EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ArtCenter Manatee In the illustration above Carla Nierman is imagined in the new home of ArtCenter Manatee which breaks ground this month. Downtown Bradenton will have a beautiful new addition when ArtCenter Manatee opens its new center in 2024. The center has been fortunate to have steady, constant leadership in Carla who has been there 17 years and has done it all at ArtCenter Manatee with the past ten years as executive director. “I’ve seen art transform lives. Art is so healing on so many levels… it’s about expressing our hearts and souls.” 16 WEST COAST WOMAN <strong>SEPT</strong>EMBER <strong>2023</strong>
Time to Review Your Financial Plan Amanda can help you assess and assist with a “check-in” on your personal finances. Call today 941-914-1560. Amanda E. Stiff, MBA Financial Advisor owntown Bradenton will have a beautiful new addition when ArtCenter Manatee opens its new center that’s set to break ground this month. And it will be striking, like a beautiful work of art that will draw more visitors to their exhibits and more to their classes while sending a clear message that the arts are vibrant in Manatee County and in downtown Bradenton. I had the opportunity to visit their current location at 209 Ninth Street West in downtown Bradenton. I’d been there before a few times, especially to see their watercolor exhibits, but this time it was behind the scenes, where the offices are. It’s a bit cozy there on the back end, and it’s obvious top priority are the exhibits and classes, but even they’re small for such a growing community. The center has been fortunate to have steady, constant leadership in Carla who has been there 17 years and has done it all at ArtCenter Manatee beginning at “ground level” as she calls it, with the past ten years as executive director. “The beauty of it is I learned all about the organization” and that means she’s worked with artists, collectors, members, and the community at large while assuming more responsibilities over the years. The ArtCenter was founded in 1937, moved a few times and has been at their current location since 1953 where they have a nearly 10,000 sq. ft. building with three galleries with exhibits that change monthly, and five classrooms that offer over 300 classes every year (all summer <strong>2023</strong> classes sold out). They also have a gift shop, the Live Artfully Artisan Boutique, and an art library featuring over 3,000 art volumes. In all, Art- Center Manatee receives over 30,000 guests a year. Currently, staff totals five and all are masters of the multi-task. That will change when a new 28,000-square-foot facility, renamed the Herrig Center for the Arts, will emerge. They won’t be moving to another location. Instead, the new two-story building will be built adjacent to the existing facility at the intersection of Ninth Street West and Third Avenue West. This will push the physical structure back from the street, opening up an “Artist’s Plaza” to Ninth Street West and creating a sculpture garden and green space. This green space, according to their website, “becomes a catalyst for artist exposure; it is an exterior market space where artists can present their work to the pedestrian walking by, creating an area of conversation and commerce.” The plaza will lead directly to the main entrance of the building. This in turn opens up to the Instructor’s Gallery, “which is a linear core of visual transparency, and connects to the other spaces of the building.” Construction is estimated to be completed by the end of 2024. What got the ball rolling was back in June 2022, when the Center received a $1 million gift for its building fund from the Bishop Parker Foundation. The Center has received support from the Bishop Parker Foundation for its children’s education programs for over 10 years. The new art center will triple its space for children, she adds. Since then, Carla and her team have worked hard to raise the estimated $15 million needed to build, with $9 million already raised. The new art center will be named the Herrig Center for the Arts in honor of the Steve and Natalee Herrig Family Foundation, which donated $2 million to the cause. “A gift of this level will help to move the Center’s campaign forward and will allow us to continue to impact lives through our classes, exhibits, and other programming,” Carla notes. The fundraising has now launched the public part of the campaign. The new facility will double the amount of space available at the center's current building and will include not just the interior courtyard, but nine classrooms, a large gallery, office and storage space, as well as updated technology and utilities. Many arts organizations, especially in Sarasota, are moving out of downtown. By staying downtown, ArtCenter Manatee will help in redeveloping downtown as an arts center. “We like being downtown,” Carla notes as the center is halfway between Lakewood Ranch and the beach. While they did explore other locations, her board voted unanimously to stay downtown. Already in the area are the Bishop Museum, the Manatee Performing Arts Center, Island Gallery & Studio and the Bradenton Riverwalk - the latter being just a five-minute walk to the north. With more space, the center can expand its programming. Day, evening and weekend art classes for adults and children will be offered year-round. And their classes, she adds, are intentionally affordable adding, “this is not an elitist sport.” If you’ve never been, the Center attracts artists from all over the state. Their watercolor exhibits draw artists from around the world. They offer open juried shows where anyone can submit, and curated shows where artwork is chosen. Every year they have an exhibition by the Florida Suncoast Watercolor Society. The touring International Watercolor Society exhibit makes its only Florida stop at ArtCenter Manatee. Words that Carla uses frequently are, “shared experience or art” and “making art accessible to all.” Carla also feels strongly that, “The arts are a powerful tool that help communities grow and individuals connect with each other across all boundaries.” The mission of ArtCenter Manatee is “to provide a welcoming, professional environment, educate novice and experienced artists of all ages, provide galleries to exhibit and market original artwork and enhance the visual arts in Manatee County through special events and outreach programs.” Originally from Michigan, Carla lived on Siesta Key in the seventies then in New York City, then back in the eighties to care for her elderly parents. Her mother was an artist who painted in oils while raising six children. Carla recalls that she “grew up with artists and at art shows” and several of her siblings are artists as well. “I just take care of artists,” she says, smiling. Actually, Carla has had a career not just at the Center, but also as a businesswoman who owned her own business. So with the family arts DNA combined with her business acumen, it’s helped her to, “think outside the box…be a bit more experimental…using both sides of the brain.” The new building will be a melding of form and function with what’s called a “pre-patina copper” that will change over time. Floors will be polished stained concrete. It’s never easy to raise large sums of money especially for a new building. Researching a new space started back in 2018 after she and her board concluded it was time. Building anew was also more cost-effective than doing a retrofitting of the current space. The campaign launched and ran right into the start of the COVID pandemic. “No one wanted to talk to us,” she recalls. They created e-cards and videotaped a tour that were sent out. Donations started to come in. “I’ve seen art transform lives. Art is so healing on so many levels…it’s about expressing our hearts and souls.” “We are all different but art brings us together.” For more information, visit artcentermanatee.org or call 941-746-2862. STORY & PHOTO: Louise Bruderle AccessAdvisorsLLC.com 941 914-1560 | Astiff@AccessAdvisorsLLC.com 1800 Second St. Suite 895 Sarasota, FL 34236 | 1305 Langhorne Rd. Lynchburg, VA 24503 Securities are offered through Level Four Financial, LLC a registered broker dealer and member of FINRA/SIPC. Advisory Services are offered through Level Four Advisory Services, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. Level Four Financial, LLC, Level Four Advisory Services, LLC and Access Advisors, LLC are independent entities. Neither Level Four Financial, LLC, Level Four Advisory Services, LLC nor Access Advisors, LLC offer tax or legal advice. <strong>SEPT</strong>EMBER <strong>2023</strong> WEST COAST WOMAN 17
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