Art Center Sarasota Announces New Executive Leadership
A Letter from Board Chair Carolyn Benedict-Drew

Dear Friends,

I am delighted to welcome Kinsey Robb as our new executive director. She holds a BFA from Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, where she majored in art photography and art history. Kinsey’s graduate studies were in art history from The University of Manchester, England. While she was in graduate school, she served as a Graduate Teaching Fellow and was the department’s Ambassador for Public Engagement and Impact. Kinsey clearly knows her art—and she put that knowledge to work in the real world. For the past seven years, she has been a driving force in such prominent blue chip galleries as Gagosian, Lehmann Maupin, and Perrotin. During this time, Kinsey organized national and international exhibitions and has overseen a host of mid-career artists. All told, she brings more than 10 years of experience collaborating with artists, curators, collectors, and academics. But Kinsey’s value is far more than academic knowledge or hours on the job. Kinsey’s work is also her passion—and she pours her life into empowering creative talent. We are so lucky to have found her.

Kinsey tells us she also feels lucky to have found us. “The Gulf Coast has always held a special place in my heart,” she says. “My grandparents retired to Longboat Key in the late 1970s. I’ve been visiting this area since my childhood and have always been struck by the depth and quality of the regional arts and cultural landscape. I’m honored to now be a part of it.”

We are equally glad that Kinsey has chosen to be part of the Art Center Sarasota family. In the next several months, she will work with ACS leadership to develop a strategic plan that will lead us boldly into the future. We hope to solicit your ideas and feedback as we embrace our next steps. We are announcing Kinsey’s appointment first to you, our members, and will then announce it to the general public and media in the early fall.

As Art Center Sarasota members, you are the heart of everything we are and do. In the upcoming months, we hope you will stop by and meet Kinsey. Art comes from paint, clay, steel, and stone. But, more importantly, it comes from the mind and heart of the artist. Kinsey understands the human equation in art and looks forward to meeting the rich tapestry of individuals who make up our membership.

At ACS, we all share that personal commitment. You are a vital part of the equation and we can’t wait to see you again!

Carolyn Benedict-Drew
Chair, Board of Directors, Art Center Sarasota