Photo courtesy of Zariya Bankston
By Zariya Bankston and Alisha Durosier
Billboard-sized art from artists across the globe is taking over Poynter Park once again.
The annual public art exhibit known as “Embracing our Differences” returned on March 2 with a new collection of 50 pieces, all embodying themes of inclusivity and kindness.
The nonprofit of the same name, which has been operating since 2004, celebrated the exhibit’s grand opening on an unrelentingly sunny March 7 afternoon, with speeches, live music, tabling from local community organizations and food vendors.
“There’s no better place for an exhibition like this one than in St. Petersburg where we workday and night to make sure that every single person is seen safe, and celebrated in our community,” St. Petersburg District 6 city councilmember Gina Driscoll said to the crowd of attendees.
The event drew a diverse audience — which is representative of the featured artists who range in age, ethnicity and identity.
A global call for art submissions last year prompted over 14,000 submissions from 125 countries and 48 states, 60% of which were from students, according to the organization’s website.
The art covers topics such as mental health, discrimination and political action. Below each piece was a motivational quote that clarified the arts’ message.
“I think events like this just make it accessible for people,” Pinellas Diaspora Arts Project board member Maranda Douglas told The Crow’s Nest. “So just being able to see artists get their works displayed like this… and then also seeing the community come out and support, I think that’s just an awesome collaboration.”
The exhibit is also being shown in Sarasota’s Bayfront Park.
And as Douglas notes, the exhibit being outdoors offers an element that many museums can’t.
“I love that it’s outside,” Erica Sutherlin told The Crow’s Nest.
Serving as the artistic director of Studio@620 and chair of the Arts Advisory Committee for the City of St. Petersburg, Sutherlin said that the “Embracing our Differences” exhibit is one of her favorites.
“You get a different type of engagement. You know, you get a different type of community instead of one that has to go into a museum,” Sutherland said.
At the time, she had only explored on side of the exhibit, but one piece called “Fractured Reflections” stuck to her specifically as a Black woman in a leadership role.
The accompanying quote read, “Great leaders unite differences, not erase them.”
“You have this feminist woman that is soft and this idea of military that is hard. And balancing that out as a leader and as a woman and as a woman of color in leadership —that we can bring also we can bring our femininity, our soft power into the world,” Sutherlin said.
University of South Florida St. Petersburg health sciences freshman Aiden Carter echoes this sentiment.
“I definitely believe it creates a great environment just for everybody… to be concentrated in one area where we can network with each other, learn from each other’s experiences…” he said.
Vice Chair of Embracing our Differences Board of Directors Linda Poteat-Brown told The Crow’s Nest that the exhibit echoes two of the nonprofit’s goals: education and facilitating dialogue.
“It’s the idea of developing conversation. So, when you see it, what do you see? What do you think? What do you think about it?” Poteat-Brown said, also noting Embracing our Differences’ programming within K-12 schools.
Poteat-Brown is not originally from Florida but notes that St. Petersburg has an aura that makes the exhibit a great fit for the city.
“There’s an energy, there’s a youthfulness… and not youthfulness from an age perspective — just the open-mindedness,” she said.
The event was an outlet for community building and education amongst its attendees. People of different backgrounds shared conversations, smiles and a mutual understanding for the importance of art in creating change.
Many noted that the City of St. Petersburg and the exhibit foster the same ideals.
“This event shows that the Sunshine City is an accepting and wonderful place where everyone can express themselves and be free and also expand their mind,” said Joy Garrett, the Community Programs and Education Manager at the Dali Museum.
Through the exhibit, Carter emphasizes that the City of St. Petersburg has come a long way, but that there is still more work to do.
“There is a broad history of racism within this city as well,” he said. “But I feel like the city is becoming more prosperous when it comes to allowing different communities to embrace each other and embrace their differences, especially through representation.”
“Embracing our Differences” is a step in this direction by challenging the way people view others by showing others’ experiences through an artistic lens and thus furthering St. Petersburg’s goal of promoting equity.
“St. Pete is probably one of the most diverse, inclusive, equitable — whatever words we can and cannot use — places inside the state of Florida,” Sutherlin said.
Embracing our differences has begun accepting art submissions for next year’s exhibit.
“It’s 22 years already,” Poteat-Brown said. “So, we’ve got more to go.”
The exhibit will be displayed in Poynter Park for a month and will close on April 12.
