We had a fabulous lunch at their Cafe and were surrounded by Bougainville climbed walls and a gorgeous fountain as we laughed and told stories. It was so neat and reminded me of a quant Italian experience. Food was delicious and our waiter adjusted the table umbrella to keep us out of the noon sun. read more

Venice Art Center - Beet and roast chicken salad - Art Classes Near Me - Venice, Florida

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The center's breath and scope are remarkable. There's much happening there. It's impressive. Attended a birthday party and did not care for the octopus salad at the cafe while I didn't take the server's recommendation either (which I usually do. My bad). Pleased they have beer and wine. Parking is adequate. Any 1-star review is unreasonable. It's a community center which does good work. read more

I wish I could tell you the art on display was terrific, but we happened to visit when they were between exhibits. They did, however, have many items for sale by local artists which were beautiful. My wife found a necklace (make that 3) that she really liked. If their items for sale are any indication of the quality of art being displayed then this is a place to visit when in the area. Can't help but notice that I am writing the first review - I guess the snow birds don't do Yelp*. read more

It was a charming little lunch site and the gift shop was awesome.

I paid for both a membership and ceramics classes here, and never received any sort of welcome email from the center. I skipped the first class (overbooked) and the second to rest after being sick, so realizing I was losing out on what I'd paid for, I was hoping I could switch into the next round of classes instead. When I called the manager at the center, I was told that I could get a gift card for my four remaining classes but I'd have to pay for the two I missed. I would have been alerted to this policy if I'd gotten an email, but I never did. If I'd known, if I'd had any sort of warning that missing a class would be such an issue, I would've bent over backwards to get to class. But I've never gotten so much as a "Hello" email from this center. This was a very unpleasant experience and more than $100 wasted with a gift card that'll sit on my desk. read more

Artist Jamie Sealander will be teaching a class in oil painting at the VAC. Jamie is the best art teacher I have had the pleasure of working with. A veteran, a graduate of Ringling Art School, and an outstanding photographer, she is also an accomplished painter using oils and acrylics. If you love a challenge and expect expert critiques of your artistic attempts, Jamie is your teacher. She will help you over your bumps and push you beyond your boundaries. Jamie will encourage you to see like an artist, to appreciate value and form in your paintings and challenge you to become a better artist. She will show you how to use color in ways you never thought of, and to see form and depth in your subject. I cannot recommend her highly enough. She continues to push me, and I love her for it. read more

I went to the excellent jewelry show at the Art Canter. Great variety and creativity by some of the artists. THEN I WENT TO THEIR ART CAFE. I'm the one who harps about no decent food in Venice. I found a treasure here. Coffee $1.10, Generous bowl of soup $5.00 and bread basket with oil and balsamic vinegar. I saw beautiful plates of seafood and a combo of soup, salad and sandwich. All the prices looked reasonable. They are open for breakfast and lunch Choose indoor or outdoor seating in a pleasant atmosphere. Could not list under restaurants so I hope you find this. read more

Beautiful art and wonderful place. Art variety is what matters and if you do not care for one piece, you will always find one that calls to you. Art is an expression of the artist- so there is always something to appreciate in any piece. Awesome jewelry as well and fun activities there too! read more

We won't bother going back... a very small bit of art is good. Most of it is very beginner. They have a gift shop, and the note cards are nice and you will occasionally see a decent piece of jewelry but only one or two pieces are unique. Most of it is made from craft store materials and not all that nice. We used to see some good jewelry from two different ladies who apparently don't sell there anymore. Onward and upward for those ladies. While we were there last, we overheard two workers talking bad about another worker...in front of us! Small town. But it really made us sad and not want to go back. It's a decent community outlet for seniors, but for viewing and community benefit purposes it needs to come into the 21st century. It started as a good idea many years ago, but sometimes people need to think about how they can benefit others, especially the underprivileged, and if they are going to have a store, how they can best entice shoppers by having modern stylish things. It's not like they are donating the proceeds to any charity, it's simply a place where they keep regurgitating the money to pay the salaries of workers, and there really seems to be no point other than offering walls to hang things on. In their book it says that they offer art classes to people, but those people have to pay for the art classes so it's not like this is offering any community groups any benefit other than the people who want to hang crafts there. We wonder why they don't use their proceeds to donate to some needy senior charities in the area or even to youth groups, as opposed to just creating a ego place for craft projects to hang. read more