By Harriet Monzon-Aguirre
Exploring Dunedin Galleries Together
. . .
One Saturday afternoon while dropping off an application for an upcoming exhibition in Dunedin, my daughter Madeline and I took the opportunity to view current art exhibitions open to the public.
Our first stop was at the Studio 1212 Art Gallery to view Tell Us A Story. Studio 1212 is a membership-based nonprofit artist group with about 27 members. I have only met a handful of the current members, yet every interaction has been welcoming and supportive.
The group has themed exhibitions every six weeks and though the gallery space is quite small, the shows are well-hung, allowing for ease of movement and full appreciation of selected works.
. . .
. . .
At each show opening, attendees enjoy some form of entertainment and are treated with light refreshments and drinks while relaxing on the outdoor patio and garden. A fun aspect of opening day is the ability for the public to vote for their favorite piece. Although we visited toward the end of the show, Madeline’s favorite was a bright and gestural forest titled One Day Last Summer by Bob Pope.
After applying for the upcoming show Look Closer, we walked a few blocks over to visit the Stirling Art Studios and Gallery and their exhibit. The theme Florida Impressions, which runs through March 27, was interpreted by a variety of styles, mediums and artists.
. . .
. . .
I appreciate the set-up for the Stirling space as much as I do Studio 1212. The center of a long rectangular room is partitioned into several artists-in-residence studios.
Adorning the common room areas and a few other spaces, are works from the themed shows. Placards indicate whether the paintings were part of the show or part of the artist-in-residence collections.
. . .
. . .
Madeline was fascinated by Donna Plunkett’s collage piece Jungle Fruit and I could see her mind trying to work out how it was assembled. She also recognized the Aurora Borealis in the acrylic painting Peace by Shirley Kinneberg, and was drawn to the bright undulating blues of Janice Ritter Kadushin’s Raging Sea II.
. . .
. . .
Located at the very back of the Stirling space was the permanent collection of the Miniature Art Society of Florida (MASF), based in Dunedin. These works may be small but they draw you in.
. . .
. . .
Once we viewed the beautiful art in these locations, Madeline and I bought two scoops of ice cream, and finished our afternoon playing at the Edgewater Park playground by the marina. All in all, we had a happy and ‘must-repeat-soon’ mother-daughter-date in Dunedin.
. . .. . .
Originally published in the Bahia-Studios blog
Photos by Harriet Monzon-Aguirre
