Tim Sukits

Category: Education

  • Vlad the Educator: One of the world’s greatest pianists teams up with his former student to open Cultural Center Miracle in North Port

    Published December 15, 2010
    Cultural Center Miracle Grand Opening Open house noon-4 p.m., Black Tie charity dinner 5 p.m. Sat., Dec. 18, Cultural Center Miracle, 5400 S. Biscayne Dr., Suite C., North Port, 564-6215 or culturalcentermiracle.org, free.
    Among Sarasota County’s municipalities, the city of North Port has always been overshadowed by Sarasota’s vast cultural offerings. But a world-renowned pianist named Vladislav Kovalsky is determined to spread the artistic love south. With the launch of Cultural Center Miracle, Kovalsky hopes to provide children with limited financial means the opportunity to take top-quality music lessons.
    The nonprofit will host an open house this Saturday to introduce the center and its mission to the public, followed by a black tie fundraiser aimed at racking up cash for scholarships and instruments for less fortunate kids. Kovalsky, a graduate of Russia’s prestigious St. Petersburg Conservatory and a Steinway-sponsored artist, will perform at the black tie dinner to kick off his life’s dream. After three decades of teaching piano, he has always viewed music as something that defies status and class. (more…)
  • Industry standard: A Ringling photography student is working to realize Sarasota’s fashion potential

    Industry standard: A Ringling photography student is working to realize Sarasota’s fashion potential

    Published October 20, 2010 Industry w/designs from E Marie by Eliza Torres and music by DJ RusDeep 8 p.m.-midnight Sat., Oct. 23, The HuB, 1421 Boulevard of the Arts, Sarasota, 586-0681 or matthewholler.com,matthewholler.blogspot.com, $5. The coveted label of “arts destination” is something that Sarasota has boasted for quite some time. But there are a few artistic avenues our fair coastal city has yet to venture down — at least far enough to merit a reputation. One creative arena that has long lagged behind the more popular visual and performing arts, yet could provide a huge economic boost to the area, is the fashion world, with it’s clique of affluent, young, uber-chic entrepreneurs. Thankfully, there are still a few students in this kinda-quasi-college town that are passionate about seeing the Suncoast truly live up to its “art-infused community” claim, and become a fully developed beacon of creativity. One such student is senior Ringlingphotography major Matthew Holler. To complete his senior year requirements, Holler had the choice of doing an internship or creating a “professional project,” an event where students work with members of the community in an effort to forward the city’s artistic vision. Holler chose the latter, making the fashion industry his primary focus. “There’s not much of an industry here yet,” says Holler, “but I think that there’s a possibility for it. We pride ourselves on being an art community, but how many beach photos and paintings of birds can we have? I think it really needs that other element in order to grow into a larger industry.” (more…)

  • Golden boy: The work of Ringling Museum Conservation Technician/Gilder Dave Piurek will be available to wear at S/ART/Q’s second screen-printing party

    Published September 8, 2010 S/ART/Q Print Party 5-10 p.m. Sat., Sept. 11, The HuB, 1421 Boulevard of the Arts, Sarasota, 330-4838 or sartq.com, ringling.org, free, $5 per print. A little over a year ago a professional artists’ collective emerged from the shadows of Sarasota’s contemporary art scene going by the name S/ART/Q. Their first exhibition was held in November at the former DK Vogue space downtown, followed by a second exhibition at G.Wiz Science Museum in March. But the original event that introduced the group to the community was a screen-printing party held at the HuB incubator in the Rosemary District last August. The nonprofit collective will now return to their humble beginnings for a second installment of their Print Party, a fundraising event where each artist offers a custom made design for screen-printing onto any cloth item you wish for only $5 a print. Many of the artists involved in S/ART/Q are former Ringling Art School grads, but few have remained as close to the institution as Dave Piurek, a conservation technician and gilder for The John and Mable Ringling Museum. After receiving his BFA from Ringling College in 1998, Piurek landed a job as assistant preparer for the museum, actually working under fellow S/ART/Q artist Joseph Arnegger, hanging the priceless works of art that had been acquired by John Ringling. An avid art collector, Ringling had purchased over 13,000 pieces, many of them prominent works from all periods of art history, which now make up the vast majority of art on display at the Museum. (more…)
  • Textbook example: Tim Sukits wades into the battle between Rich Swier and the Sarasota County School Board

