Unbridled Ambition of the AGB
The Relentless Pursuit to Inspire, Educate and Build Community Through Fine Art
PHOTOS BY JORDAN RANDALL, MADI ELIZABETH, AND FLORIDA SOUTHERN COLLEGE
The art of being involves tangible reality, vivid daydreams and experiences that often entangle the two.
Being an art enthusiast in Polk County has long had its benefits—such as a consummate theatre scene, celebrated architecture, a music scene that occasionally surges like a neon LED, and an art museum that has served locals for 59 years.
Being a local art enthusiast also has had its limitations, often realized by restraints of space and funding that are foreign to larger metropolitan areas or cultural centers with centuries of history to build on.
But today is a very different day regarding art and culture in the life of a city that once may have called any swan related art transcendent, a nod to the beloved birds that initially became part of its lore thanks to a gift from the Queen of England.
You can now explore the iconic Pop art of Andy Warhol, emotionally invest yourself in the birth of modern jazz through immersive photos, experience the dramatic inclinations that can come with appreciating Baroque art and take in the artistry of sculpted works that takes you all the way from ancient civilizations through distinctive movements and into the Disneyfication of some modern art. And you can enjoy all of that, and more—depending on the day or the month—while still hearing the familiar call of swans congregating on the shores of Lake Morton when you step out of the building located at 800 East Palmetto St.
A facility where you can now walk past a classroom with state-of-the-art 3D printers and quite literally enjoy art education from adolescence to adulthood is itself a piece of art that tells a story of humble beginnings, an often uncertain future, relentless dedication and hopeful expansions.
At The Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum of Art at Florida Southern College (The AGB for short) guests can now marvel at the wide array of exceptional art made possible by 14,000 square feet of additional exhibit space (compared to roughly 3,500 square feet total prior to the expansion) made possible by a more than $8 million undertaking that began with seed money in December 2021 and culminated with an official grand opening to the public on January 18 of this year.
It’s local art at its finest, with an extensive permanent collection of the Florida Highwaymen provided by longtime Lakelanders Charles and MaryLou Woodsby that showcases art by a prodigious group of African American painters during a time when our country was still in the throes of segregation.
Original Architecture and Expansion Design Provided for The AGB by Straughn Trout Architects
Under the leadership of Managing Principal Tim Hoeft, Principal Jon Kirk and Senior Principal Jerry Trout the Lakeland-based firm has perennially been called upon by the Museum for design services.
Expansion Wing Built by Rodda Construction
The Lakeland-based contractor is led by CEO/President Jason Rodda and Senior Vice President of Construction Jodie Rodda. Jason is a Florida Southern College alum and serves on FSC’s Board of Trustees.
Visitors also can’t help but smile as they turn the corner from the main atrium to an exhibit that is often dedicated to the art of local students of all ages.
Then you have a treasure trove of distinctive and well-known American art, especially in the brand new “American Art Since 1960” exhibit that covers ground from the Civil Rights Movement to the Space Race to new technologies of the 21st century.
Influences from across many periods and from all over the world will now rotate in and out of the museum more than ever—both from the museum’s permanent collection of 3,400 art pieces and artwork that is on loan—including the sculptural brilliance of French artist Auguste Rodin that has had a prominent presence in the museum in recent years.
“This is a big moment that has been on the horizon for a long time, a great leap for the entire team,” says Dr. Alex Rich, executive director and chief curator of The AGB. “This was a big thought that was germinating in all of our minds collectively for a long time, and to achieve it and to see it come out the way that many of us envisioned…there are literal galleries that are fully fleshed out as they’ve been in my mind for many, many years.”
The “Old Guard” to the “New Guard”
“Finally!” exclaims Pal Powell, director of museum events and special projects, and the longest tenured museum-affiliated employee, with more than 33 years of experience to her credit. “Finally we’re moving forward—it is time to move forward to that next step.”
She understands better than most that this “shiny new gem” wasn’t unearthed overnight. It was in fact kept viable in part by resolute, hard working people—especially a group of tight-knit individuals who did whatever it took for decades as a volunteer and donor base to keep the dream alive of one day being the community focused and Smithsonian-affiliated academic institution that it is.
“When I started, I called them the ‘old guard.’ So if you’re familiar with Rosa Hernandez, Anne Tucker, Lois Cowles Harrison, Beth Mason and the Junior League, Patricia Meland…they just had a different [attitude] about them—I mean they were not afraid,” she recalls. “We all worked for a common goal to get it done.”
What began as an undertaking by the Junior Welfare League (now known as the Junior League) to start a youth museum in the mid 60s eventually found a permanent home in 1970 at the address The AGB stands today. At that time it was housed in an old Publix store on Palmetto St. that had been bestowed to Florida Southern College by Publix founder George Jenkins.
