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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
EXPLORE ‘CUBAN PATHWAYS’
AT HISTORY CENTER
Te newest traveling exhibit at the Tampa Bay History Center is Cuban Pathways, which explores 500 years of history. Te exhibit is available for viewing through February 2023.
The newest traveling exhibit at the Tampa Bay History Center, located at 801 Water St. in downtown Tampa, is titled ‘Cuban Pathways.’ The exhibit chronicles over 500 years of history from three paths: African, Chinese and Spanish. It is truly an amazing exhibit.
The oldest artifact is a Peter Martyr map from 1511 which identifies the island of Cuba. The exhibit also contains a chug boat, which is a little, handmade open vessel powered by a small diesel engine. The boat in the exhibit was used in 2021 by 12 Cubans to cross the Florida Straits.
This is the first traveling exhibit produced exclusively by the Tampa Bay History Center. Dr. Brad Massey, Saunders Foundation Curator of Public History for the Tampa Bay History Center, said, “This is a very ambitious exhibit as it tells 500 years of history in 2,000 square feet. It chronicles diverse groups of people who came to Cuba.” Massey added, “Cuba was the Caribbean hub of the modern Atlantic World and home to a diverse population.”
In the exhibit, you will see a receipt for an enslaved person and transfer papers for Matilda, a Creole being transferred as property. Another interesting item is a painting. The subject is not what is of interest; rather, it is the painter, Vincente Escobar, a free black painter that makes the painting interesting. According to Massey, 20 percent of the population was free black people.
There are artifacts related to the long ties Tampa has had with the island of Cuba, there are military artifacts and there is even a giant View-Master that shows Cuba when it was the number one foreign destination for 50 years until Fidel Castro took over in 1959.
You will see an interesting group of items telling the story of China’s connection to Cuba.
The collection occupies more than 2,000 square space of gallery space and will be available for viewing through February 2023. Cuban Pathways will then travel the Southeastern United States.
For more information on this exhibit and all of the other exhibits at the Tampa Bay History Center, please visit www.tampabayhistorycenter.org or call 228-0097.
The Arts Council of Plant City is hosting a Snap a Selfie Contest. The Snap a Selfie Contest is in conjunction with the return of the J. Seward Johnson statues that have been placed strategically throughout downtown Plant City.
Now through Monday, May 30, you can snap a photo with yourself and any of the seven trompe l’oeil painted bronze statues, which are castings of live people engaged in everyday tasks. Take a selfie with Relish, Too?, located at Roots Cellar on Collins Street; Latte?, located in Unity Park on Collins Street; or even Bake Sale, located near the Robert W. Willaford Railroad Museum on N. Palmer Street, and post it with a title on the Arts Council of Plant City’s Facebook page.
Take the selfie of yourself, your family, your civic club, your business and even your pet. The winners of the Snap a Selfie Contest will be determined by the Arts Council Board. Winners will be contacted via Facebook Messenger and invited to attend the Sculpture Walking Tour on Thursday, June 2 at 6 p.m.
There will be prizes awarded to three winners. First place will receive $50 in cash and $50 in gift cards. Second place will receive $25 in cash and $50 in gift cards. Third place will receive $25 in cash and $25 in gift cards.
Take a stroll through downtown Plant Dodie White with City and take a selfe with one of J. Seward the Arts Council of
Johnson’s seven lifelike statues, such as Plant City said, “We
Keep Life in Balance, located in McCall are so excited to Park on Collins Street. Submit your selfe have the J. Seward on the Arts Council of Plant City’s Facebook page now through Monday, May 30 and you just might win a prize. Johnson Sculptures back again in beautiful downtown Plant City. They add so much to our downtown area.” The other four sculptures include Body Music, located at the intersection of Palmer Street and East Reynolds Street; Ambassador of the Streets, located on the east end on McCall Park; Keep Life in Balance, located in McCall Park on Collins Street; and Captured, located on the Village Green on Evers Street. The mission of the Arts Council of Plant City is to bring arts to the Plant City community, to promote education in the arts and to develop artists and arts programs. For more information, please visit www. plantcityarts.com.
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