The Alliance for the Arts celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Its Invitational50 exhibition thanks 50 select artists for the contributions they have made to the Alliance and the community it has created over the years.
“We know we’ve left out people, but these were people … who had been in shows, who have had their own shows, who have been supportive of the Alliance through many different ways,” said co-curator and board member Carolyn Gora. “Some taught. We have the union artists. It’s really exciting because we have artists who have been in this community for a long time and haven’t shown anything in a while. This got them thinking and got them creating.”
Two people in particular show the pervasive influence that Alliance artists have exercised on each other and the art community. Terry Lynn Spry recalls how she took an art class 30 years ago from Nina Conner, who was one of the Alliance’s founding members.
“I walked in, and it was like another world,” said Spry. “People were painting these huge fantastical paintings. It was just the best. And Nina was amazing.”
Conner painted Spry’s portrait and Spry painted a portrait of Conner as well.
“After she passed away, the painting came back to me that she did of me. Her husband gifted me with it,” Spry said.
At Spry’s request, the portraits will be exhibited side by side in the show. Together, they underscore that Conner did more than merely inspire Spry’s career as an artist. She inspired her to become an art instructor. In fact, Spry took over Conner’s class and now carries on her tradition of inspirational art instruction.
And so their mutual legacy propagates.
Invitational50 contains many other stories like this one.
The exhibition will be on view in the Alliance’s main gallery through June 28.
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“We have artists who were involved with the Alliance when it opened in 1975, and we have new artists who are housed at the Alliance, who have their studios there,” said Gora.
Invitational50 features Paul Adamick, Joanne Bedient, Juli Bobman, Mila Bridger, Andy Browne, Annette Brown, Stacey Brown, Steve Conley, Nina Conner, Honey Costa, Julie Dean-Griffin, Julia De Rocha, Jesse Dilich, Sally Dutko, Carolyn Gora, Marilyn Hedlund, Brianna Jackson, Rose Jung, Jane Lane, Doug MacGregor, Nick Masiello, Dana Nicloy, Jeff & Dale Ocasio, Tracy Owen-Cullimore, Caren Pearson, Diana Ripoll, John Rizza, Sherry Rohl, Roland Ruocco, Ava Roeder, Sonia Rosa, Ilene Saffron, Erik Schlake, Alicia Schmidt, Tim Smith, Terry Lynn Spry, Toni Sutton, Dale Weber, Wendy White, Ilene Whites, Barbara Yeomans, and Rosalyn Young. Go here to read each artist’s profile.
Each artist was permitted to exhibit one artwork of their choosing. It could be an old one, a newer work or one they created specifically for Invitational50.
“The idea was just to show off what they could do,” said Gora.
In addition to the artwork, each artist was asked to provide a written statement about their involvement with the Alliance.
“Some people’s statements were two sentences, and some were a couple of paragraphs,” Gora observed. “It’s very interesting to see what their involvement was. After all, that’s why these people are in the show. They are the ones who have helped keep the Alliance alive for the past 50 years.”
Those statements will be displayed alongside the artwork.
“I am just as interested in what’s written about the piece as I am in the piece,” Gora added. “I think other people will be, too. It gives you an insight into the artist. We didn’t have them write about the pieces. We only wanted to have them write about their connection to the Alliance.”
Carolyn Gora was not only a co-curator, one of her artworks is also included in the Invitational50.
“The Alliance for the Arts has been part of the Gora family since calling Fort Myers our home in 1977,” wrote Gora in her statement. “Immediately, my husband, Bruce Gora, a young architect, was recruited to be involved in the fledgling organization. And the rest was history. Bruce and I served on the board and entered art shows. Our children have participated in summer camp since its inception. Bruce designed the current building and was a co-chair for the 2006 Art Royale. He loved the Alliance community and volunteered numerous hours. Bruce died in 2008, and I have tried to continue his legacy. I have been on the board (I’ve been Secretary since 2011), entered shows, volunteered, taken classes, taught classes, and attended many events and programs. In 2024, I was honored to have my own show in the Theater Gallery, and I currently have artwork in the gift shop. The Alliance is my ‘happy place.’ I love walking through the doors and feeling like I belong. I am proud to be part of its arts family and look forward to being involved for years to come.”
