Orange Blossom Award - The Beacon: Erica Sutherlin

Erica Sutherlin, artistic executive director of The Studio@620, was named the 2025 Beacon Award recipient for her leadership, collaboration, and impact across Tampa Bay’s arts ecosystem. (Photo by Tyrese Pope)

by Avery Anderson

On the final day of 2025 and the end of our first annual Orange Blossom Awards. The Beacon Award honors one person this year who didn’t just show up—but pushed the field forward. Who expanded what felt possible. Who said yes when it would’ve been easier to say “not my job,” and kept showing up long after the applause faded.

This is someone whose impact isn’t loud—but it’s unmistakable.
You see it in the doors they open.
The people they lift.
The momentum that exists because they were there.

This year’s Beacon Award goes to Erica Sutherlin—a leader nominated by multiple people, for the same reason: she shows up. Every day. With intention, care, and an almost radical sense of joy about what the arts can be when they’re built with people in mind.

As artistic executive director of Studio@620, Sutherlin isn’t simply programming seasons. She’s widening the field—who gets to make work, who gets paid to learn, and who gets invited into the room.

**Erica Sutherlin's** leadership has expanded access, created pathways for artists and administrators, and shaped a more connected arts community across Tampa Bay. (Photo credit Joey Clay)

Why this year mattered

In 2025, Sutherlin directed Cadillac Crew to a sold-out run while launching a new co-production model with Powerstories—a tangible example of collaboration over competition. The production didn’t just fill seats; it built capacity, creating first-time leadership opportunities backstage and new pathways for artists to grow.

She moved forward a new theatre program in partnership with University of South Florida St. Petersburg, strengthening the pipeline between education and professional practice. She continued a commitment to resident companies like projectALCHEMY, while opening the door to new ones like Dead Canary Theatre—giving organizations not just space, but room to grow.

And her impact radiates outward. From WUSF to Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg, from Tampa Bay Arts Passport to Pinellas Diaspora Arts Project, Sutherlin shows up for the ecosystem—not just her own stage.

The work behind the glow

In a recent profile with Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, Sutherlin outlined a three-phase rollout at the Studio: opening the doors wider, building sustainable revenue beyond any one leader, and reshaping the organization’s identity so The Studio—its people, its purpose—takes center stage.

She’s candid about the math. Producing a show costs roughly $35,000. Tickets cover only a fraction. Sustainability, she argues, comes from valuing artists’ labor and building partnerships that keep the doors open—not just today, but long after any single season closes.

“The space is full and vibrating,” Sutherlin said, “but we are still trying to keep our doors open… If we talk about how much we love the Studio and how it’s been a beacon, we need to support it.”

How the ripples become waves

What makes Erica’s work matter isn’t any single production or partnership—it’s the pattern.

When she says yes to a co-production, she’s modeling collaboration in a field trained to compete. When she hires someone into their first leadership role, she’s changing who feels qualified to lead next time. When she opens the doors to a new resident company, she’s stabilizing artists who would otherwise be scrambling—giving them time, space, and trust to grow real roots here.

Those decisions don’t stay contained within one building.

They move outward—into other organizations that borrow the model, into artists who carry those expectations with them, into audiences who start to recognize the Studio not just as a venue, but as a civic space. A place where learning is paid, risk is supported, and community isn’t a buzzword—it’s a practice.

This is how ecosystems actually change: not through grand gestures, but through consistent leadership that aligns values with action. Over and over again.

That’s why Sutherlin’s name came up again—and again—when nominations opened. And it’s why the Beacon this year isn’t only about what she’s built so far, but about what’s now possible because she’s here.

As Clareann Despain, artistic director of Powerstories, put it: “Erica is a cultural force. Her vision and artistry is unparalleled. She is a leader in every sense of the word.”

Some people reflect light.
Others make sure it keeps spreading.

That’s the Beacon.

What are the Orange Blossom Award

A month-long series from The Arts Passport celebrating the people and organizations whose quiet, steady work strengthens Tampa Bay’s arts ecosystem. No applications. No campaigning. Just community-driven recognition, released daily in December.