Around Town | Tania Castroverde Moskalenko

By Julie Milton | Photo by Nancy Guth | June 2024

Challenging tasks are something Tania Castroverde Moskalenko thrives on.  In her twenty plus years leading arts and cultural nonprofits, she has a proven track record of success across many organizational facets including philanthropy, exceptional programming, and positive social impact.  

After a national search, the board of Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation selected Moskalenko to champion arts education for the Foundation and lead the vision for the new Sarasota Performing Arts Center in The Bay.  Her results driven career includes many impressive arts and cultural leadership positions with her most recent post as ED of the Miami City Ballet.

We are delighted that Moskalenko agreed to answer our questions and share her thoughts on how she will lead Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation into its next phase and ensure Sarasota’s continued future as a culturally vibrant place.

Welcome to Sarasota! It’s been a few months since you assumed your new role at SPAF.  What will be different about your approach to leading this important foundation? Thank you for the warm welcome! I’m thrilled to be joining the Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation at such an exciting time. My foremost objective is to infuse our organization with a renewed sense of vision and purpose. I’ll be focusing on strategic alignment and maximizing our impact. By identifying key priorities and initiatives that align with our mission and values, we can ensure that our efforts create meaningful and sustainable change. I’m committed to working closely with our staff, board, and partners to leverage our resources effectively and make a lasting difference in the community.

For those new to our area, please share the mission and goals of SPAF. Our mission is to create and sustain a vibrant performing arts center, advance education, and enrich communities by inspiring minds through the power of the arts.

Our strategic goals include: to create a state-of-the-art Sarasota performing arts center that will be a cultural icon and civic asset; to bolster communication of the vision for the new performing arts center to engender broad support; and, to deepen and broaden the current work in arts education and explore new platforms that enhance quality of life for children and adults through the arts.

Please tell our readers why it is so important for the city of Sarasota to have a new performing arts hall and what do you say to those who are opposed to tearing down our current performing arts hall due to its representation as a landmark example of Sarasota’s Mid-Century Modern architectural heritage. There are two very distinct questions here. 

A new Sarasota Performing Arts Center will celebrate community, culture, and nature. Our goals are to surprise and delight audiences, empower learners of every age, nurture innovative artists, and create extraordinary experiences. The Center will be a modern, technologically advanced home for arts and culture, that will celebrate the legacy of the Van Wezel while meeting the needs of contemporary audiences and performers. It will be flood resilient and sustainable, more regionally competitive, and designed to be inviting and inclusive. Our aim is to break down barriers to arts access and to be an arts center for all.  

I appreciate your second question, and I want to share from the heart. Having had the privilege of leading Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre, a 4,000-seat national historic landmark built in 1889, I’ve developed a profound admiration for our architectural legacies. Personally, I hold a deep respect for our heritage and believe in safeguarding it for future generations, provided it doesn’t jeopardize the safety and well-being of our citizens. When it comes to decisions regarding Van Wezel Hall, the Purple Ribbon Committee is studying and evaluating financially sustainable options, as well as the use, purpose, and lease of the facilities. Their thoughtful and meticulous analysis will result in recommendations to the City Commission. 

Building a new performing arts hall will be expensive.  What is the current funding status and how important is local philanthropy to this project?Local philanthropy will play a crucial role in funding the new Sarasota Performing Arts Center. Traditionally, local philanthropists, foundations, and businesses contribute significant funds to support the construction and ongoing operations of arts and cultural facilities. Their contributions not only provide financial support but also demonstrate community commitment to the arts, which will help attract additional funding from other sources. 

We recognize we have an arduous task ahead, but we are preparing for it. Our focus right now is on strengthening our team, management, and planning efforts, bolstering our governance and board, and enhancing our fundraising capacity.

What are your plans to garner more local support?  Can we expect more fundraising events like the annual Transformation Gala?To garner more local support, we’re expanding our outreach efforts through multiple channels. We’re planning to host a series of fundraising events throughout the year, including events similar to the recent Transformation Gala. These events will not only raise funds but also serve as opportunities for the community to come together, engage, celebrate, and envision a new performing arts center.

In addition, we’re organizing informational sessions across the city and county. These sessions will provide a platform for community members to ask questions, share their own vision for a new performing arts center, and understand how their support can make a difference. We believe that by fostering transparency and dialogue, we can cultivate stronger relationships with our local community and garner their ongoing support.

Bringing performing arts to local children has been a Foundation mission since its inception.  So many schoolchildren are inspired on many levels from the programs offered by SPAF.  Please tell our readers more about this. We were founded in 1987 with a mission to support arts education programs at the Van Wezel Hall. Since that time, our support has reached $17M to ensure that children have access to arts programming. Over the last few years arts education and community engagement/empowerment programs have increased significantly. Not only does the VWH continue to provide schooltime performances for students, but they have also expanded programming outside of the hall. Likewise, the SPAF has created new programs that reach under resourced students and differently abled students. Through partnerships with schools and community organizations, we offer workshops, performances, and mentorship opportunities, fostering creativity, cultural appreciation, and lifelong learning among youth.

You served as executive director of the Miami City Ballet.  Have you had the chance to attend a performance by The Sarasota Ballet or any other arts organizations in town? Absolutely! I had the privilege of attending The Sarasota Ballet’s performance in April, which included Las Hermanas, a fabulous work I had never seen by Kenneth MacMillan. The piece is based on Federico Garcia Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba and it’s quite dark and tragic. The complexities of the story, the movement, and the music, kept me engaged the entire time. 

I also had the opportunity to attend Circus Sarasota and Cirque des Voix, a partnership between the Circus Arts Conservatory, Key Chorale, and the Cirque Orchestra. Both performances were fantastic!

Finally, I’ve attended a number of performances at Van Wezel Hall. The most memorable was Hamilton because it was the first time my 15-year-old twins saw the show, and I had never seen them so excited about American history!

Exploring a new town is always fun. Once your daily work is done, where can we see you around town?  What are some of your new favorite places? Let’s be clear, my daily work is never done!

If you would like to know more about Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation or make a donation to its cause, please visit www.PerformingArtsFoundation.org.