Arts Bonita: New director has big plans for Bonita Springs arts centers after name change
Alyona Ushe has been working at Arts Bonita for more than two months now. But she says it feels like she’s been there forever.
She means that in a good way, of course.
“It feels right,” Ushe says. “And the team’s amazing. We’re really creating a lot of cool things and brainstorming constantly and coming up with plans of action.
“Cool things are gonna be happening, definitely.”
Those things start with a name change: The Centers for the Arts Bonita Springs are now called, simply, Arts Bonita (although the old name is still technically their legal one).
And more changes are in the works, too, including a conservatory arts program and more live music onstage.
But don't worry: Ushe says she’s not rushing to roll out everything at once. “We want to be smart about anything that we do moving forward. Change for the sake of change is not the way to move forward.”
Needless to say, Ushe’s been busy since taking over May 15 as Arts Bonita’s new executive director ― the first new director in 24 years.
We sat down with Ushe in her Arts Bonita office recently to talk about why she took the job, what she thinks about Bonita Springs and what’s next for the arts organization.
Here’s what we learned:
Ushe really, really wanted the Arts Bonita job
“I saw the opening for this position,” she says and smiles. “And I’m reading this and I’m like, ‘This job is made for me.’
“And the more I read about it, the more I thought, ‘Oh my God, it’s incredible.’”
Ushe has a long background in arts leadership in Virginia and Florida. She founded the Classika-Synetic Theater in Arlington, Virginia, and the arts venue Arts Garage in Delray Beach. She also led the nonprofits Creative City Collaborative in Delray Beach and Cultural Arts Creatives (also known as The Creatives) in Pompano Beach. In that last role, she helped open and operate the Pompano Beach Cultural Center.
This new job ties everything together, she says.
“I’ve done festivals before,” she says. “I’ve done concerts before. Visual art gallery and exhibitions. …
“So I’ve done things like that in my previous lives. And this is all kind of putting a big bow on top of it and saying, ‘Here, honey, you deserve this.’ At least that’s how it feels.”
Ushe says she loves what she calls the city’s “welcoming” vibe and its already strong arts scene.
“It’s such an exciting time to be here,” she says. “It’s a city full of potential. And we can see the growth happening and the prosperity happening and it kind of blossoming like a flower.
“So I couldn’t have come here at a better time.”
Why they changed the name of the Centers for the Arts Bonita Springs
Arts Bonita oversees two campuses: A 10-acre visual-arts campus on Old 41 Road; and a four-acre performing-arts campus on Bonita Beach Road.
But the former names for those facilities could be a mouthful: The Centers for the Arts Bonita Springs’ Center for Performing Arts and the Centers for the Arts Bonita Springs’ Center for Visual Arts.
"Arts Bonita" greatly simplifies things, Ushe says. And it also better represents what they do there.
“We are much more than buildings and campuses,” she says. “And especially with our vision for moving forward.
“We want to do a lot more outside of the buildings. We want to be much more engaged with the community. We want to be bringing the community back into our organization."
Now the two campuses will be known as the Arts Bonita Center for Visual Arts and the Arts Bonita Center for Performing Arts, she says. Although those names may eventually be further simplified, as well.
Ushe knew she wanted to change the name, but she credits Arts Bonita marketing and creative director Christine Elzinga with first suggesting "Arts Bonita."
They were brainstorming ideas, Ushe says, when Elzinga pointed out that “artsbonita” was already in the centers’ Facebook name, website and email addresses.
Ushe says a light bulb went off in her head, and she realized they already had the perfect name for their rebranding.
“Arts Bonita symbolizes and encompasses what we are,” she says. “We’re arts, and we’re in Bonita.”
They’ve already rolled out the new name on Facebook and news releases. Changing the signs and the official logo will take about another year, she estimates.
“We’re not in a hurry,” she says. “We want to do it right. That’s the most important thing.”
Conservatory program in the works
Another upcoming plan: Revamping Arts Bonita’s youth-education classes into a new conservatory program.
The program would offer beginner-, intermediate- and advanced-level courses in various arts, including college prep-like courses that could help prepare students for their future arts careers.
“If someone’s very serious about pursuing their career in dance, we will teach them the necessary skills to be able to get ahead,” Ushe says. “And even if they’re not interested in making it a profession, but are still interested in really growing their talent, we want to make sure we nurture that.”
The idea is to offer a variety of classes that build on students’ existing talents and previous experiences.
“We really want to get the kids in, introduce them to all art forms, build passion for them for specific forms and provide them the tools to really build that talent and grow that talent... ” Ushe says. “We want to make sure we touch every single discipline, whether it’s theater, dance, film, visual arts or music.”
