By Caron Schwartz
Murals in Mind
As if gazing at St. Pete’s wonderous murals wasn’t enough, the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance has partnered with PixelStix to enhance 12 of them with uplifting messaging. Each has been embedded with performance videos (music, poetry, dance, drama) that can be accessed with a phone app. Learn more: www.stpeteartsalliance.org/muralsinmind
Party like it’s 1993
The Bogdanov family opened shop on April 1, 1993, and celebrates 30 years of art including graphic design and tattooing on, no joke, April 1, 6-10pm at their 140 First Ave. N, St. Pete studio. A $25 raffle ticket could get you a Bogdanov tattoo, surfboard, or painting. For more information email donna@bogdanov.com.
Food, glorious food
Much of South St. Pete is known for its lack of fresh food sources, but that will change with the opening of A Good Human, a vegan cooking school and cafe. Located at 1055 Fourth St. S, owner Kate Harvey aims to introduce the community to plant-based dishes while supporting local chefs in St. Petersburg. Harvey’s grab-and-go products are already available at Rollin’ Oats and Earth Origins.
Java Jive
Drop by any Kahwa to check out its newest artsy coffee can wrapped in St. Pete artist Glenyse Thompson’s signature pastels and bright white swirling lines. The project is a collaboration between the local coffee roaster and the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance. Proceeds from the $25 cans support the St. Petersburg Arts Endowment. And you can get a refill for just $10! Look for the next in the series this summer.
Historic Kenwood Artist Studio Tour
Meet the artists in their homes and studios during the sixth annual Artist Studio Tour on March 18 & 19. It’s also a great opportunity to see Historic Kenwood’s bungalows, purchase original art, and experience performing art. Schedule and map: https://bit.ly/3XEWCvi
St. Petersburg Arts Alliance 2023 MUSE Award Honorees!
- Ambassador of the Arts Awardee – Katie Deits/Florida CraftArt
- Literary Arts Awardee – Maggie Duffy
- Patron of the Arts Awardee – Belinda Dumont
- Performing Arts Awardee – Alexander Jones and project ALCHEMY
- Art and Technology Awardee – Mikhail Mansion
- Visual Arts Awardee – Catherine Woods
It’s not heavy, it’s the humbler metals
The Museum of the American Arts and Crafts Movement presents Dignity and Grace, showcasing more than 300 brass and copper metalworks from its larger collection These Humbler Metals, American Arts & Crafts Metalwork. Works by Frank Lloyd Wright, Tiffany Studios, Marie Zimmermann, Elizabeth Copeland, Gustav Stickley, Robert Jarvie, and others are included. www.museumaacm.org
Enlightened real estate
Georgia O’Keeffe’s New Mexico home is on the market for $15 million. Located three miles outside of Santa Fe, the adobe structure was the last place O’Keeffe lived before she died in 1986 at age 98. Among other magnificent artifacts and architecture, the greenhouse holds a Bodhi tree grown from a seed given by the Dalai Lama when he visited. It’s said the seed traces back to the tree that the Buddha sat under to attain enlightenment.
FUNdraisers
The 33rd annual Florida Winefest and Auction is excited to announce their upcoming “No Fooling” Champagne Reception, Wine Brunch and Charity Auction, April 1 from 11am-3pm at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. This event will benefit disadvantaged youth in Manatee and Sarasota counties and will feature a seated four-course brunch catered by Chef Paul Mattison, owner of Mattison’s Restaurants and Catering Company. The live auction will include wines, jewelry, trips, food experiences and unique excursions, and much more. www.floridawinefest.org
The 30th annual Gala Under the Stars is an unforgettable fundraiser in support of American Stage. Join us for our largest fundraising party of the year, held on the opening night of American Stage’s production of Ragtime in the Park, an inspiring musical about the power of the human spirit. Don your parasols and bowler hats, enjoy a spirited live auction, and experience the Tony Award-winning musical as the sun sets over the St. Petersburg waterfront! Tickets and sponsorship information: https://bit.ly/ragtime-in-the-park
The Florida Holocaust Museum (The FHM) raised more than $900,000 at its annual benefit gala at The Vinoy on Feb. 4 where it shared the museum’s plans for combating antisemitism. The FHM’s success will prove helpful as it meets the challenges of the rise in antisemitism, changing technology, and the aging and loss of Holocaust survivors. The FHM also introduced its new President and CEO Carl Goodman, the former executive director of the Museum of the Moving Image in New York.
