Art Uptown Gallery Closing After 43 Years In Downtown Sarasota

SARASOTA, FL — After 43 years in downtown Sarasota, Art Uptown Gallery will close its doors for good this month because the building it’s called home for decades has been sold.

“The gallery was unable to negotiate a lease price that would allow us to continue,” Melanie Carlstein, board president, said in a statement.

“We are grateful for the community-mindedness of our previous landlords, the Heritage family, who kept the rent affordable for working artists all these years,” the arts co-op wrote in a Facebook post. “Now a new landlord has increased the rent to a level we cannot afford. We have no choice but to close the gallery at the end of this month.”

Art Uptown, “like many other local galleries and arts organizations … has fallen prey to the changing priorities of real estate investors and the challenging atmosphere of support for the visual arts,” a news release said.

The artist-owned gallery, located at 1367 Main Street, announced its closure earlier this month, but has “loaded the gallery for a farewell” to local art lovers on Saturday, according to a recent Facebook post.

Opening in 1980, Art Uptown is the longest-running fine arts gallery in Florida. It represents the works of 29 regional artists and also offers studio space, its website said.

Those visiting the gallery before it closes Saturday will have “a final opportunity to find art (they) love at … reasonable prices,” Art Uptown wrote on Facebook.