Lynda Buck was part of the “old guard” and would actually also be at the front of the “new guard” if someone defined it, having served as president of the museum’s board of trustees since 2015. She remembers how in the 70s, 80s and 90s it took a lot of hard work to incrementally bring new ideas to life, including moving into the original wing of the current building in 1988. She fondly recalls being part of the Art Resource Trust, a group of Museum advocates who traveled to places like Chicago, New York and California to find inspiration to make the museum more enjoyable for the community and better equipped to serve students.
Some of Lakeland’s most generous individuals and vocal supporters, especially of the arts, were on hand for the ceremonial ribbon cutting celebration for the new wing on January 9.
“You just do it, we just get ’er done,” she said with a laugh when talking about what it was like to keep the museum going during leaner years filled with more uncertainty. “We are so thrilled to have the museum up and running after 30 years of trying to do so.”
Powell said working alongside individuals like Buck, as well one of the founding members, Sarah McKay, to name just a few, gave her the energy and inspiration to keep aspiring to greater programming and keep raising the level of excellence. It’s no surprise then that Powell has played a pivotal role in building the credibility of the Lakeland art community in her role as the overseer of the Mayfaire-by-the-Lake fine arts festival for more than 20 years.
Another pivotal marker in the life of the museum was when Florida Southern College officially became affiliated with it in 2017. Under the leadership of President Emerita Dr. Anne Kerr, the college brought significant financial backing, the infusion of a burgeoning art history and museum studies program, and the infrastructure to help usher the museum into a new era.
“Without the community support and Florida Southern, we wouldn’t be where we are today, and it’s just unbelievable,” Buck said, noting that she hopes as the community takes in the new wing of the museum they find a deeper level of appreciation for the college.
In a nod to the importance of that partnership, the recently completed expansion of the museum is called the Dr. Anne B. Kerr Wing.
Lynda and Steve Buck, shown in this photo from 2002, have been ardent supporters of the museum for decades.
A Name to Match the Moment
The Florida Southern College connection has only grown stronger since the school affiliated with the museum, and two proud Moccasin alums have ensured that will be the case for the foreseeable future.
In step with the heart and intent that his grandfather George Jenkins had when he donated the building and land to FSC in the late 1960s, Nicholas Barnett, and his wife Ashley, announced in July 2024 a transformational endowment to the museum through the Nicholas and Ashley Barnett Foundation at GiveWell.
On top of that, Nicholas earned himself an unofficial “husband of the year” nomination by surprising Ashley with having the museum renamed The Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum of Art at Florida Southern College. It all adds up, considering his mom, Carol Jenkins Barnett, was a supporter and advocate of the museum for years, and Ashley is a former national champion dancer and award-winning photographer who grew up with extensive exposure to and adoration for the arts.
“Having the chance to surprise Ashley with the naming of the Museum was such a wonderful opportunity,” Nicholas said. “I am thrilled to be able to show my love and appreciation for her, and to honor her commitment to this great institution.”
Ashley, who serves on Governor Ron Desantis’s Florida Council on Arts and Culture, was once the Student Body President at FSC, and now serves on the Board of Trustees for both the college and museum. She said having the museum named after her is “the honor of a lifetime” but not just because of how it impacts the family legacy.
“As our daughter grows and her imagination ignites, I envision Zoey exploring the museum halls with her friends, engaging in activities that enrich her mind and foster creativity.”
“The significance of the endowment is…it is the future of the museum and a celebration of all the individuals who make our free, world-class educational art museum possible,” she said.
Ashley’s mom, Tammy Gibson Dillard, was an educator and administrator for more than 30 years, and was keen to instill in her children the importance of education and the arts. Nicholas and Ashley are excited at the prospect of being part of a community that does that for thousands of children each year, including their own 3-year old daughter, Zoey.
“As our daughter grows and her imagination ignites, I envision Zoey exploring the museum halls with her friends, engaging in activities that enrich her mind and foster creativity,” Ashley said. “My dream is for the Museum to continue to transform as a launching point of an entire arts district, not only as a beautiful cornerstone of our community but as a premiere arts destination in the state of Florida.”
FROM CULTURE COMES CULTURE
“An opportunity like this does not come often to any town or city of any scale—to be able to reimagine itself as something larger than what it was, and to showcase everything about what art means in people’s lives on a really gorgeous and innovative level,” Dr. Rich says. “Lakeland and Polk County and Central Florida have a cultural hub now that really takes a respectful and really smart look at art and thinks that its audiences and its visitors of all different ages and backgrounds and interests in the world of culture or the world of art have an opportunity to learn something new every time they walk through our doors.”
The scholarly and gregarious Dr. Rich doesn’t say that only as a champion of The AGB, but as an avid lifelong lover, consumer and teacher of art.
