It’s no surprise that creative people have found a way to keep connected while staying safe. Here are a few things in the Tampa Bay community to follow.
Flower Power: The group exhibition based on the 1960s anti-war movement at Mize Gallery opened on April 3, with no opening reception. Instead, gallery owner Chad Mize led a tour of the exhibit live on Instagram and Facebook last week and sold nine pieces. He’ll do it again on Instagram, going live at 6 p.m. Saturday at instagram.com/mizegallery. The entire exhibition is also online at chadmize.com.
St. Petersburg’s Second Saturday Virtual ArtWalk: Many of the galleries and studios that are open during the art walk have beefed up their websites with artwork, gallery tours and videos. The St. Petersburg Arts Alliance, who manages the art walk, has culled all of their links into a Facebook event. Check them out from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Some are offering deals and discounts.
For some perspective: St. Petersburg Arts Alliance executive director John Collins did an economic impact survey on the galleries and studios that weren’t able to open for March’s St. Petersburg Second Saturday ArtWalk. He found that the monthly loss totaled about $48,000.
Dunedin Fine Art Center Facebook Groups: See what artists are creating and post your own images on the art center’s many Facebook groups. Among them are a self-portrait challenge, daily photos and the latest, Mask-arade, where people are posting their face masks. They liven up your news feed. The art center also has their exhibitions online on their website in The Art of Social Distancing.
Tuesday Hangouts: The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts is doing live streams via the platform Twitch every Tuesday in April and May at 4 p.m. They’ll give updates and chat with you about your ideas for their programming. twitch.tv/fmopa.