SARASOTA – An art exhibit at Bayfront Park organized by the Sarasota-based Embracing Our Differences nonprofit was vandalized late Tuesday evening.
The vandal attacked the “Women of the Bluest Eye” piece, a work created by Donna M. Richardson from Tampa.
The art was slashed, removed from the frame, some pieces thrown in the water and knocked over with two other pieces of artwork amounting to about $3,000 in damages.
“Unfortunately were living in very polarized times right now and there are some individuals that don’t want to embrace our differences and take something that was very positive and very inspirational and unfortunately take it into a negative place,” said Executive Director of Embracing Our Differences, Sarah Wertheimer.
The artwork should be re-printed and back up at the Bayfront early next week.
The exhibit opened on Jan 18 and runs through March 12.