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Your support helps artists like Claudia…
When I met Claudia Ryan, a professional visual artist working in Sarasota, Florida, we discussed the poor conditions of her art studio. The space was run down and dangerous and because of this the landlord charged a very low rent. Claudia couldn’t find anything comparable and safe.
The studio was on the second-floor and Claudia had trouble walking up the steps; she worried that she wouldn’t be able to do so for much longer. She expressed that if her health worsened, she didn’t know where she would go. She also had fire concerns. The warehouse’s wood frame was dry and brittle and she worried the beautiful, but flammable oil paint, mediums, and rags may someday burn in an all-encompassing building fire. The warehouse was also termite ridden and her wood frames were being damaged. To make things worse, the building had no air conditioning or heat. Claudia used space heaters in the winter and went without air in the Florida summer, again posing fire hazards and health risks for Claudia. Her studio was also in an edgy part of town and she was often there alone with no other people working nearby.
Today, Claudia makes art in an affordable SPAACES art studio. Her art studio is now safe, built of cement block, air conditioned and she works with a group of like minded artists. Her artwork is stored and organized and is in a temperature controlled environment.
SPAACES is Sarasota’s art community; an art studio hub. With your help, SPAACES can continue to build an arts district to support our local Sarasota artists and promote arts tourism.
SPAACES Supports Professional artists like Alicia BrownSPAACES is proud to have Alicia Brown as a practicing studio artist at SPAACES. Brown is a contemporary realist painter, originally from St. Ann, Jamaica. She holds a BFA in Painting and an MFA in Painting from the New York Academy of Art. Brown has received many awards including: the Dawn Scott Memorial award (Jamaica Biennial), two Elizabeth Foundation Grants, and the Joan Brady Foundation Grant.
She has attended residencies at the Leipzig International Art Program (Germany), Cuttyhunk Island Artists’ residency (Massachusetts), and Elsewhere artists’ residency (Colorado). She has exhibited both locally and internationally including the Jamaica Biennial (Jamaica), Prizm Art Fair (Miami), Jamaica making: Theresa Roberts Art Collection, Victoria Gallery and Museum (London) and more. Brown has had solo shows at Studio 174 in Kingston, Jamaica , Virago Gallery, Seattle Washington and UUU Art Collective, Rochester, NY and more.
Her work has been featured in several publications including: Beautiful Bizarre Magazine, SHOUT MIAMI magazine, ARTIT voice of Artists Magazine, and more. Brown’s work is in notable collections such as the Bennet Collection of Women Realists and other private collections. Brown is currently represented by Winston Wachter Fine Art, in New York City and will have a solo exhibition September 2023.
“I am so grateful for the encouragement, friendship, and connections I (and my 4 year old son, Nathan) have found at SPAACES. I would not have been able to prepare for my upcoming exhibition without the affordable art studio space SPAACES has provided.” Alicia Brown
