An Evening with Patti Smith Dedicated to George Harrison
Scheduled for Wednesday, February 12, 2025
January 21, 2025 | Sarasota, FL. – Global icon and Artist in Residence at Selby Gardens, Patti Smith returns with a special performance at the Downtown Sarasota campus on February 12, 2025, at 7:00 p.m.
The one-hour performance, An Evening with Patti Smith Dedicated to George Harrison, is a celebration of the ninth iteration of the Jean & Alfred Goldstein Exhibition Series, George Harrison: A Gardener’s Life, on view February 9, 2025, through June 29, 2025, at Selby Gardens’ Downtown Sarasota campus. Advance tickets for the performance will go on sale for Selby Gardens’ Members on Thursday, January 23, 2025. The remaining tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, January 24, 2025. To purchase tickets or to become a member, visit selby.org
This is Smith’s sixth visit to Selby Gardens. Her visits have combined public activities such as readings and performances with private time drawing creative inspiration from the organization’s two bayfront campuses and world-renowned collections. In addition, Smith’s iconic voice can be heard at the Jean Goldstein Welcome Center, where she narrates a visitor orientation video in the Ernie Kretzmer & Family Theater.
Jennifer Rominiecki, President and CEO of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens stated, “We are thrilled to have icon Patti Smith perform at Selby Gardens once again. Patti’s artistry possesses a remarkable ability to inspire and unite us all. We are excited to welcome Patti back for this eagerly awaited performance dedicated to George Harrison, which promises to be a captivating experience that leaves a lasting impression.”
Smith’s blossoming relationship with Selby Gardens stems from the Gardens’ 2022 Jean & Alfred Goldstein Exhibition, Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith: Flowers, Poetry, and Light. The show explored Mapplethorpe’s flower photography and Smith’s lyrics and poetry about flowers and nature, in dialogue with original horticultural installations inspired by their art.
Smith first visited Selby Gardens in February 2022 to tour Flowers, Poetry, and Light and perform songs and readings she selected to complement the exhibition. She called the interdisciplinary show “a beguiling exhibition” and said she “was very moved to be asked to be a part of it.” Smith returned in April 2022 for a second live performance, at which the new residency was announced. In November 2023, Smith returned with An Evening with Patti Smith Dedicated to Georgia O’Keeffe, as a prelude to the Jean & Alfred Goldstein Exhibition, Yayoi Kusama: A Letter to Georgia O’Keeffe and for an encore performance in February 2024.
This past November, Smith returned with a special performance, An Evening with Patti Smith and Her Book of Days to commemorate her new exhibition Patti Smith: A Book of Days, which is now on view at the Historic Spanish Point campus through August 31, 2025.
Presenting Sponsor of the Patti Smith Residency: Marianne and William McComb
Presenting Exhibition Sponsor:
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