The Exchange Awards $250,000 to Local Arts Groups and Students

The Exchange (formerly the Woman’s Exchange) announced that it will award $250,000 to 20 regionally based arts and cultural organizations. The grant winners were selected for engaging the public with popular programs that promote diversity and civic engagement, while offering educational opportunities to area students. The groups are also chosen on the basis of their long-term stability and financial health. Nine high school students and 13 college students will also receive scholarships, on the basis of their grades, artistic goals, accomplishments and letters of recommendation. The Exchange will award this year’s grants and scholarships at the 2019 Grants Awards Celebration on June 6 at The Exchange. The event is invitation-only.

Karen Koblenz is The Exchange’s executive director and CEO. She says these annual awards make a vital difference throughout the community.

“We’re proud to invest in our home-grown creative talents,” she says. “And that investment has clearly paid off. The cultural arts industry is a powerful tourist magnet and essential to our region’s economic health.”

According to Koblenz, The Exchange’s grants empower a wide range of programs and projects, including educational outreaches, exhibitions, performances, and special series. “These creative initiatives come in many forms,” she says. “But they share a common purpose. They bring us together and help give Sarasota its character,” she says. “You can’t really separate our thriving arts and cultural community from the community as a whole. The arts set us apart from every other beach community in the state.”

The money is raised entirely through The Exchange’s 15,000-square-foot consignment boutique in downtown Sarasota. Since 1962, The Exchange has awarded more than $8 million in grants to local non-profits and high school and college students pursuing a higher education in the arts.

“Our grants empower the creative visionaries of today,” says Koblenz. “Our scholarships empower the creative leaders of tomorrow. It’s really two sides of the same coin.”

Grant recipients for the 2018/2019 fiscal year:

• Arts and Cultural Alliance: “Inspire Sarasota” program
• Art Center of Sarasota: “Slice of Art” program
• Asolo Theatre, Inc.: 2019-2020 season
• Choral Artists of Sarasota: 2019 July 4^th “Patriotic Tribute” concert
• Florida Studio Theatre: 2019-2020 winter and summer cabaret series
• FSU/Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training: 2019 Dog Days Theatre series
• Jazz Club of Sarasota: 40^th anniversary season
• JoMo Productions, Inc.: “Lil and Louis”
• Key Chorale: “Voices of Light: Joan of Arc”
• La Musica di Aslo: Educational outreach programs
• Manatee Concert Band: 2019-2020 season
• Perlman Music Program: Student outreach programs
• Players Theatre: 2019-2020 season
• Sarasota Cuban Ballet School: “On Stage” program
• Sarasota Opera: Sarasota Youth Opera’s performance of “Brundibar”
• Sarasota Orchestra: Young Person’s Concerts program
• Van Wezel Foundation, Inc.: Exchange Family Arts Access
• Venice Chorale: 2019-2020 season
• Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe: 2019-2020 mainstage season

Scholarship recipients for the 2019/2020 fiscal year:

High School: Sydney Catalfino (Booker High; animation); Andrea Guaita (homeschool          ; music performance/violin); Charlotte Corporan (Booker High; music); Kiara Harris (Booker High; graphic design); Isabelle Yau Martin (The Broach School; studio arts); Taylor Reister (Booker High; musical theater); Sydney Anne Robinson (Booker VPA; musical theater); Jillian Steffens (Venice High; vocal performance); Luca Stine (homeschool; virtual jazz performance/trumpet).

College: Margaux Albiez (New College of Florida; Bachelor of Fine Arts); Summer Altier (Florida State University; string performance; violin); Victoria Byrd (Boston Conservatory-Berklee; musical theater); Emily Cain (Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst; architecture); Melanie Gasparoni (Pratt Institute; communication/design and illustration); Bailey Jordan (University of Notre Dame; architecture); Beatrice Kelly (University of Utah; BFA musical theater); Ariana Koopman (University of Central Florida; BFA emerging media); Laura McKenna (Florida Southern College; BFA; musical theater and vocal performance); Rachel Rice (Ohio Northern University; musical theater); Haley Rosenthal (Boston Conservatory-Berklee; Bachelor Fine Arts, musical theater); Madison Spahn (Boston Conservatory-Berklee; MA in music and voice performance); Olivia Valek (Pace University; BFA in acting).

A consignment store like no other, The Exchange has become a favorite haunt for Sarasota residents and a must-see destination for visitors from around the world. With funds received from its consignment operation, which consists of more than 260 volunteers and 5,000 consignors, The Exchange annually awards grants and scholarships to support the arts and high school and college students in Sarasota and Manatee counties. The 15,000-square-foot boutique offers an ever-changing inventory of affordably priced treasures, including high-end furniture, clothing, jewelry and accessories. The Exchange is located at 539 S. Orange Ave., Sarasota. For more information, call 941-955-7859 or visit www.sarasotawex.com.