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Program Guide

Weekly Programs

Highlights Tour

Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays at 11 am

Your Wednesday Playdate

Wednesdays 10 am-12 pm

Free Second Sundays at SAM

Second Sundays 11 am – 5 pm

Quick Links

Performances and More

Movement

All programs by date

Events

Art on Film

Put the art world in focus with Art on Film at SAM. Join us for award-winning documentaries, short films, and biopics that highlight some of our favorite artists, reveal untold histories, and explore what it takes to make it as an artist today. Each screening will include opportunities for discussion and connection among audience members.

Thursday, May 28, 2026 | 2 pm

Bistro Pop-Up Nights

Enjoy an after-hours gallery tour and a 4-course dinner.

Dinner reservations are available for 6:30 pm. Private tour will begin one hour prior to dinner, at 5:30 pm.

Wednesday, May 6, 2026 | 5:30 pm

Uncorked

Celebrate the art of wine! Join us for Uncorked, SAM’s new monthly wine tasting series. Each event features a new and exciting selection of six wines, as well as gourmet cheeses. Learn about the curated selection through a guided presentation led by 99 Bottles Owner Mark Tuchman and enjoy a full glass of wine of your choice following the presentation. Bottles will be available for purchase.

Tuesday, May 19, 2026 | 5:30 pm

Cocktails + Culture

Discover the art of craft cocktails at this demonstration and tasting led by Spirits Educator, Mixologist, and Owner of N8 Hospitality, Brad Coburn.

Enjoy light bites and two artistically concocted cocktails inspired by SAM’s exhibition Art Deco: The Golden Age of Illustration. Additional beverages will be available for purchase.

Monday, March 2, 2026 | 5:30 pm

Sol LeWitt (1928 - 2007) Distorted Cubes, Plate #04, 2001 Linocut 28 × 35 1/2 in. New Britain Museum of American Art, Gift of Sol LeWitt © Estate of Sol LeWitt 2025

Member Preview Day 5/16/26

Saturday, May 16, 2026

Talks and Tours

Inside the Art World

Meet in the Wendy G. Surkis & Peppi Elona Lobby
Sarasota Art Museum

Join art appraiser and advisor Elana Rubinfeld as we discuss the latest art world news, trends and gossip. You’ll gain an enriched perspective on the narratives shaping today’s artistic landscape with discussions that promise to be both enlightening and informal. Your presence and insights will be a major contribution to the vibrant tapestry of our discourse.

Tuesday, May 5, 2026 | 11 am

Art at Noon

Meet in the Wendy G. Surkis & Peppi Elona Lobby
Sarasota Art Museum
Third Tuesdays | Noon

Come enjoy discussions with specialists and artists covering a variety topics related to Sarasota Art Museum’s exhibitions, architecture, and areas of interest.

Tuesday, May 19, 2026 | 12 pm

Museum Architecture Walking Tour

Meet in the Wendy G. Surkis & Peppi Elona Lobby
Sarasota Art Museum

Explore the iconic architecture around the Sarasota Art Museum campus in this walking tour led by Architecture Sarasota’s President Marty Hylton.

Monday, May 11, 2026 | 1 pm

Quotable Talks

Thomas McGuire Hall
Sarasota Art Museum

Get inspired. Be empowered. Become quotable.

Sarasota Art Museum presents an inspiring lineup of great writers with great stories to tell through its annual author series. Hear directly from authors, artists, and contemporary creatives who are sparking new ways of thinking about art, culture, and creative practices. For those who appreciate remarkable creativity, a pioneering spirit, or are in search of inspiration, we invite you to join us and become quotable.

Saturday, March 7, 2026 | 1 pm

Mindfulness and Art

Meet in the Wendy G. Surkis & Peppi Elona Lobby.

Slow down, breathe, and experience art in a whole new way. In this four-part series, explore how mindfulness can transform the way you look at and engage with contemporary art. Each session begins with a brief introduction in the classroom, followed by a guided visit to the galleries, and ends with time for reflection and conversation.

