It started with an angel. No, not a real angel –  a folk angel. More accurately, a folk-art angel.

Emily Kleine met Tash Elwyn at Emory University. “We had no money,” Emily recalls. “He was a cold caller for Ray Jay, and I worked for a nonprofit [Atlanta Preservation Center].” Emily was headed toward the world of historic preservation – in St. Petersburg, she’s known for her work with Preserve the ‘Burg – and Tash was still wet-behind-the-ears in the finance world (he’s still with Raymond James, now as vice president).

The one thing they knew about each other? “We liked art,” Emily said.… Read More

With just 43 seats, Studio Grand Central could be considered a little theater, but “intimate” and “engaging” are better descriptions for this unique venue, home to the Off-Central Players theater company, a “professional arts organization committed to providing instruction, development, and theatrical storytelling for St. Petersburg’s diverse community.”

The building located at 2260 1^st Avenue South was home to the Andi Matheny Acting Studio for ten years until siblings Ward Smith and Karen Riffe bought it in February 2021. The property, already complete with theater seating and lighting, had come on the market just a month before. The brother-and-sister team had been talking about the prospect of starting up a theater in downtown St.… Read More

Drive over St. Pete’s downtown district atop I-275 N, and you’ll look down on a city painted with murals, street art, and zany signage, all caressing the Sunshine City in a trendy blanket of art. But what about the neighborhoods surrounding downtown? 

The Historic Old Northeast and nearby neighborhoods are becoming more colorful every day, as murals pop up on walls and in unexpected places, such as the Northeast Water Reclamation Facility. 

Zipping by this new public art, it’s easy to forget the intricate – and sometimes goliath – works were created by people, oftentimes local. In a sea of talented artists, here’s a few whose creations you may recognize.… Read More

St. Petersburg is a city of the arts thanks, in part, to the long-term efforts of one man: Wayne Atherholt. A steady presence in the artistic circles of the state, Atherholt has worked at many of the local arts powerhouses of the area, from the Dali Museum to the Morean Arts Center. He has interacted with the Smithsonian Institute Affiliates program, and undergone accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums, where he also served as a peer reviewer. And, if that is not prestigious enough, he served on the boards for the Florida Association of Museums and Foundations. 

For the past eight years, Atherholt also held the title of the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs in St.… Read More

Though sadly First Night St. Petersburg has been cancelled, there are still plenty of creative seasonal events to go around. Here is just a sampling of some artsy stuff to get the good times going during the holidays.

Galleries

Ekeko Gallery: The White Art Party, 290 Dr. M.L.K. Jr Street N. December 10 to January 6.  Opening reception is December 10, 5-9 pm. More at facebook.com/ekekogallery.

Ekeko Gallery, a local community favorite known for its stock of beautiful gemstones and Mexican art, shows that it is possible to have a white Christmas in St. Petersburg. All works in the show are based on the color white.… Read More

Chad Mize, a St. Petersburg artist known for his punchy graphics and mural work, is closing the locally renowned MIZE Gallery this December. The space will become an extension of Uptown Eats, a breakfast and brunch spot next door. In 2017, Mize opened the small space after swearing to never open another gallery again; he previously owned now shuttered St. Pete gallery Blue Lucy. 

“I just got the itch and I had too,” Mize said of his change of heart. “So, I opened MIZE. I think it turned out.”  

For five years, Mize put on one exhibit a month and invited artists, art-lovers, and anyone eager to check out local art to his gallery on M.L.K.… Read More

The first few weeks of rehearsals for American Stage’s production of The Colored Museum were joyful, full of smiles and African-style beats from the drums of Malick Faye, a Senegal-born percussionist. But the script is a dark one, full of hyperbole and racial stereotypes designed to make the audience feel uncomfortable.

George C. Wolfe’s The Colored Museum is made up of 11 exhibits, or skits, commenting on what it means to be Black in society. In one scene, Jemier Jenkins plays a peppy flight attendant on a “Celebrity Slaveship.” She delivers her lines so smoothly, you forget she’s demanding you tighten your shackles. … Read More

There’s a certain Dalí piece that exists not only in painting form at St. Pete’s Dalí Museum, but as a virtual reality experience in an entirely separate part of the museum. Archeological Reminiscence of Millet’s Angelus hangs on a white wall in the museum, and also in a whole other dimension.

The Dreams of Dalí VR experience comes with the price of admission. While this is a fairly new technology to many, art museums have been using the concept for years to immerse guests in art. In 2018, the Smithsonian Institution added a virtual exhibit – No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man.… Read More

There’s a hidden gem on the second floor of a 1916 building that was once known as the Rutland’s department store: The ArtLofts of St. Petersburg. Established as ArtSpace in 1996, with a name change to ArtLofts in 2002, it is the longest, continually running artist studio space in St. Petersburg.

ArtLofts houses artist studios on the top floor of this building, which also holds the Florida CraftArt gallery and offices. This working artist enclave hosts a variety of mediums ranging from copper and wire sculpture to photography, watercolor and acrylic paintings, encaustic works, collage, and more. 

With its stone arches and towering architecture, St. Pete’s Palladium Theater commands attention. What lies inside the historic theater at 253 5th Avenue North is no less inspiring. It’s a place for local acts to practice, perform, and entertain at a price dwarfed by the big-time costs of surrounding theaters.

“You’re not going to go broke playing the Palladium,” says the theater’s executive director Paul Wilborn.

Now and Then

The historic space didn’t start out as a theater. Built in 1925, the Palladium was originally a Christian Science church, the First Church of Christ, Scientist. Its white arches and cozy, tiled lobby ushered in religious St.… Read More