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Take Your Time and Look Slowly
Jeannette Paladino
The Arts
For years I lived around the corner from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and it was a regular stop for me, especially to view new exhibits. Weekend crowds often made it difficult to get close to artwork, so it became more of an exercise in getting through it rather than stopping at each painting to enjoy the moment. Sometimes I spent mo...
Still Going Strong
Jeannette Paladino
The Arts
Time hasn't slowed Jean Allen, a member of Arts Advocates for almost 40 years. At age 98, she recently renewed her driver's license and drove to the recent scholarship luncheon where she renewed friendships and celebrated our scholars. In a recent conversation, Jean reminisced about the early years of Arts Advocates, then known as The Fine Arts Soc...
Breathtaking Glass Art
Jeannette Paladino
The Arts
Located in an old industrial area, just a short drive away in St. Petersburg, the Imagine Museum houses one of the largest collections of contemporary glass in the United States. Philanthropist and artist Trish Duggan began collecting contemporary American Studio Glass with the intention of opening a museum for it to be displayed. Artists such...
Opening Night at the Asolo - Saturday, April 23rd
Jeannette Paladino
The Arts
The new musical Knoxville opens tonight at the Asolo Repertory Theater in Sarasota. The Tony-award winners composer Stephen Flaherty and lyricist Lynn Ahrens reunite for this musical adapted from James Agee's Pulitzer Prize Award-winning autobiographical novel "A Death in the Family." The book is by Frank Galati, who directs, and is also an associa...
How I Learned to Write a Play
Jeannette Paladino
The Arts
As a writer, I've been a newspaper reporter, written blogs and websites, annual reports and more. But I've never written a play, so I decided to attend a Hermitage Artist Retreat program with a lecture by Paula Vogel, the celebrated playwright who won a Pulitzer Prize for "How I Learned to Drive." Her many plays have been performed around the world...
Backstage at the Asolo
Jeannette Paladino
The Arts
The smell of the grease paint – the roar of the crowd. How our heart races in anticipation of a theater performance as the lights dim and the curtain rises. That's been my experience over the years of attending live performances. Actors bring the show to life but there many more people behind the scenes who help make it happen. That's why I&nb...
So, You Want to Play the Piano
Jeannette Paladino
The Arts
Have you ever dreamed that you could play the piano? Or maybe you yearn to strum the strings of a guitar. It's never too late to learn to play a musical instrument. You don't need to become the next Vladimir Horowitz or Eric Clapton. It's only important to challenge yourself by learning a skill that you can enjoy for yourself. Music is fun and also...
What Does a Curator Do?
Jeannette Paladino
The Arts
An interview with Mark Ormond, curator for the Arts Advocates collection of paintings and sculptures. With over 25 years of experience in the art world, he has organized dozens of museum exhibitions, and authored, edited, and contributed to numerous brochures, catalogs, and publications on artists. During his ten-year association with the Ringling ...
Fanfare for the New Year
Jeannette Paladino
The Arts
It's thrilling to hear a trumpet fanfare preceding the entrance of a luminary or start of a special event. The rich, piercing sound of this instrument can give you goosebumps. A trumpet fanfare is especially timely to welcome the New Year. Trumpets Soar The fanfare is usually played on a trumpet, sometimes the French horn, or on a long horn with a ...

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