Art In Common Places Brings Poetry, Visual Art To Ordinary Spaces

SARASOTA, FL — Sarasota is known for its vibrant arts community, but the work isn’t always accessible to the average person, says the founders of a new nonprofit.

The women behind Art in Common Places — arts enthusiast Cynthia Burnell, visual artist Leslie Butterfield and poet Teresa Carson — came together to find a way to bring the arts front and center in unlikely spaces throughout the community.

“Art belongs to everybody,” Carson said. “How can we bring the arts — high-quality art — to everyday people? You know, people who are not necessarily able to afford going to the Ringling Museum for $25 a pop. Not just art, but really good, high-quality art.”

The group pairs poets and writers with visual artists to create posters — high-quality designs they refer to as “broadsides” — that they display throughout the community in spaces where people might not otherwise have the opportunity to view art: laundromats, shops, restaurants, markets, salons, apartment complexes, carwashes, libraries.

The women first met through the Arts Advocates organization, formerly known as the Fine Art Society of Sarasota, about three years ago. Both Burnell and Carson were new to the area and looking to connect with artists and art lovers.

The three of them became fast friends, Burnell said. “Sometimes, you know, you click with people right away.”

They began talking about what more they could do to bring the greater Sarasota community together around art in early 2020 and came up with the concept of Art in Common Places.

“We started to bounce around ideas. I have pages of notes on the name alone,” Carson said. “Unusual places. Weird places. Abnormal places. Finally, we hit on Art in Common Places, and we were like, ‘Yeah, that’s it.’”

Next, they needed their first poem and image pairing. Carson sends out weekly poetry blasts featuring works by other writers to her friends and followers. One week, she sent out a poem by Kojijū, a waka poet and Japanese noblewoman from the 12th century.

Butterfield was drawn to the poem’s lunar imagery, and created a painting inspired by it. She showed it to Carson while attending an art lecture at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in March 2020.

When Carson saw the work, “Assure,” she knew they needed to pair it with Kojijū’s poem for their first “broadside" display.

Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. That didn’t stop the women from moving forward with Art in Common Places.

They sought artists and writers to share their talents with the project. Many – but not all – of them are from Florida. An informal rule is that at least one member of each creative collaboration needs to be based in the greater Sarasota area, Carson said.

“We want it to be grounded here (in Sarasota,)” she said. “We have a mix from here and up north, where I’m from.”

The artists and writers are introduced virtually and work together to choose their themes and images for their “broadside” collaboration.

“I like to say we’re like matchmakers,” she said. “It’s true. We have to kind of look at people, and it’s not so much about is their work similar, it’s more about what’s their energy like? What are they like? What are their interests? What drives them? Then we say, ‘OK, we think these two people will work well together.’”

Burnell has been amazed by the artistic connections that have been forged.

“You see it almost immediately that connection,” she said.

She recalls the instant chemistry between poet Jeanne Marie Beaumont and artist Judy Levine.

“By the second Zoom call, they were finishing each other’s sentences,” Burnell said. “The depth of relationships forming is amazing. You can just feel the depth of the connection being made.”

Carson added, “Many of them connected in a way that was unexpected. We were expecting a collaboration. We weren’t expecting them to be so in sync.”

Once each pair of artists and writers completes their collaboration, Nicholas Ferris professionally photographs the artwork in his studio, and Jeff Haste, the owner of Deerbrook Editions, which has published Carson’s work, who is also a graphic designer, brings both pieces together to create the “broadside" design.

“They’re called ‘broadsides’ because it’s not really a poster. Well, it’s a high-quality poster. It’s not just some cheap paper,” Carson said. “We want people to see this as an experience, not just something we’re slapping up like the circus.”

The Halo Arts Project, a Sarasota-based foundation, awarded Art in Common Places its 2021 Fellowship Award for their efforts.

“We felt particularly honored because normally they give these awards to individuals,” Burnell said.

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The funds, like all money donated to the project, have been used for printing and other direct costs.

It’s an entirely volunteer-run initiative, Carson added. “We’re building community with this project. Nobody gets paid. Everyone who participates donates their time and expertise. The artists and the poets and the photographers and the designers. It truly is a gift from everyone.”

The artists and writers were enthusiastic about the project from the beginning. During the pandemic, it gave them a creative outlet and sense of purpose, she said. “It helped people who were stuck at home and wanting to work. And every poet I know was trying to find a way to respond to what was happening in the world.”

The most difficult part was finding venues to display the “broadsides,” Carson said. “At the end of March, the lockdown was in force. The pandemic was in full force. But we were determined.”

One of the first spaces they booked was Lime Laundromat. “We just walked in and said, ‘We have this thing,’ and he said, ‘Sure,’” Carson said. “I’m super focused on this whole idea of laundromats and I don’t know why. We have the photograph of that first one that went up. It’s by the soap machine. Laundromats and libraries. It just makes sense.”

Now, these collaborations can be found on display in more than 60 places throughout the city, Burnell said. They even have a group of volunteers whose sole job is to find new venues and swap the “broadsides” out with new pieces.

Art in Common Places is seeking artists and writers who might want to participate in their collaborations. The group also needs volunteers to find new venues and to change out displays. Learn more about how to get involved with or sponsor a “broadside” here.