Date: Thursday, October 2, 2025
Time: 5:00 - 6:30 pm
Location: Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center

Donna M. Richardson, SBAC Artist

Suncoast Black Arts Collaborative seeks to foster creativity, promote artistic excellence, and bridge community. It is a pleasure to join with Sarasota Orchestra to unite visionary artists and our cultural institutions supporting historically under-resourced artists. The Art Innovation Zone Exhibitions on display from September 28th to October 19th is a key component of this initiative while collaborating with Sarasota Orchestra provides a meaningful platform to empower artists to achieve cultural sustainability redefining the creative landscape of our county.

Learn more at suncoastblackartscollaborative.org

Date: Wednesday, November 5, 2025
Time: 5:00 - 6:30 pm
Location: Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center

Tamara Doroshenko (Mara Doró) is a Ukrainian-born experimental artist known for her vibrant, emotionally charged works shaped by synesthesia. Blending modernism with bold material experiments, she creates immersive visual landscapes. After fleeing the war in 2022, she continued her artistic journey in the Czech Republic and later the U.S., where her paintings have been exhibited in Florida galleries. A mother of six, she draws inspiration from resilience, transformation, and the power of creativity in times of upheaval. Her works are held in private collections across Europe and the U.S.

Follow Mara Doró on Instagram: instagram.com/maradoro_

Date: Thursday, January 15, 2026
Time:5:00 - 6:30 pm
Location: Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center

Born and raised in the city of Chicago, I spent the majority of my years in Illinois.

Travel through State & National Parks gave me a deep appreciation for the power of nature. Foreign travel expanded horizons. Moving to Florida, I discovered the unique charms of the Gulf Coast. These have been my inspiration.

My degree in art education provided a broad introduction. Although I’ve worked in many different media, pastel has seduced me with the delight of pure pigment, brilliant color and endless possibilities.

I've had the pleasure & good fortune to study pastel with Julie Skoda, Kathleen Newman, Jean Hirons, Joanna Karpay, Jacob Aguiar, Nancy King Mertz and Richard McKinley.

Learn more at cosettekosiba.com

My fascination with how people interact with each other and their surroundings is a constant source of inspiration for me. Whether on a city street, conversing in a cafe or communing with nature, the human subject sparks infinite possibilities. The human condition is what inspires me. I want the viewer to be emotionally drawn into the painting. To question the motivation of the person on the canvas, weave their own story about the artwork and totally immerse themselves in the painting. It’s the emotional connection we all have to each other that resonates within my artwork.

I have exhibited in many juried shows in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Florida and my artwork is in many private collections.

Learn more at DavidMeadow.com

Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2026
Time:5:00 - 6:30 pm
Location: Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center

Michael Lonier was originally from Ohio and spent 35 years as a technology executive in the magazine publishing industry in NYC. He taught digital photography at FIT-SUNY and Ramapo College, NJ for ten years, and has had numerous one-person and group shows of his photographs at the University of the Arts (Philadelphia), Andover Gallery (MA), Center for Modern Art (Micanopy FL), RISD (RI), Slocumb Gallery (ETSU), Works on Paper (FIT-SUNY), Center for Contemporary Art (Cincinnati) and others.

From 2001-2007 in the era before blogs and WordPress, he posted daily images to his project website www.pencil-of-nature.net and to a subscriber email list. He holds a BFA in photography from the University of Notre Dame and an MFA in photography from the University of Florida where he was a graduate assistant to Jerry Uelsmann and Todd Walker.

Learn more at blurb.com/user/mlonier

Date: Wednesday, April 15, 2026
Time:5:00 - 6:30 pm
Location: Beatrice Friedman Symphony Center

Booker High School, a comprehensive learning facility, is home to the Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) program, which offers rigorous, pre-professional training in the arts in five disciplines: Dance, Digital Film & Motion Design, Music, Theatre, and Visual Art. In collaboration with Sarasota Orchestra, Booker VPA visual art students will present a collection of two-dimensional artwork from various genres.

Learn more at bookervpa.com/