Suncoast Black Arts Collaborative and Art Center Sarasota Present The 2021 Student Black Muse Exhibit

February 8, 2021 – Sarasota

The Suncoast Black Arts Collaborative (SBAC) and Art Center Sarasota partnered with four Sarasota County high schools and one middle school to offer students of African descent the opportunity to participate in a visual arts exhibition commemorating Black History Month. The 2021 “Student Black Muse” exhibit, which showcases the works of 20 young artists, is available for viewing virtually through March 5 at www.artcentersarasota.org and www.suncoastblackartscollaborative.org.

According to Michéle Des Verney Redwine, SBAC’s president and founder, a vital element of SBAC’s mission is to offer opportunities for young students of color to find expression in creative outlets. For this exhibit, students in visual art classes at Booker, Riverview, Sarasota, and Northport high schools participated. The initiative also included eighth-grade art students from Booker Middle School. 

Redwine says that SBAC involved students from Booker Middle School as a pilot program, which was created because “students of African descent need encouragement and mentoring to continue creative studies in visual or performing art curricula at the high school level. We developed this initiative as a way to engage students of color to further explore the arts in high school,” says Redwine.

How to prepare students of color to meet the many challenges life presents? 

“One way is to give them opportunities to express themselves through the artistic medium,” says Redwine. “These students were inspired and excited by this opportunity. Their work in this exhibition reflects their talent, life experiences, and ingenuity. We’re thrilled for these exceptional students and proud to show their work.” 

To view the students’ work, visit www.suncoastblackartscollaborative.org or
www.artsarasota.org.

About Art Center Sarasota:
Art Center Sarasota is a membership-based organization that offers curated and juried exhibitions free and open to the public, adult and youth education programs, outreach initiatives for underserved youth, and culturally related public programming. Art Center Sarasota’s mission is to inspire individual creative expression, nurture artistic talent and provide the community with accessible and diverse visual art opportunities. Art Center Sarasota was the first arts and cultural institution in Sarasota. It was founded in 1926 as the “Sarasota Art Association” by Marcia Rader, the art supervisor for the Sarasota County school district. In the early years, the group met monthly and sponsored exhibits in rented facilities. The Association was incorporated as a not-for-profit organization in 1943 and has been in its current location in the Sarasota Bayfront Cultural District since 1949. This year marks the Art Center’s 95^th year serving the Sarasota community.  Visit www.artsarasota.org.   

About the Suncoast Black Arts Collaborative 
The Suncoast Black Arts Collaborative is a nonprofit organization in Sarasota-Manatee, FL. Its mission is to advocate for greater exposure to African American artists and artists of African descent throughout the greater Sarasota-Manatee region and to provide educational forums and symposia to expose area residents, visitors, students, and others to the work of these artists. Visit www.suncoastblackartscollaborative.org.