Art fans enjoy exhibit at Sarasota's City Hall

What better place to see a city's history than Sarasota City Hall.

The Sarasota community gathered at the seat of municipal government for a guided art tour of the city’s cultural origins through the displayed photographs and paintings on Jan. 26.

“Public art has to be accessible. You can’t have public art in a museum. (This exhibit) is in a public space,” said Mary Davis Wallace, a senior planner and Office of Public Art lead. “We are bringing this (exhibit) to the public, we are educating them in these sessions and we are informing our young residents and visitors.”

Photo by Dariela Delgado

Guest speaker Sean Cloughery, also known as the “Human Cannonball,” is featured in the City Hall Art Exhibit. Clougherty discussed how he became the "Human Cannonball", how he would perform the act and the adventures of his circus career.

“I grew up in Venice and I was cleaning pools at the age of 21. The gentleman who I was cleaning the pool for had a cannon on the side of his house. One day he came up to me and said, ‘Hey, would you be interested in getting shot out of that cannon?’,” said Clougherty. “ I said, ‘yeah’ because I always wanted to be Evel Knievel.”

Clougherty is part of the city of Sarasota Facilities Division team.

Arts Advocates docent Stephenie Frasher guided the group throughout City Hall as she explained and discussed the significance of each artwork.

The exhibit is free and open to the public for viewing. The artwork is scheduled to rotate with new pieces in May.