Rock Icon Patti Smith Named Selby Gardens First Artist In Residence

SARASOTA, FL — Writer, performer and visual artist Patti Smith has been named the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens' first-ever artist in residence.

The announcement was made during An Encore with Patti Smith, a performance by the artist, Thursday evening at the downtown Sarasota campus, Jennifer O. Rominiecki, president and CEO, shared in a newsletter email Friday.

“Patti Smith has produced a body of work whose influence branches out through generations, across disciplines, and around the world,” Rominiecki said. “She is recognized globally for her revolutionary mergence of artistic forms - especially poetry and rock music. We are so grateful for her incredible collaboration and excited for the resonance her visionary approach will have with our organization as The Living Museum.”

Smith is a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, National Book Award-winning author and fine artist.

She appeared Thursday to celebrate the exhibit Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith: Flowers, Poetry, and Light at Selby Gardens. She also performed at the gardens Feb. 15 for its opening.

Marking the sixth edition of the annual Jean & Alfred Goldstein Exhibition Series, which explores the work of major artists through the lens of their connection to nature, this immersive exhibition puts a selection of Mapplethorpe's photographs of orchids, hyacinths, and irises, and excerpts of Smith's poems and lyrics on flowers and nature, in dialogue with new horticultural installations inspired by the two artists' work, the Selby Gardens said in a news release.

Her residency will include two addition visits to Selby Gardens — one in 2023 and the second in 2024. In addition to readings and performances during these visits, she’ll also spend time privately working on both Selby campuses and in their collections.