Sebastian River Art Club — Sebastian, Florida

The Sebastian River Art Club is a membership organization of local artists in Sebastian that runs a gallery and classroom, stages outdoor fine art shows in Riverview Park and places members' work in public buildings around the city. According to the club's own history, it was formed in 1937 by a group of local artists, and in 1972 part of that group formed what is now the Sebastian River Art Club, recognized by the City of Sebastian.

The club is based at its Art Center at 1245 Main Street. A 2017 Vero News report placed the building next to Sebastian City Hall and the Historic Sebastian Elementary School. In 2024, Vero News described the Sebastian River Art Club as a 501(c)(3) organization with over 100 members whose gallery is open Tuesdays, Thursdays and most Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Members work across many media. The 2017 Vero News report listed painting, sculpture, photography, art glass, jewelry, wood carving, pottery, mixed media and textiles among the work produced by the Sebastian club.

The Art Center occupies part of Sebastian's old City Hall. A September 2009 Vero News listing described 1245 Main Street as the Sebastian City Complex Annex and the former Sebastian City Council Chamber, when the club used it for an indoor and outdoor Festival of Fine Art.

The move came in 2010. Vero News reported in October 2010 that the Sebastian City Council had granted the Sebastian River Art Club permission to take over the west end of 1245 Main Street and convert it into a temporary arts center. A prior council had planned to demolish the old building after consultants found deficiencies, but instead chose to keep it standing for civic groups and public space. A few hundred people attended the opening, with volunteers hanging art as the paint dried.

The club history records the milestones since: the 2010 move into the present facility, 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in 2016, and an 80th anniversary celebrated in October 2017. Vero News reported that the anniversary was marked on October 14, 2017 with a show and reception at the SRAC Art Center on Main Street in Sebastian.

Riverview Park on the Indian River Lagoon is the club's main outdoor venue. Vero News reported in November 2017 that from November to April the club hosts the Art by the River Fine Art Show once a month on a Saturday (Sunday if it rains), 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., in Riverview Park at the corner of US 1 and Sebastian Boulevard. In February 2014, Vero News described the club's 16th Annual Juried Show in Riverview Park as its premier two-day juried show, with framed paintings, photographs, prints, jewelry, pottery and sculpture for sale overlooking the Indian River Lagoon.

Inside Sebastian, the club runs an Art Around Town program. It lists rotating exhibits of about 15 works by members at Sebastian City Hall at 1225 Main Street, about 12 paintings at the North Indian River County Library on Sebastian Boulevard, and a single painting on an easel at the Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce at 700 Main Street, each changed over on club business meeting dates.

The club has also exhibited beyond Sebastian. In January 2010 more than 30 members' works hung in the Indian River County Courthouse in Vero Beach for a three-month exhibit, according to Vero News, and the club's 2nd Annual Art Exhibition ran at the Vero Beach Museum of Art from September 13 to October 20, 2024, as listed by Vero News.

Scholarships are the club's main philanthropy. The club history says the Rosalee Taylor Hume Scholarship Fund was established in 2008 to honor one of its founding members, a painter and sculptor who created the bronze statue of Paul Kroegel, the first warden of Pelican Island, that stands on Indian River Drive across from Riverview Park in Sebastian. The club history describes two $1,000 scholarships for graduating seniors from Sebastian River High School and Indian River Charter High School who plan careers in the arts; the 2024 Vero News listing describes three $1,000 scholarships a year to local high school seniors.

Food assistance is the other long-running cause. The 2024 listing says the club contributes to the Ecumenical Food Council Food Pantry through the sale of Mini Masterpieces, small artworks donated by members. In 2014, miniature works were priced at $10 at the Riverview Park show with all proceeds going to the Ecumenical Food Pantry. In December 2009 Vero News reported annual holiday donations of $400 to the Ecumenical Food Bank and $100 to the Sebastian River Area Historical Society.

The 2014 Vero News report adds that the Sebastian club uses some of its resources to support City and regional beautification projects and places members' works in public buildings in the City and County as part of its public art efforts.

The club's membership page lists three levels. Individual members pay $35 a year, must attend at least three business meetings a year and join a committee; Associate members pay $60 a year with no committee or meeting requirement; Spousal memberships cost $10 and do not include exhibiting. Associate members can show work at SRAC art shows once their art has been juried by the club's jury committee.

Committees reflect how the Sebastian club runs: Art Around Town hangs exhibits around the city, Art by the River staffs the club tent at the Riverview Park shows, and others handle Art Center maintenance, the gallery, classes, fundraising for the scholarship and the Ecumenical Council, and publicity. Vero News reported in 2017 that classes at the Main Street Art Center were open to the public on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon.