Suncoast Black Arts Collaborative, Inc.

Beyond Regional Boundaries:  Suncoast Black Arts Collaborative envisions over the next 3-years to advance our mission throughout the State of Florida.  It started with an understanding of the impact this could have for the arts, museums and the vision for sustainability and economic prosperity for artists of African descent and BIPOC populations.  

For the 2024 GIVE 8/28:   Why your investment?  

Initiative & introduction to the project and reasons for investing in this significant opportunity for the Suncoast.  Suncoast Black Arts Collaborative stands true to our mission:

Black Arts: Build...Advocate...Educate…Collaborate...Sustain.

Mission:

To nurture creativity and authentic expression, unifying and promoting the power of the arts across the regional and cultural landscape. 

Theme: Elevating Artists of African descent and BIPOC populations Beyond Regional Boundaries bridges communities, amplifies voices, and celebrates artistic excellence. We empower artists, fostering creativity that transcends borders. Through inclusive exhibitions and innovative programming, we cultivate a more vibrant and culturally enriched Suncoast where diversity thrives, skills flourish, innovation is encouraged, and economic prosperity can bloom. Collaborations with the Tampa Museum of Art, The James Museum, Sarasota Art Museum, and The Pérez Art Museum, along with Arts and Cultural Alliances in Sarasota and St. Petersburg, work towards a transformed creative landscape where artists of African descent and BIPOC populations are celebrated, supported, and empowered to contribute and be included in the creative cultural fabric of the Suncoast.

REASONS FOR INVESTING IN Beyond Regional Boundaries

1) Suncoast Black Arts Collaborative has historically and successfully targeted under-represented artists.

2) The path that artists take towards gaining independence in their work is varied and challenging due to a lack of inclusion, diversity and equity.

3) SBAC's mission is all about advocacy, communication, connections, and collaborations.  

4) SBAC proposes to build a pathway that will lead logically from emerging artists to professional artists to exhibiting artists. 

5) This pathway, called Steppingstones, is how this program will support these artists by guiding and educating emerging artists in the areas that are the business of art.  From legal, to branding, to marketing and pricing to name a few key elements.

6) Suncoast Black Arts Collaborative understands that a foundational approach to connecting artists and resources, such as museums or galleries, is one part of what must occur within the arts world to make it more equitable, diverse, and inclusionary. 

7) SBAC already has support from four major art museums: The Sarasota Art Museum, The James Museum of Western and Wildlife, The Tampa Museum of Arts and The Perez Museum of Art Miami. 

8) An Art Innovation Zone will be created for local Black and BIPOC artists to exhibit their work over the course of a short exhibition, providing their first meaningful museum/gallery launch, and including their community in supporting their work and the work in general of Black and BIPOC artists. 

9) We are seeking partners to support Steppingstones, so that this can be replicated across the State of Florida and eventually the country and it becomes the footprint of diversity, while delivering the inspiration Black and BIPOC artists bring to the world.

10) With significant capacity building and project funds, SBAC will be positioned to execute a successful and meaningful path for Black & BIPOC artists that honors their work and creates possibilities for the next generation of artists.