    Textbook example: Tim Sukits wades into the battle between Rich Swier and the Sarasota County School Board

    Published July 28, 2010 I approach the Sarasota County Schools building a bit after 3 p.m. on Tuesday, July 20 to see a handful of people in front passing out white T-shirts with green lettering that reads “Choose History, not His-Story.” As I pass through the foyer and enter the meeting room I spot about three dozen people wearing those shirts, scattered throughout a packed house of roughly 200. Sarasota County School Board Chair Shirley Brown helps her six-year-old grandson use a microphone to open the meeting with a recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. The stage is set for the day’s main event. Dr. Richard Swier, editor of local conservative blog Red County, will have his chance to appeal the decision of a district advisory committee that denied his “request for reconsideration of instructional material,”  a formal complaint originally filed on April 25. Swier sought to have the textbook World History: Patterns of Interaction removed from the school curriculum, believing that it unfairly favors the religion of Islam over Christianity. (more…)
  • Sarasota School of Arts and Sciences teams with ShelterBox USA to help Haiti

    Sarasota School of Arts and Sciences teams with ShelterBox USA to help Haiti

    Published March 3, 2010 Last Thursday the entire student body at Sarasota School of Arts and Sciences left their final class of the day 10 minutes early to send text messages. The kids were stoked, especially because cell phones normally must be kept in lockers during school hours. Seconds after the announcement came out over the P.A. the halls were filled with excited sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders scampering out to the athletic field for the school’s first Tents2Haiti.com text-a-thon. (First reported by the Observer’s Loren Mayo.) After the devastating earthquake in Haiti last month, SSA+S’s Service Learning Club sprung into action, collecting blankets and medical supplies as part of their participation in the Red Robin Foundation’s U-ACT Program, an initiative designed specifically for junior high students aimed at inspiring random acts of kindness. SSA+S Art Director David Carr saw a big opportunity for the U-ACT team in modern technology. “My main focus was to get the kids to start the chain,” says Carr. “I specifically told the kids you can text it to as many people as you want, but when you go to that website you’re going to need a credit card to pay. It starts with the kids, it gets to the adults, then the adults start doing it. Once they see what it is I don’t see why they wouldn’t — out of all consciousness — just pass it on.” (more…)

  • Brand aid: Ringling College’s fourth annual International Design Summit highlights the importance of design in building a business

    Published February 3, 2010 Sarasota International Design Summit Various times Feb. 4-6, Ringling College of Art and Design, 2700 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, 351-5100 orsarasotadesignsummit.com/2010; Larry Thompson: noon Thurs., Feb. 4, Ken Robinson: 1:15-5:45 p.m. Thurs., Feb. 4 (invitation only) and 9-9:30 a.m. Fri., Feb. 5; Marty Neumeier: 5:15-5:50 Fri., Feb. 5; see website for full list of events and times; summit registration fees are $495 with various discounts available for promotional partners, government employees and Ringling College students and alumni. It’s no secret that Sarasota houses one of the top art and design schools in the country, and probably the most technologically advanced art school in the world. But not many people think of Ringling College of Art and Design as being on the leading edge of the business world. Those views may change after this weekend’s annual Sarasota International Design Summit. “This is the forth year and the theme this time is design and business,” says Ringling College President Larry Thompson, pictured above on the left, “the art of designing business solutions… It’s not a conference for designers. It really is people from all walks of life. It’s a very eclectic group.” (more…)