He grew up in Manhattan, NY and says he has been an artist since age 2. As a young boy he made sense of the world through art and he was known by other students as the class “cartoonist” because he was always creating drawings of them.
“Going to New York City’s museums was the most edifying part of my development as a person,” he says. “I believe being able to see the world through that lens of art was pivotal, and I hope that we can satisfy that at least similarly in some percent of students’ lives.”
The Dartmouth College graduate moved down to Lakeland to become an assistant professor of art history at FSC in 2014, and by way of the FSC affiliation and his own professional development he progressed into his roles today that include executive director and chief curator of The AGB as well as the chair for the college’s Department of Art History and Museum Studies.
He has gone from the kid who would narrate tours of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City to the face of a museum that is now receiving acclaim from many corners of the art world.
In mid-January, Federico Gandolfi Vannini, a fourth-generation art dealer and owner of Frascione Arte in Florence, Italy made a trip from his second home in Miami to visit The AGB. He had visited the museum almost a year prior to see specific exhibit, and he was blown away by the new exhibit space.
“I don’t want to say it, but I didn’t expect Lakeland to be a central part of the art world, but with this new wing it’s really becoming a central museum for all of Central Florida. I think Alex did an amazing job on finding the funds and constructing [the space]...he had a modern concept, but it’s very classical too and it’s an enormous space,” he says. “What I love in a museum is this universal approach of art…and I think that’s exactly what the museum does because it serves university [students], the younger [students] and is open to all of Lakeland.”
In an effort to be more of a community hub, the Museum has added new wrinkles to start engaging people, including: more lively social events like AGB Thursdays that will offer fresh programming weekly, more vibrant spaces available to rent for meetings, weddings and events, and a more intentional approach to adding new and collectible items to its gift shop.
Dr. Rich and the Museum staff’s goal is to not only accommodate, but inspire people with a wide spectrum of interests and varying degrees of art knowledge.
“I never want to have our exhibitions or programs teach down to people. I believe we have to meet them where they are, but also expect that everybody who comes through our doors is going to learn something new and walk away really happy that they learn something new,” he says.
“I don’t want to say it, but I didn’t expect Lakeland to be a central part of the art world, but with this new wing it’s really becoming a central museum for all of Central Florida.”
THE CLASSROOM THAT’S CALLED A MUSEUM
Art education has always been a foundational principle of the Museum, and the expansion has only amplified the possibilities.
The museum has a cooperative relationship with Polk County Public Schools that spans more than 30 years. Each school year more than 5,000 4th-grade students visit The AGB on field trips, and Dr. Rich says “the museum is a great adjunct that can help to extend what they’re learning in the classrooms, making art here and seeing artwork made by other artists.”
Renovated classrooms are large flexible spaces that can accommodate countless types of art, complete with touchscreen technology, and The Ruthvens Creativity Lab is home to four brand new 3-D printers. The Museum offers low-cost (free to members) after-school art programs throughout the year, as well as summer and spring break camps for students who want to explore their creative side.
Dr. Rich has an obvious bias toward supporting art education, but it’s with good reason, based on science and the human experience.
“We talk so much about reading literacy and the importance of that,” he says. “Nobody would doubt the importance of a library, but museums are about visual literacy and finding ways to look at visual culture and looking at artwork to be able to somehow extrapolate new information or new understandings of who these kids are or what their communities are about.”
In addition, there are daytime classes for adults, panels and lectures, docent-led tours and more.
The pin on the map for art education at the museum, though, is the fact that Florida Southern College’s Art History and Museum Studies program is only one of its kind that is actually housed in a museum. Lectures are often given in an auditorium, but in the expanded wing every exhibit can also become a classroom because, with the touch of a button, a projector and screen unfold out of the ceiling.
Students are immersed in art history, but also get the functional experience of being able to help install exhibits, market the museum, etc. One example can be found in the “Decorating History in Clay” exhibit upstairs, where Riley Karau, a junior who is studying graphic design and studio art at FSC, designed the art and verbiage that is on the walls throughout the room.
“If they come to our program they’ll be thrown right into work they might like in the galleries or working with objects or helping put words on the wall...or working on marketing gear,” Dr. Rich says. “So it’s a really special space for students to learn in, and Florida Southern is all about engaged learning.”
When you are walking the halls of The AGB you are bound to learn something if you keep your eyes and ears open. Dr. Rich recognizes that some people will matter-of-factly say they’re not interested in art, but he likes to challenge them to come pay a visit to the museum to test that theory.
“We have strived really hard, especially with the opening of the new wing, to find something that every single person will hopefully take something away from or find some aspect of themselves to relate to,” he says. “Our desire moving forward is to use the space in the museum to reach every single person where they are—even the most dubious potential art lover.”
“Our desire moving forward is to use the space in the museum to reach every single person where they are—even the most dubious potential art lover.”
