Probably no arts institution has had an impact on more visual artists, art students and art educators in Sarasota over the decades than Art Center Sarasota—the area’s very first arts organization, now celebrating its centennial season. And it says something about Sarasota’s longstanding affair with the arts that the center, founded as the Sarasota Art Association in 1926, when the little town had fewer than 3,000 residents, still plays a key role in the ever-growing community.

The association was founded by Marcia Rader, the arts supervisor of the Sarasota County school system, when Sarasota was just beginning its Roaring ’20s boom. Still in many ways a town of fishermen, farmers and small business owners, Sarasota had just enough arts-minded citizens to make monthly gatherings and sponsored exhibits in different rented facilities possible. In 1948, the association broke ground on the building where it still stands, in the now-transforming Bay Park area, next to the Chidsey Library building and the Blue Pagoda that served for years as a tourist center. The city provided the association with a land lease, and the building opened in 1949, gradually expanding over the years since from one gallery to several, with classrooms, a kitchen and a sculpture courtyard part of the mix.

The 1940s, ’50s and ’60s were in many ways boom times for Sarasota and the art center, says its current executive director Katherine Ceaser. Many well-known artists, some of whom also had their own small arts schools, settled in the area, frequently interacting with the association and its members. “We see visual artists who settled in the area postwar,” she says, “who also invested in the performing arts. They wanted to share what was here with friends, and they built beautiful homes, so we see it in our architecture, too. There was some competition, but it was more collaborative” in nature.

Ceaser has been in her position at Art Center Sarasota for just under two years, but as a Sarasota native and longtime educator, she’s particularly proud of what the center has done with its youth programming. For more than 50 years, the center has partnered with public schools in the north county area to present an annual spring show of student artwork. And, of course, students of all ages flock to the classes and workshops that offer training in a wide variety of media.

Ceaser says the goal with this centennial season is to “hark back to the roots—community and education. In terms of our mission, education and connecting creatives to the community has remained consistent, whether it’s been as the Sarasota Art Association or Art Center Sarasota”—the name the organization adopted back in 2000.

To that end, visitors will see shows this season that highlight artists from Newtown; a group of architects; one dedicated to the performing arts; and, naturally, exhibits presenting some archival information from the center’s long history. There’s something for just about everyone, including those who love to dress up; the center is reviving its once highly popular Beaux Arts Ball, which for years drew hundreds of wildly costumed creatives to the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium nearby.

There are also new initiatives this year, including an Art, Actually speaker series; a Second Fridays Creative Happy Hour featuring art activities, trivia and music performances; and Saturday Night Sketch Club once a month. The center is also trying something new with its inaugural Artists + Illustrators Fair Dec. 6. That’s in addition to the regularly scheduled exhibits featuring local and regional artists in the galleries, along with juried shows that give a broad spectrum of art makers a chance to have their work seen.

“We use every inch of this building, including the outside, with our plein air classes,” says Ceaser of all the events and activities. “And we have no plans to move. We hope with the new promenade, walkway and improved parking [all part of the Bay Park’s ongoing improvements], we will be accessible to an even larger community. It’s an honor to be an organization that has continued through challenging times, and to still be admission free.”

For complete details about Art Center Sarasota’s 2025-26 100th anniversary season, go to artsarasota.org.