Art Lover's Sarasota: Galleries, Museums and Outdoor Art

Sarasota has a big art scene for a small city. Here are the galleries and museums we send guests to first.

Art runs deep in Sarasota. John Ringling filled his museum with Old Masters in the 1920s, Ringling College of Art and Design has trained generations of artists here, and the city has a gallery around nearly every downtown corner.

Start downtown on Palm Avenue and Main Street, where independent galleries show paintings, glass, sculpture and photography, many by Florida artists. Art Center Sarasota near the bayfront hosts rotating exhibitions and is free to visit.

For something bigger, the Sarasota Art Museum, part of Ringling College, fills a beautifully restored 1920s high school with contemporary art. And The Ringling remains the region's heavyweight, with Baroque paintings, modern galleries and a renowned collection of Asian art.

Most years, the Embracing Our Differences exhibit fills Bayfront Park with giant outdoor artworks about inclusion, created by artists and students from around the world. It is free and wonderful with kids.

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