Ringling Underground Infuses Museum With Youthful Energy

When the sun sets over the courtyard of Sarasota’s John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, an eclectic and vibrant new culture emerges from the shadow cast by the museum’s iconic, towering bronze-cast statue of Michelangelo’s David. On the first Thursday of each month, February through April and August through October, an event called “Ringling Underground” reimagines the museum’s serene courtyard and transforms it into a party atmosphere that features a pop culture-saturated array of live, danceable indie music and contemporary art installations that are geared toward engaging a fresh, youthful new generation of museum patrons. … “Sarasota is a hub for higher education — New College is the state honors college of Florida and there’s Ringling College of Art and Design, one of the nation’s top schools for the arts, and the state schools — but we struggle to keep our graduates here,” says David Berry, Ringling Museum’s assistant director for academic affairs.