Embracing Our Differences’ 20th Anniversary Exhibit to North Port

March 8, 2023 – Sarasota

“Always remember you are braver than you think and stronger than you believe.”  This is one of 50 inspirational quotations that is showcased at Embracing Our Differences’ 20th annual outdoor art exhibit, entitled “Embracing Kindness.” The exhibit, which is still on display at Bayfront Park in Sarasota through March 12, next moves to Butler Park in North Port on March 22 and will be on display until April 19. The exhibit features 50 billboard-sized images created by local, national and international artists, writers and students reflecting their interpretations of the theme “enriching lives through diversity and inclusion.” The North Port exhibit opens with a free, family-friendly event on March 25 in Butler Park, noon to 3 p.m. The event features music by Monkey Finger. Local arts and education organizations will have booths featuring interactive, kid-friendly activities, and Casa de Uruguay, The “Q” Ice Cream Truck and My Trucking Tacos food trucks will be stationed at the event.  For more information, visit www.embracingourdifferences.org.

“We are thrilled that Embracing Our Differences has expanded to North Port for its annual exhibition. For 20 years, this nonprofit has used the power of art to promote the themes of kindness and unity, qualities that are embodied by the people of our city,” said Jerome Fletcher, North Port’s City Manager. “We’d like to thank EOD for giving us the opportunity to welcome visitors to North Port and showcase our beautiful parks and friendly community.”

Sarah Wertheimer, executive director of EOD, says that her team is excited to have been asked to display the exhibit in North Port. “Today, the messages of Embracing Our Differences—that of inclusion, respect and kindness—is more vital than ever,” says Wertheimer.

2023 marks the 20^th anniversary of the exhibit. Wertheimer explains that the past 20 years have been ones of monumental growth, forward movement—and many milestones.

“Our first call to artists received 124 submissions,” says Wertheimer. “This year, we received 13,733 from 119 countries. And we’re thrilled that annual visitor attendance has quadrupled since we began. Less than 100,000 people attended the first exhibit; we had almost 400,000 last year.”

2023 ART WINNERS:

The Best-in-Show Adult winner for art is for “We Are All Pearls” by Whittney de Araújo, of Recife, Brazil. In it, eight women, seen from behind, sit on a bench in a museum staring at a wall with eight different paintings of a woman. The artist says she used the painting, “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” by Johannes Vermeer as a reference for the eight paintings in her work. As the viewer glances more deeply, we see the paintings reflect the diversity in color, size, physical ability, style and ethnicity of the women on the bench. “It doesn’t matter what you look like, your race, orientation, or sexual identity, where you’re from, or whether you have a disability,” says de Araújo. “Representation matters and makes a difference in the life of each person.”

 Alexis Lee, a 10th grade student at the Icon Art Academy in Irvine, CA., won the Best-in-Show Student award for her work, “Stretching Beauty,” which depicts a thin ballerina who sees herself as much larger in the mirror. “Body dysmorphia is something so many people go through as they try to reach the extremely demanding beauty standards of society, which usually lead to eating disorders,” says Lee. “I have a close friend in the hospital recovering from anorexia, so this theme means a lot to me, and I definitely think that there should be more body positivity in today’s society.”

2023 QUOTATION WINNERS:

The award for the Best-in-Show Adult inspirational quotation was given to Alexis Morrell of Wolcott, Connecticut for: “It takes more courage to speak in a silent room than to become another voice in a crowd.”

The award for the Best-in-Show Student inspirational quotation was given to Hartley Livesey, a fifth grade student at The Out-of-Door Academy for “Always remember you are braver than you think and stronger than you believe.” Hartley’s teacher is Mrs. Gulacsy.

Embracing Our Differences’ annual outdoor exhibits are the heart of a year-round program of activities designed to use art as a catalyst to create awareness and promote diversity.

For more information about Embracing Our Differences, call 941-404-5710 or visit www.embracingourdifferences.org.