{"id":187583,"date":"2026-03-11T19:02:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T19:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/187583\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T19:02:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T19:02:08","slug":"public-art-exhibition-embracing-our-differences-returns-to-poynter-park-the-crows-nest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/187583\/","title":{"rendered":"Public art exhibition \u2018embracing our differences\u2019 returns to Poynter Park \u2013 The Crow’s Nest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photo courtesy of Zariya Bankston<\/p>\n

By Zariya Bankston and Alisha Durosier\u00a0<\/p>\n

Billboard-sized art from artists across the globe is taking over Poynter Park once again.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The annual public art exhibit known as \u201cEmbracing our Differences\u201d returned on March 2 with a new collection of 50 pieces, all embodying themes of inclusivity and kindness.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The nonprofit of the same name, which has been\u00a0operating\u00a0since 2004, celebrated the exhibit\u2019s grand opening on an unrelentingly sunny March\u00a07\u00a0afternoon, with speeches, live music, tabling from local community organizations and food vendors.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s 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,\u201d St. Petersburg District 6 city councilmember Gina Driscoll said to the crowd of attendees.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The event drew a diverse audience \u2014\u00a0which is\u00a0representative of the featured artists who range in age,\u00a0ethnicity\u00a0and identity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u2019s website.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The art covers topics such as mental health,\u00a0discrimination\u00a0and political action.\u00a0Below each piece was a motivational quote that clarified the arts\u2019 message.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think events like this just make it accessible for people,\u201d Pinellas Diaspora Arts Project board member Maranda Douglas told\u00a0The Crow\u2019s Nest.\u00a0\u201cSo just being able to see artists get their works displayed like this\u2026\u00a0 and then also seeing the community come out and support, I think\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0just an awesome collaboration.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The exhibit is also being shown in Sarasota\u2019s Bayfront Park.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And as Douglas notes, the exhibit being outdoors offers an element that many museums\u00a0can\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that it\u2019s outside,\u201d Erica Sutherlin told\u00a0The Crow\u2019s Nest.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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 \u201cEmbracing our Differences\u201d exhibit is one of her favorites.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get a different type of engagement. You know, you get a different type of community instead of one that\u00a0has to\u00a0go into a museum,\u201d\u00a0Sutherland\u00a0said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the time, she had only explored on side of the exhibit, but one piece called \u201cFractured Reflections\u201d stuck to her specifically as a Black woman in a leadership role.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The accompanying quote read,\u00a0\u201cGreat leaders unite differences, not erase them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYou 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 \u2014that we can bring also we can bring our femininity, our soft power into the world,\u201d\u00a0Sutherlin\u00a0said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

University of South Florida St. Petersburg health sciences\u00a0freshman\u00a0Aiden Carter\u00a0echoes this sentiment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely believe it creates a great environment just for everybody\u2026\u00a0to be concentrated in one area where we can network with each other, learn from each other\u2019s experiences\u2026\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vice Chair of Embracing our Differences Board of Directors Linda Poteat-Brown told\u00a0The Crow\u2019s Nest\u00a0that the exhibit echoes two of the nonprofit\u2019s goals:\u00a0education and\u00a0facilitating\u00a0dialogue.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0the idea of developing conversation.\u00a0So, when you see it, what do you see? What do you think? What do you think about it?\u201d Poteat-Brown said, also noting Embracing our Differences\u2019 programming within K-12 schools. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s an energy,\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0a youthfulness\u2026\u00a0 and not youthfulness from an age perspective \u2014 just the open-mindedness,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The event was an outlet for community building and education amongst its attendees. People of\u00a0different backgrounds\u00a0shared conversations, smiles\u00a0and a mutual understanding for the importance of art in creating change.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many noted that the City of St. Petersburg and the exhibit foster the same ideals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis 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,\u201d said Joy Garrett, the Community Programs and Education Manager at the Dali Museum.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Through the exhibit, Carter emphasizes that the City of St. Petersburg has come a long way, but\u00a0that there is still more work to do.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThere is a broad history of racism within this city as well,\u201d he said. \u201cBut 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.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEmbracing our Differences\u201d is a step in this direction by\u00a0challenging the way people view others by showing others\u2019 experiences through an artistic lens and thus furthering St. Petersburg\u2019s goal of promoting equity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSt. Pete is probably one of the most diverse, inclusive, equitable \u2014 whatever words we can and cannot use \u2014 places inside the state of Florida,\u201d Sutherlin said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Embracing our differences has begun accepting art submissions for next year\u2019s exhibit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s 22 years already,\u201d Poteat-Brown said. \u201cSo,\u00a0we\u2019ve got more to go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The exhibit will be displayed in Poynter Park for a month and will close on April 12.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n


\n\t\t\t\t Post Views: 34 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\"More<\/a>
Written by: Zariya Bankston<\/a> on March 11, 2026.
Last revised by: Julia Ferrara<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo courtesy of Zariya Bankston By Zariya Bankston and Alisha Durosier\u00a0 Billboard-sized art from artists across the globe…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":187584,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-187583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}