More live music taking the stage at Arts Bonita
Another big change: A greater emphasis on live music at the Arts Bonita Center for Performing Arts, starting with a summer season that includes jazz singer-pianist Loston Harris (July 29), bossa nova singer Rose Max (Aug. 5) and bluesman James “Blood” Ulmer (Sept. 9).
Ushe says that’s what most people have been asking for in an ongoing survey with Arts Bonita patrons: More local and touring bands onstage, as well as other things to do at the performing arts center.
So they’re doing just that, including jazz and blues acts and a new Latin American concert series. “We’re going to be having something at least once a week, preferably twice a week,” Ushe says.
They’re also starting a residency program where bands, artists and arts groups could hold regular events at Arts Bonita. Popular comedy duo Compton & Bennett are already a resident company, Ushe says, and more acts may follow.
Artists can apply on the Arts Bonita website at artcenterbonita.org/residency-program.
“Once we get applications, we sit down and figure out if there’s a way for us to collaborate,” Ushe says. “We offer the venues, and then we split proceeds.
"So the idea is we both have skin in the game. We both want to make this a success.”
Ushe wants to help nurture and grow local artists. A vibrant arts scene is crucial to giving Bonita Springs a distinct identity, she says.
“If you want to have an authentic, genuine arts scene, it’s got to be local,” she says. “We can bring in as much stuff as there can be, but then we’re going to be Anywhere, USA.
“We don’t want to be Anywhere, USA. We want to be Bonita Springs. And I think by nurturing our local talent, our regional talent, that’s the only way we can do that.”
More changes to come
That’s not all that’s happening at Arts Bonita. Ushe has lots of other irons in the fire, as well.
Other plans include:
A renewed focus on things to do off-campus, including possibilities such as festivals, art walks in downtown Bonita, and yoga and meditation events held throughout the city;
More plays and musicals in the theater program, including more shows for adults;
An emphasis on recycling and conservation, such as kids classes and art projects that use recycled material;
And possibly a new master arts plan for the city ― something Ushe sees herself as playing a role in crafting, as both director of the city’s biggest arts organization and a new member of the city’s Arts in Public Places board.
Ushe says she wants to help develop a stronger artistic vision for the city and what it wants to be.
“Do we want to be edgy?” she says. “Do we want to be conservative? What do we want to be?
"Once we have an idea of where we’re going, I think it’s going to be a lot easier for us to determine what kind of art we’re going to put in the city.”
What Ushe does when she’s not working at Arts Bonita
Ushe’s been busy at Arts Bonita, obviously. And she shows no signs of slowing down.
But when she’s not working, there’s a good chance you’ll find her on the beach. She loves to swim.
“I’m a mermaid,” she says and grins. “Water is just my place ― my happy place.”
She also loves seeing shows and art exhibits, of course, and hanging out with her dog Azazella ― a Shih Tzu and Pekinese mix named after a character in the classic Russian novel “The Master and Margarita.”
Ushe ― like many Florida transplants ― says she adores the warm, breezy Florida lifestyle. She first moved here from Washington, D.C., in 2010 and, except for one brief interlude, she’s been here ever since.
She says she moved back to Maryland at one point, but that didn’t last long.
“After the first winter, I realized there was not going to be a second under any circumstances,” Ushe says. “So I came back in 2019.”
What Ushe thinks of the team she inherited at Arts Bonita
Ushe replaced longtime executive director Susan Bridges, who retired in January after taking the reins in 1999. And she calls the arts organization and its staff ― including 20 full-time employees ― an “amazing” group.
“We’re building such a powerful team,” Ushe says. “I cannot speak highly enough of the people who are either here right now or the people who are joining us. It’s going to be a super team. It’s a dream team, no question.”
She says she’s excited about what’s next and what they’ll build together.
“The personalities are meshing and the talent is on steroids and the vision and creativity is there,” she says. “And it’s all coming together.”
― Learn more about Arts Bonita at artsbonita.org. Let Ushe know what you want to see there by taking a survey here: artcenterbonita.org/surveys.
Connect with this reporter: Charles Runnells is an arts and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. For news tips or other entertainment-related matters, call him at 239-335-0368 (for tickets to shows, call the venue) or email him atcrunnells@gannett.com. You can also connect with him on Facebook (facebook.com/charles.runnells.7), Twitter (@charlesrunnells) and Instagram (@crunnells1).
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Bonita Springs arts centers: After new name, big plans