Thursday, May 7, 2026 | 12 pm

Mindfulness and Art:
A Collaboration of the Senses

Learn to practice mindfulness using all five of your senses! The journey will begin with a comprehensive look at mindfulness and how to apply its concepts through the arts. This 6-part series is guided by Crystal Brooks, LCSW CIMHP, Owner and Psychotherapist of North Star Counseling and Wellness.

May 1, 2025 | Mindfulness and the Nose – The Aroma of Wellness

This Is Not a Book Club!

Explore the intersection of art and literature at This Is Not a Book Club! Moderated by Certified Art Appraiser Elana Rubinfeld, each gathering will dive into one new release or art world classic – offering in-depth insights into the people, places, and ideas that shape contemporary art, and illuminating your understanding of this complex and entertaining universe.

Tuesday, May 12, 2026

Education Programs

“Precession Through Glass” Brings Works of Acclaimed Global Glass Duo to Florida

What does it mean to visualize the unknown? Award-winning glass artists Monica Guggisberg and Philip Baldwin examine the profound mysteries that underpin our understanding of the universe in their upcoming exhibition at Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design.

Sarasota Art Museum is a Blue Star Museum

Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design (SAM) is pleased to participate in Blue Star Museums, a program that provides free admission to currently serving U.S. military personnel and their families during the summer. The 2026 program will begin on Armed Forces Day, Saturday, May 16, 2026, and end on Labor Day, Monday, September 7, 2026.

Call to Artists Announced for Tampa Bay Area Exhibition ‘Skyway 2027: A Contemporary Collaboration’

Five regional art museums, the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg; The John and
Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota; Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota;
the Tampa Museum of Art; and the University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum, Tampa, are pleased to
announce a call to artists for “Skyway 2027: A Contemporary Collaboration”, the fourth iteration of the exhibition
celebrating the diversity and talent of artistic practices in the Tampa Bay area and beyond.

Sol LeWitt (1928 - 2007) Loopy Doopy, Blue/Red, 2000 Oil-based woodcut 20 5/8 × 28 5/8 in. (52.3 × 72.6 cm) New Britain Museum of American Art, Gift of Sol LeWitt © Estate of Sol LeWitt 2025

Sarasota Art Museum to Present Major Survey of Prints by Conceptual Art Pioneer Sol LeWitt

Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design (SAM) is pleased to present “Beautiful Ideas: The Prints of Sol LeWitt,” on view from May 17 through October 25, 2026. This exhibition explores the extensive printmaking career of Sol LeWitt (1928–2007), a leader of the American Minimalism and Conceptual art movements who famously declared that “the idea becomes a machine that makes the art.”

Woman at a pool club posing with two men playing pool in the background

Sarasota Art Museum Announces its 2026-2027 Season Exhibition Schedule

Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College of Art and Design (SAM) announces its 2026-2027 season, featuring a lineup of seven exhibitions including works by some of the most beloved and influential photographers of the 20th-century, award-winning glass artists, a father and son artistic lineage, multiple Ringling College of Art and Design talents and more.

After Hours

Fourth Tuesdays | 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Performances and More

Jazz Thursday

Marcy & Michael Klein Plaza
Sarasota Art Museum
Second Thursdays | 5:30 pm – 8 pm

Join us for live jazz at Sarasota Art Museum, hosted by the Jazz Club of Sarasota, with extended hours in the galleries, Bistro, and SHOP!

Thursday, May 14, 2026

After Hours

Marcy & Michael Klein Plaza
Sarasota Art Museum
Last Tuesday | 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Join us on the last Tuesday of the month for live music and dancing, with extended hours in the galleries, Bistro, and SHOP! Each month features a different musical genre and style, so you can listen to new sounds and learn new moves. Relax and just enjoy the music, or join in on the dance floor!

April 28, 2026 – Latin and Salsa Dancing

Movement

Move Through

In The Galleries
Sarasota Art Museum

Join us for a joyful hour of movement and human connection. This class will invite close looking and a deeper exploration of the art on view in SAM’s galleries through creative expression.