Major emphasis is placed on education for children and adults, with classes on virtually every form of visual arts. It is an exhibit space as well, but our focus is on education. All instructors are experts in their field, and some are internationally renowned. During the school year, it partners with the Manatee County School District by getting sponsors to foot the cost of busing students to the Art League. A great untapped resource is the organization's vast library, which contains more than 2,400 arts books.
Members can check materials out, while non-members can peruse the books at the library for free.
As the Art League enters the new millennium, it's looking at expanding. Richmond wants to open a satellite office in Lakewood Ranch, which has a growing artists' community and was the site of a successful art festival last spring. She also wants to expand the educational outreach by going into senior citizens' centers, and to increase the number of lectures and traveling exhibits. The main concern, though, is expanding the headquarters. After 46 years in the same building, the Art League is bursting at the seams, members say.