To pick the 50 art pieces and matching quotations for its 22nd season, Embracing Our Differences judges had to study more than 10,000 submissions from 122 countries, 46 states and 511 schools.
The exhibition, which annually shares images and messages designed to inspire kindness and respect, runs Jan. 19-April 13 at Bayfront Park in Sarasota, with a matching showcase in St. Petersburg’s Poynter Park March 1-31.
Last year, more than 14,000 students participated in live and virtual field trips, with thousands more visitors exploring the large posters set up in the park.
Two five-person panels of judges evaluated the artwork and the quotations separately, and then another group set out to match the quotes with the art.
“That’s always the most challenging and exciting part of the selection process,” said Executive Director Sarah Wertheimer. “You start reading quotations and you think that will be great with this piece, but then you see another one and think this one is so much better. It’s this game until we’re able to get them all matched.”
The artists and writers are not involved in how their creations are matched, but the result is a display that can feature a colorful woven depiction of people from different cultures in their native or traditional dress holding hands, paired with the phrase “A vibrant tapestry of unity can only be woven from threads of diversity.”
The focus on diversity, inclusion and respect has caused problems in recent years for Embracing Our Differences, which was founded on highlighting those principles.
Two years ago, State College of Florida canceled a planned one-month display of the main exhibition because Embracing Our Differences would not remove art that included the words “diversity,” “inclusion,” “justice” and “equality.” College officials feared they might run against new state regulations.
Last year, the Sarasota County Commission vetoed funding from tourist tax revenues for the organization, ostensibly because it doesn’t sell or issue tickets for visitors and can not verify how many people attend from out of the region. That argument forced the annual Chalk Festival to sell tickets for its November exhibit. Commissioners also rejected funding for Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, known for its diverse entertainment programs.
At the time Wertheimer said commissioners “have chosen to politicize the work we do though we are not a political organization in any way, shape or form. They have chosen to politicize human rights and human beings.”
During a recent interview, Wertheimer said because the display is set up in a City of Sarasota park, it is not possible to charge admission or require tickets from those attending.
“We can’t because it’s in a public park, but we don’t want to,” she said. “The mission is to bring the arts to everyone.”
Despite losing county money, as well as state funding for arts and culture vetoed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, Wertheimer said this year’s exhibit will be “operating as we have for the past 22 years. The full exhibition will be on display throughout the park. We will not be segregating ‘certain’ artworks into a back section.”
There have been issues in years past about individual pieces that some thought were inappropriate for young visitors.
The organization has, however, selected artworks recommended for different age groups, like K-2, grades 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12.
“There are selected artworks that student docents know to bring those students to, that are most appropriate and more easily discussed and they are approved by the school district,” she said.
Those trips are overseen by Embracing Our Differences’ education department, which recently hired Patrick Arthur Jackson as vice president of learning and engagement. Jackson previously worked in the education departments at American Stage in St. Petersburg and at Florida Studio Theatre.
“The beauty of the organization, from when I was at FST partnering with Embracing Our Differences, is the impact of good it was having with the schools, on instilling that sense of optimism and hope.”
Students take part in roughly 30-minute tours, which can be arranged virtually or in person, with either adult or high school student docents. (Embracing Our Differences pays for buses to bring students to the exhibit.)
Docents use visual-thinking strategies, pioneered at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which “ask the students what they see and what it says to them so we’re not regurgitating what this art piece means,” Wertheimer said. That strategy is designed to get the students more engaged with the artwork and messages.
After the loss of county and state funding, Sarasota real estate developer and philanthropist Hugh Culverhouse Jr. donated more than $107,000 to make up for the vetoed money. Wertheimer said she hopes the “community will continue to step up and understand that this is not a one-year challenge. We have no county funding and we’re not sure what the state will do, so we don’t know if we can count on any of that.”
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The organization provides $2,000 awards for adults and student winners for artwork and quotations. The student prizes are split with their school’s art program.
The Best-in-Show Adult Artwork Award went to Amanda Marie of Manchester, Connecticut for “Through Your Story,” which the organization said depicts a shelf of curated books that “symbolizes the transformative power of literature to foster understanding, amplify voices and inspire personal and collective growth through shared narratives.” That piece has been paired with the message: “With each story I hear, I gain a piece to the puzzle that is me,” contributed by Sierra Dickerson of Sarasota.
The Best-in-Show Student Artwork Award goes to Junho Chung, an 11th-grade student from Seoul, Republic of Korea, for “Nevertheless,” in which a ballerina and a child navigate the ruins of a war-torn landscape. It is matched with the quote: “Love extracts beauty from the depths of ugliness, joy from the face of sadness, hope from the pit of despair,” contributed by Asmaa Mohammed Mustafa of Baghdad, Iraq.
The Best-in-Show Adult Quotation Award is “Choosing to speak when others are silent is an act of bravery this world needs” from Kim Howard of Bloomington, Indiana. And The Best-in-Show Student Quotation is “We can choose to build bridges or spend a lifetime lost on our own islands,” contributed by Aashna Parsa, a seventh-grade student from San Jose, California.
While the Sarasota display is ongoing, Embracing Our Differences will set up a matching exhibit in Poynter Park in St. Petersburg for the month of March.
“We’re very excited about returning to the community and to be expanding the programs and education and field trips and working with so many organizations in Pinellas County,” Wertheimer said.
Runs 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Jan. 19-April 13 at Bayfront Park, 5 Bayfront Dr., Sarasota. Free. Grand opening celebration is noon-3 p.m. Jan. 19 with live music, interactive activities, food trucks and representatives from arts and education organizations. Also March 1-31, Poynter Park, Third St., South and Ninth Ave., South, St. Petersburg. Open sunrise to 11 p.m. daily. embracingourdifferences.org…Read more by Jay Handelman