Calls to artists
You too can compete in Art Fusion Galleries St. Pete competition. There’s no subject, and artists can submit multiple times and in different categories including painting and mixed media, photography, and sculpture. Deadline is May 12. A panel of art collectors, curators, and directors will judge applicants’ artwork. Apply at https://bit.ly/3k68wRn
The Hopper Prize is accepting entries for its Spring 2023 artist grants. Grants of $3,500 (2 available) and $1,000 (4 available) are available to artists and photographers worldwide working in all media. In total, 6 artists will receive unrestricted cash grants totaling $11,000. www.hopperprize.org
The St. Petersburg Month of Photography (SPMOP) in May will kick off with the presentation of a new Photo Laureate. Tampa Bay photographers, submit your portfolio on the SPMOP website by March 17! Six finalists will get to exhibit their work at the Morean Arts Center, and the new Photo Laureate will have a solo exhibition during the Lumen Photo Festival in May 2024. www.spmop.org/photo-laureate-2023.
Creative kids
March is Youth Art Month! The Clearwater Arts Alliance in partnership with Creative Pinellas is celebrating by presenting K-8th grade works of art from Pinellas County Schools. The exhibition runs from March 4 to April 2. The opening reception is Sunday, March 5, from 1:30-3pm with awards presented at 2pm. https://bit.ly/3lPPuiy
American Stage summer camp is sooner, and less money, than you think. Purchase two, four, six, or eight weeks of summer camp. Regular price $275 per week; two-week bundle $510; four-week bundle $1,020, six-week bundle $1,500; eight-week bundle $2,000. For dates and themes see https://bit.ly/3Z0Ek9v
Tell me a story
St. Pete’s Museum of Fine Arts new series, The Story of Art, focuses on art history, a story that is continually being retold as we discover new things and look afresh at the familiar. We invite you to join MFA curators to learn more about our collection, contextualized with other objects from around the world, as we take a grand tour through the story of art. The hour-long talks are given Thursday evenings through May. Learn more and register https://bit.ly/3SezrXC
Dunedin doings:PAVA’s 2023 Annual Members’ Awards Exhibit returns to The Cool Art Shop in Dunedin on March 9 and runs through April 1. The exhibit showcases artworks by PAVA’s professional artists. Cash awards totaling $3,000 and ribbons will be awarded at the opening reception March 15 from 6-8pm.
The exhibit will be open to the public Thurs.-Sat. from 11am-3pm. www.pava-artists.org
Trashy Treasures, the Dunedin Fine Art Center’s venerable Art Garage Sale, returns. Donated artworks and art supplies will be offered by silent auction March 1 through the BEST Of TRASHIES pARTy on Saturday, March 18 from 6-8pm. Meanwhile, DFAC prices the rest of it to sell on a first-come-first-served garage sale basis on March 9 from 10am-4pm. More info at https://bit.ly/3XQvGsy
Is he or isn’t he
You might think you recognize Owen Wilson’s next role. But the soft-spoken television painter, with his perfectly coiffed perm, is supposedly not playing beloved TV artist Bob Ross. Instead, the forthcoming comedy, Paint, tells the story of Carl Nargle, a television art instructor who specializes in tranquil landscapes clearly meant to evoke Ross’s oeuvre. The promo for the film falls short of referencing “happy little trees,” but Wilson is channeling Ross in a major way.
