strategic plan
Read the Complete Strategic Plan
Van Wezel Foundation
A Vision for Sarasota Performing Arts Center
Strategic Plan:
Fiscal Years July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2026
OUR LETTER TO YOU
On behalf of the Foundation and our Board of Directors, we are delighted to share this strategic plan for the future of the performing arts in Sarasota. As you read through the mission and goals, you will see that this is a plan for people—a plan for you.
The Foundation has long been a cultural leader in Greater Southwest Florida, with a legacy and mission that mirror each other. We know that to remain relevant, we must also be responsive to the changing needs of our communities. By agreeing to lead the creation and operation of a new performing arts center in Sarasota, we are ensuring that both the performing arts and our mission-driven impact will endure.
All of these dynamics—culture, community, responsiveness, relevance and change—have led to this strategic plan. The origin of our plan was three years of steadfast collaboration between the Foundation and the City of Sarasota, in tandem with the Bay Park Conservancy’s Master Plan. Working together, and with input from the public, it became clear that we all share the same vision: a contemporary performing arts center that both entertains and educates, while elevating Sarasota as a cultural icon.
As exciting as this is, our larger responsibility will be to ensure that the new facility fully reflects the diversity of communities and connects with many different cultural perspectives. We are passionate about broadening our reach so that the performing arts can uplift all people, touch them emotionally, and help them transcend stressful or discouraging times.
We are also interested in exploring how the performing arts can address critical issues of social inequity by sparking dialogue and prioritizing inclusivity. And, we want to leverage more digital capabilities to convey the shared human experiences of language, dance, music, drama and humor, where we can all find common ground. These aspirations are grounded in ideas, rather than in bricks and mortar or specific geographies. A new facility will be a catalyst for ideas without boundaries.
As the venue takes shape in the coming years, we will be engaging in diverse audience- building to attract individuals and families of all ages, incomes and interests—giving many people their first live experience with the performing arts on a world-class level.
By the time the door opens, we hope that everyone will appreciate not just the cultural power of the performing arts, but also the social, economic and reputational value this new venue will bring to our area.
We invite you to join us in this opportunity of a lifetime to make Sarasota’s new performing arts center a reality. You can take pride in supporting a powerful vision with a very personal impact: A Place for the Arts. A Place for Ideas. A Place for You.
On behalf of the Foundation and our Board of Directors, we are delighted to share this strategic plan for the future of the performing arts in Sarasota. As you read through the mission and goals, you will see that this is a plan for people—a plan for you.
The Foundation has long been a cultural leader in Greater Southwest Florida, with a legacy and mission that mirror each other. We know that to remain relevant, we must also be responsive to the changing needs of our communities. By agreeing to lead the creation and operation of a new performing arts center in Sarasota, we are ensuring that both the performing arts and our mission-driven impact will endure.
All of these dynamics—culture, community, responsiveness, relevance and change—have led to this strategic plan. The origin of our plan was three years of steadfast collaboration between the Foundation and the City of Sarasota, in tandem with the Bay Park Conservancy’s Master Plan. Working together, and with input from the public, it became clear that we all share the same vision: a contemporary performing arts center that both entertains and educates, while elevating Sarasota as a cultural icon.
As exciting as this is, our larger responsibility will be to ensure that the new facility fully reflects the diversity of communities and connects with many different cultural perspectives. We are passionate about broadening our reach so that the performing arts can uplift all people, touch them emotionally, and help them transcend stressful or discouraging times.
We are also interested in exploring how the performing arts can address critical issues of social inequity by sparking dialogue and prioritizing inclusivity. And, we want to leverage more digital capabilities to convey the shared human experiences of language, dance, music, drama and humor, where we can all find common ground. These aspirations are grounded in ideas, rather than in bricks and mortar or specific geographies. A new facility will be a catalyst for ideas without boundaries.
As the venue takes shape in the coming years, we will be engaging in diverse audience- building to attract individuals and families of all ages, incomes and interests—giving many people their first live experience with the performing arts on a world-class level.
By the time the door opens, we hope that everyone will appreciate not just the cultural power of the performing arts, but also the social, economic and reputational value this new venue will bring to our area.
We invite you to join us in this opportunity of a lifetime to make Sarasota’s new performing arts center a reality. You can take pride in supporting a powerful vision with a very personal impact: A Place for the Arts. A Place for Ideas. A Place for You.
