Safety Harbor Art and Music Center, For the Love of the Arts

Safety Harbor Art and Music Center (SHAMc) is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to promote knowledge of and education in the fine arts, the visual arts, and the performing arts.

We first met Todd Ramquist & Kiaralinda at a friend’s house party in north St. Pete Beach. In that venue they seemed like an artistically-dressed, middle-aged couple with more than a passing love for the arts. Recently, however, we saw Kiaralinda being interviewed by Bay News 9 at SHAMc a venue that has become best known as “Whimseyland”.

They have been nick-named the “Whimsey Twins” and fellow artist and SHAMc board member Heather Richardson is cut from the same remarkable cloth.

Thanks to a $50,000 Pepsi Refresh Grant, the support of their community and people around the world, they have been able to start the transformation of the Rigsby House into the center of Safety Harbor’s artistic universe.

Since acquiring the property years ago, they have transformed it into their dream center – a place where children and the young-at-heart can gather to celebrate art. If you are an “art enthusiast” in even the broadest sense of the word, plan a visit to “Whimseyland” or at least check out their websites for an idea of what you are missing at www.shamc.org.

Article by Peter A. Roos