Patti Smith Returns to Selby Gardens

October 11, 2023 – Sarasota

Global icon and Artist in Residence at Selby Gardens, Patti Smith returns with a special performance at the Downtown Sarasota campus on November 15, 2023, at 7:00 p.m.  

The one-hour performance, “An Evening with Patti Smith Dedicated to Georgia O’Keeffe”, is a prelude to Selby Gardens’ upcoming Goldstein Exhibition, Yayoi Kusama: A Letter to Georgia O’Keeffe. 

Advance tickets for Selby Garden Members will go on sale Thursday, October 19. The remaining tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, October 20, and can be purchased at selby.org

This is Smith’s third visit to Selby Gardens – with an additional visit planned for 2024. Her visits have combined public activities such as readings and performances with private time drawing creative inspiration from the organization’s two bayfront campuses and world-renowned collections.

Jennifer Rominiecki, president and CEO of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens stated, “It is an honor for Selby Gardens to have Patti Smith as our very first Artist in Residence. Patti’s revolutionary mergence of artistic mediums resonates with our organization on many levels as we continue to develop interdisciplinary programming. All of us at Selby Gardens can’t wait to experience Patti’s innovative practice once again!”

Smith’s blossoming relationship with Selby Gardens stems from the Gardens’ 2022 Jean & Alfred Goldstein Exhibition, “Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith: Flowers, Poetry, and Light.” The show explored Mapplethorpe’s flower photography and Smith’s lyrics and poetry about flowers and nature, in dialogue with original horticultural installations inspired by their art.

Smith first visited Selby Gardens in February 2022 to tour “Flowers, Poetry, and Light” and perform songs and readings she selected to complement the exhibition. She called the interdisciplinary show “a beguiling exhibition” and said she “was very moved to be asked to be a part of it.” Smith returned in April 2022 for a second live performance, at which the new residency was announced.

Smith’s visits and performances to date have been sponsored by Selby Gardens Trustee Marianne McComb and her husband, William.