By Gary L. Lemons. Thematically, the stories in the Arts Coast magazine in June 2022 will center on bringing artists together across differences of creative expression to demonstrate the life-saving power of what I have conceptualized as “community healing through artistic transformation — CHAT.” Considering this focus, the artists’ works included illustrate ways creative practices can act to promote human healing and well-being in mind, body and soul…. Read More
By Cindy Stovall. “What we’re doing is creating a space that’s accessible for people with developmental or other disabilities to express themselves through an exploration of the arts,” Creative Clay CEO Kim Dohrman says. “And the art that our member artists create is valued and embraced by this wonderful St. Petersburg community. When someone attends Spring for the Arts, they actually get to see our mission in action.”… Read More
Last year, master sculptor Mark Aeling and St. Petersburg Poet Laureate Helen Pruitt Wallace collaborated on a powerful project in the Warehouse Arts District that remembers 9/11, and how to begin again. On this Memorial Day weekend, Mark and Helen share their thoughts, and all the work behind Rise…. Read More
By Margo Hammond. When I say Charles Rennie Mackintosh, what comes to mind? High-backed chairs? Yes, there are plenty of them included in Designing the New: Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Glasgow Style, the special exhibit at the Museum of American Arts and Craft Movement in St. Pete. But those stark, giraffesque chairs are only a fraction of the unique creations by the Scottish designer… Read More
By Emily Stehle. Go to the Tampa Museum of Art – this weekend! – for the experience of seeing work by a group of talented and inspired artists from Western and Central Florida you’ve never heard of – or seen before. Your experience will be eye-opening, exhilarating, soul-searching. . . and perhaps, a little sad. The Florida Outsider Art Collection celebrates artists who create – to create. They don’t have traditional art training. But to them, “. . . making art was as essential as breathing”… Read More
By Tom Winchester. Women’s Work: A Survey of Female Photographers, emphasizes the early contributions of women in photography. The exhibition includes artworks created by many of photography’s most notable women, as well as several whom viewers will be meeting for the first time. The exhibition reveals that men weren’t the only pioneers of photography, and that women were creating photographic imagery that was meant to be understood as art from the earliest days…. Read More
By Laura Kepner. Harriet Monzon-Aguirre opens the front door to her Safety Harbor home. “Come in,” she says. Her smile is authentic. Her kitchen offers the welcoming aroma of freshly-brewed coffee. “It’s not a big space,” she says, handing me a full cup. She carries her two-year-old son Thomas as she walks toward a brightly-lit back room — the Florida room. “But the sunlight – it’s perfect for painting.”… Read More
By Sheila Cowley. At our second Sparks Collaborative Ensemble rehearsal for Billow, Creative Clay’s artists were flying. The performance is part of Creative Clay’s Spring for the Arts fundraiser on May 20. Billow is a short play dozens of Creative Clay’s member artists have a hand in – from painting strikingly beautiful billowing flags to moving and dancing and shouting out lines with actor Jan Neuberger, dancer Helen Hansen French and choreographer Paula Kramer.
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Words by David Warner, Photos by Tom Kramer. Collaboration is a key word for BEACON, the annual concert of contemporary dance at The Palladium. The 2022 edition on April 29 was no exception, with partnerships not just among dancers and choreographers but with a jazz pianist, a composer of electronic music, two laptops, two visual artists and even the audience. I know I will hold all of these dances in my heart for a very long time…. Read More
By Laura Kepner. This Saturday, the City of Tarpon Springs’ Tarpon Arts, a division of the Cultural and Civic Services Department, is hosting The Art of Health at Craig Park, 5 Beekman Lane in Tarpon Springs, a free all-ages event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., which will focus on the ways art uplifts and improves lives through music, painting, dance and more…. Read More
