SPAACES Non-Profit Foundation brings the community together to consider a wide variety of artistic activities relevant to current social, political, and cultural movements.
We specialize in progressive forms of contemporary art, social practice art, and collaborative artistic events and exhibitions.
The Foundation is a non-profit, visual arts cultural organization; benefiting diverse communities and artists in Sarasota, Florida!
We help artists to achieve their goals by providing quality exhibitions, affordable art studio space and a supportive professional environment.
Mission: To advance contemporary art and professional artists, impact social change and enhance a vibrant arts community.
In 2012, Marianne Chapel and her husband Bill sold nearly everything they owned, placed their most important belongings in storage, and spent three years traveling the world in search of a new place to call home. Living in a different country every few months exposed Chapel to artist-run spaces, alternative galleries, and creative communities that approached art in new ways. While the experience was transformative, Marianne Chapel ultimately realized that Sarasota, Florida remained the place where she wanted to build her future.
When Marianne Chapel returned to Sarasota in 2015, she began imagining a new kind of arts organization. As a working artist herself, Chapel understood many of the challenges artists face, including the lack of affordable studio space, exhibition opportunities, and professional support. Those experiences became the foundation for what would eventually become SPAACES.
In March 2017, Marianne Chapel founded M. Chapel Projects LLC, an experimental commercial art gallery located in a 1,000 square foot warehouse on Princeton Street. Inspired by the artist-run initiatives she encountered during her travels, Marianne Chapel created a space focused on artists first. For the gallery’s first several years, Chapel used her own studio as exhibition space, regularly removing her artwork to make room for visiting artists and new installations.
The response from the community was immediate. Following the gallery’s first exhibitions, Marianne Chapel expanded programming and developed a full exhibition season. Through this process, Chapel discovered that her greatest passion was not only creating artwork herself, but also building opportunities for other artists to thrive.
In late 2018, the organization became fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas, allowing Marianne Chapel to further develop the project’s public and philanthropic mission. In 2019, the organization was renamed SPAACES LLC, standing for Sarasota Project Aligning Artists, Communities, Exhibits, and Studios.
Under the leadership of founder Marianne Chapel, SPAACES continued to grow. The organization moved into a larger warehouse facility and expanded to include both exhibition space and affordable artist studios. The new studios filled quickly, demonstrating a significant need within Sarasota’s creative community.
In 2021, The SPAACES Foundation Inc. became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Today, SPAACES continues to serve artists through exhibitions, affordable studios, educational programming, and community engagement. Guided by the leadership of Marianne Chapel, SPAACES has become one of Sarasota’s leading contemporary art organizations, supporting artists while strengthening the region’s cultural landscape.
The story of SPAACES is inseparable from the story of Marianne Chapel. As both a working artist and the founder of SPAACES, Chapel continues to shape the organization’s direction while advocating for artists and expanding opportunities for contemporary art in Sarasota and beyond.