themselves is that oftentimes I will replicate the technique I might’ve used on the collage paper so you can’t tell the difference between each layer. I try to play back and forth so it doesn’t look like I’ve just pasted the papers together. It’s knitted together like a color quilt.”

On Exhibit through June 13, 3975 Fruitville Road, Sarasota, 941-371-4974. Liz Cole is also represented in Define Art Gallery and Studio: definegallery.com/artists. 

Pictured: Forest Paths by Liz Cole, Acrylic and Handmade Collage Paper 30 x 30. Photo provided by the artist.

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In response to civil discourse becoming the exception and not the rule, New College of Florida and Global Liberty Institute is hosting the “Reversing the Ideological Capture of Universities and Institutions” Symposium to discuss the issues of the single-ideology mentality this Saturday. Inspired by the current trends that have transpired in recent years among university campuses around the United States, this symposium explores solutions to restore civil discourse and the free exchange of ideas with the focus of decreasing the number of discussions that devolve into threats of violence.

“New College is leading the way in putting American higher education back on track by insisting that all viewpoints be discussed, intimidation is rejected, and thoughtful consideration of ideas replaces indoctrination,” says New College President Richard Corcoran. He believes the symposium is an exciting opportunity for both the College and the broader community to engage in meaningful discourse.

The symposium will feature a distinguished group of 15 experts assembled by Dr. Scott W. Atlas, the Robert Wesson Senior Fellow in health policy at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and New College’s 2023 Commencement Speaker. Composed of panel discussions, each followed by audience Q&A sessions, the symposium comprehensively explores civil discourse through the lens of subjects like economics, law, science and humanities. Speakers like Peter Arcidiacono, a professor of economics at Duke University, and Richard A. Epstein, the Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law at New York University Law School, will bring their diverse expertise, experiences and perspectives to these topics.

“Evidence-based discussion and function are increasingly contaminated by ideology in a wide array of institutions and public agencies,” says Atlas. “The overwhelming majority of universities have betrayed the public trust and in expertise overall by denying fact, spouting politicized opinion as university-endorsed thought, and now emphasizing ideology-based social policies as a guiding light for curriculum. This has damaged trust in institutions essential to a free society.”

Tickets are available to the public for $75, which include a continental breakfast, lunch and a post-event reception and may be purchased up until the event begins. New College is also offering complimentary tickets to interested students, faculty and staff. 

The symposium takes place at the New College Mildred Sainer Pavilion, Saturday, June 1, from 8 am-6 pm. Open to the public.

Click for ticket information.

Fresh Fridays is  heading back to N Palm Ave for their final event of the season. Check out all the shops, galleries, and restaurants along the beautiful and sunny N Palm Avenue. A slight portion of N Palm Ave will be closed off to traffic. Guests will still be able to access the N Palm Ave parking garage. Additional parking is available at the State Street garage, as well. Join in for a night of nautical festivities! The celebrations begin June 7, from 7-10 pm, on Palm Ave. Meet new friendly faces, enjoy tropical refreshments, and rock out to some nostalgic jams. Take in the sunset and sail along with us on land as we cruise through the evening, enjoy coastal cuisine from downtown Sarasota’s tastiest eateries, and sing along to yacht rock classics. Show up and show out in your favorite tropical attire. We’ll see you at N Palm Ave, adjacent to the Art Ovation Hotel. 

Bradenton-based artist Michael R Stevenson will be the artist-in-residence in the Artist Studio at Art Ovation Hotel, 1255 N Palm Avenue, Sarasota, July 2-8.  An opening reception for his exhibit, “Global Rhythms,” is Friday, July 5, 5-7 p.m. The gallery is open daily with the artist in residence, 4 to 8 p.m. each evening. The exhibit showcases Stevenson’s meticulously crafted art quilts, paying homage to the rich textile traditions of cultures around the world. 

Pictured: Bumpy Ride by Michael Stevenson. Photo courtesy of the artist.

The Pops Orchestra of Bradenton and Sarasota’s audience has grown steadily year over year since Robyn Bell stepped in as music director 13 years ago. To meet the growing demand, The Pops added a second concert X years ago, and moved to larger halls, Neel Performing Arts Center and Riverview Performing Arts Center. Eight sold-out concerts in the 2024-25 season entertained nearly 8,000 subscribers and single ticket buyers. In response to that success, The Pops has added a Sunday, 7 pm concert at Riverview Performing Arts Center making nearly 1000 additional seats available to new subscribers now. The remaining single tickets will go on sale August 15, 2024. “In my first season with the Pops, we performed four concerts on Sunday afternoons at the Church of the Palms in Sarasota and one concert on the final Sunday date at the SCF Neel Performing Arts Center,” shares Robyn Bell. “As my memory serves, we had about 250 people in attendance. Now, in my ‘lucky 13th’ season, we are adding a third series for each concert for this 49th season.” Bell has planned a “Pops Potpourri” of four programs highlighting nationally renown tribute artists as well as drawing from local artists of exceptional talent. Season tickets are currently available online at https://ThePopsOrchestra.org or by calling The Pops’ Box Office at 941-926-POPS (7677). Single tickets will go on sale August 15, 2024. 

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MADE IN ITALY | At Coppola Artistica, Guiseppe Coppola shares his lifelong love of Italian ceramics with the Gulf Coast, May/June 2024. 

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