wcw SEPT 2023

Time to Review Your Financial Plan
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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
2023 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
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SEPTEMBER 2023 WEST COAST WOMAN 17