At a time when political beliefs, race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and so many other things seem to separate us, art can bring us together.
That’s the mission of “Embracing Our Differences,” an exhibition of billboard-sized artwork on display at Poynter Park in St. Petersburg through March 31st and Bayfront Park in Sarasota through April 13th.
“I would say over the past few years it’s definitely been more relevant and more important than ever before,” says Sarah Wertheimer, President & CEO of Embracing Our Differences, the Sarasota-based nonprofit group behind the exhibition.
At waterfront Poynter Park next to the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus, 50 12 by 16-foot vinyl banners display paintings and photographs by artists and students from around Tampa Bay, the country, and the world.
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Embracing Our Differences/Xina Scuderi“A Glimpse Into the Future,” by Sarasota High School senior Claudia Balbuena“A Glimpse Into the Future,” by Sarasota High School senior Claudia Balbuena explores the career dreams we have as children, how those dreams change over time, and why we have to value each other’s different career paths and societal roles. “Women Entering Business” by Argentina’s Santiago Cornejo, depicts a woman breaking through a wall to get into an all-male boardroom. “Stolen Spring,” by Alena Grom of Ukraine, is a photograph of a young woman in front of a colorful floral banner against the backdrop of the bombed ruins of buildings in the city of Bucha.
“The heroes of my photographs are the women who became victims of Russian aggression,” Grom says in an artist statement.
“Through Your Story,” by Connecticut artist Amanda Marie, depicts a colorful collection of book covers to express how literature cultivates an understanding of diverse perspectives while censorship stifles those voices.
“Lived In, Lived Through,” by New York high school student Yumi Wu, depicts overlapping arms of different skin tones, wearing a range of bracelets, watches, gloves, and rings. In an artist statement, Wu says the painting is about the different students she meets in school and how each one is unique.
The exhibit’s “Rising Stars” displays showcase artwork from students in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, and Sarasota counties. Each billboard-sized banner also features an inspirational quotation submitted as part of the exhibition.
Now in its 22nd year, “Embracing Our Differences” added a St. Petersburg location in 2024. Wertheimer says it was an actually a return to St. Petersburg since the exhibition’s roots stretch back to the traveling exhibit “Coexistence” that the St. Petersburg-based Florida Holocaust Museum brought from the Museum on the Seam in Israel to St. Pete, Sarasota, and Boca Raton in 2003. “Embracing Our Differences” launched the following year.
International reach
Over the years, the exhibit has attracted strong interest from international artists and students and the 2025 show drew submissions from 122 countries.
“It’’s really the power of the internet,” Wertheimer says. “Fortunately, we are able to post calls to artists on different websites across the world and that’s really what generates the interest. It also helps that we’ve been doing this for 22 years so a lot of individuals have continued to spread that word.”
Wertheimer says in many cases the exhibit offers an outlet for people living in places where freedom of expression is stifled. Artwork from China, Russia, and Iran is featured in this year’s exhibit.
All artwork for “Embracing Our Differences” is submitted digitally as high-resolution
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Embracing Our Differences/Xina Scuderi photographs. The works accepted for the exhibit are blown up to 12 by 16-foot billboard-sized vinyl banners printed by OIA Digital Branding in Tampa, Wertheimer says.
Arts and education programs
While the annual exhibit is Embracing Our Differences’ showcase event, the nonprofit offers year-round arts and education school programs in Sarasota, Manatee, and, most recently, Pinellas counties.
There are professional workshops to help art teachers and other educators develop the “tools and resources to create a culture in their classroom where every student feels like they belong,” Wertheimer says.
“We really try to help them be able to serve students from different backgrounds, different exceptionalities, so that every student has a chance to succeed in school,” she says.
In the elementary grades, programs like Embracing Reading Day bring into the classroom age-appropriate books focused on themes of kindness, respect, inclusion, and bullying prevention.
For the high school grades, the Unity Day programs focuses on mental health and how to “break down the barriers between one another so students can recognize how much they really have in common with other students,” Wertheimer says.
There are also service learning clubs and programs for the high school grades, including one in Sarasota and Manatee counties that trains high school students to serve as docents who guide younger students on field trips to see “Embracing Our Differences” through the exhibit. Wertheimer says they would like to expand that program to Pinellas County schools.
Embracing Our Differences also covers the costs of field trips to the annual exhibit for elementary, middle, and high school students from public, private, and charter schools in Sarasota, Pinellas, and Manatee counties.
“We pay for those field trips so they are completely free for the schools,” Wertheimer says. “We cover the busing and transportation. We provide them with lesson plans and a curriculum that are aligned to Florida standards. They’re all approved by school district curriculum specialists to make sure they are appropriate for each grade level and are in compliance with state legislation and state standards.”
From noon to 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 30th, “Embracing Our Community - A Celebration of Kindness” takes place at Bayfront Park in Sarasota as part of the “Embracing Our Differences” exhibition.
For more information, go to Embracing Our Differences and 2025 exhibit catalog