Ava Roeder co-curated the exhibition with Gora. She too is exhibiting an artwork in Invitational50.
“The Schultz farmhouse, located on the current property, served as the first Lee County Alliance for the Arts meeting place and venue for exhibits,” writes Roeder in her statement. “Back then, I had a few photographs displayed in that beautiful old and creaky building. Also, in that 75-year-old farmhouse, in 1993, we interviewed the first group of students to apply to one of the three newly created arts magnet schools in the State: the Center for the Arts at Cypress Lake High School. Over the years, I was an Alliance member, participant in art exhibits, worked on the student shows, attended openings, and was a supporter of Theatre Conspiracy. In 2013, I became a board member. I am proudly connected to the Alliance and its history, meeting many people who became friends and leaders who inspired the changes and met the challenges throughout the decades. The campus is lovely and inviting. After 50 years, the Alliance for the Arts continues to grow to meet the needs of our community and is better than ever!”
“When we had receiving, there were artists who hadn’t seen each other in so long, it was like a reunion,” Gora recounted. “I think the opening is going to be just fabulous with all these people who have been involved all these years but haven’t seen each other in a long time. Some of them haven’t done anything since COVID or since the hurricane, and they are so excited about being in the show. The whole ambiance of the show is going to be something totally different than you normally see.”
Terry Lynn Spry has been teaching art at the Alliance for more than two decades. Prior to taking Nina Conner’s class, she was working in an art supply store. She’d done pottery as a child but was intimidated by painting. Gradually, her intimidation gave way to curiosity as she spent more time around artists and art supplies.
“I kept asking all the painters who came in who was the best painting instructor in the area,” Spry recalled. “Nina Conner’s name kept coming up. And so I walked into Nina’s class, and she’s the one who got me into painting. “
Nina Conner was one of the founding members of the Alliance for Arts. She was an advocate for the arts, an accomplished artist, and inspirational art instructor. Many Lee County artists took one or more of her art classes.
And now Spry tries to replicate that experience for her students.
“So the way I teach, I try to incorporate everything that I learned from Nina Conner into my class,” Spry said. “And one of her fundamental theories is that anybody can learn to paint, anybody can learn to draw. And so that’s what I try to carry on with the students in my class. When I walk into that classroom, I can see her sitting at that desk, every single time. So it’s an honor and a privilege to teach here and take over where she was at. I think she would be happy that I was doing it, too.”
While she applies what she learned from Conner, Spry always tailors her instruction to each student's strengths and weaknesses.
“People learn differently,” Spry observed. “They think differently, and that’s one of the reasons I love the arts — art just fits into every type of person.”
Through the art classes she teaches, Spry has exercised a pervasive influence on the Alliance through people she’s taught and people who’ve seen and been inspired by her work.
Not just Nina Conner.
“The Alliance is home,” said Spry. “The Alliance is what keeps me going. The way they reach out to people, how they make things accessible to people … They’re just inclusive to everybody. No matter who you are, you’re welcome at the Alliance. I love that. I love how they will help people that need help.”
A case in point is the way the Alliance opened its doors to the Fort Myers Beach Art Association in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
“They didn’t have a home, and the Alliance welcomed them here, at the Alliance, to paint,” Spry added. “To me, the Alliance is not just a building or an art center. It’s a community. It’s a place where, when bad things happen, we can come together and go through [it] together. That’s what I always try to say with my students: it not just me teaching class, it’s building a community together. Through all the changes I’ve seen the Alliance go through, one thing remains constant: Art brings people together. Art Heals. Art is for everyone.”
Spry characterizes herself as a contemporary realist. Her favorite motifs include seascapes, water (with its constant movement, shades of blue and green and irregular shapes) and taking unconventional things and putting them together.
“It’s abstract but it’s realistic at the same time,” Spry noted. “Especially with oils and the blending, it’s like you’re in another world when you do it.”
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
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