Monica Gagnier on Muck Rack

Monica Gagnier

(She/Her)
Sarasota
As seen in: Observer Media Group, U.S. News and World Report, Pittsburgh Business Times, Sacramento Business Journal, The Denver Post, Washington Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Arizona Daily Star, Albuquerque Journal, Times Union (Albany), Bryan-College Station Eagle and
Covers:  Arts and entertainment in Sarasota, including restaurants
Doesn't Cover: Out-of-town entertainment and performers (even if they are visiting Sarasota). We're all about people with local roots or ties
Coal miner's granddaughter. Berlin-born Army brat living car-free. @NewhouseSU grad who ❤️ Main Street. Eye on arts, kids and climate. Views mine

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Monica Gagnier’s Biography

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A graduate of Syracuse University's Newhouse School, I'm a longtime business writer/editor who has pivoted to covering the arts. I work for Observer Media Group, a Sarasota-based chain of hyperlocal weeklies.

Articles

Sarasota Art Colony artist refuses to be forgotten

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By Monica Gagnier
| Observer Media Group
When retrospectives for the Sarasota Art Colony were unveiled earlier this year at Ringling College of Art and Design and at Michael Saunders & Co.’s downtown offices, one prominent local artist wasn’t included. Actually, lots of artists were left out. In post-World War II Sarasota, there were 1,000 artists in a town of roughly 15,000 people, according to Ringling College Chief Curator Tim Jaeger. “With any historical exhibition, there are always difficult decisions to make,” Jaeger says.
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The Summer Circus Spectacular is a family affair

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By Monica Gagnier
| Observer Media Group
Before the action gets underway at the Summer Circus Spectacular, Italian clown Davis Vassallo does a little housecleaning. He takes his feather duster and starts brushing the heads of people in the audience. Is Vassallo as tidy at home? You’ll have to ask his new bride, Ashley Vargas, who is the emcee of the show produced by Sarasota’s Circus Arts Conservatory. At no point during the circus in The Ringling’s Historic Asolo Theater do Vassallo and Vargas publicly announce that they are man and wife.
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Hermitage Artist Retreat strengthens its ties with Broadway

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By Monica Gagnier
| Observer Media Group
It’s a little over 1,200 miles from the Hermitage Artist Retreat in Englewood to the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in New York City, but the distance feels a lot shorter now that the arts incubator has signed a development deal for musicals with the theater’s owner, Manhattan Theatre Club. Recent wins by alums of the Hermitage have also helped raise visibility for the retreat, which is run by Artistic Director and CEO Andy J. Sandberg.
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