ART NEWS Waffle or sugar cone? National Ice Cream Day is Sundae, July 17. To celebrate, the St. Pete Pier will be hosting the inaugural Tampa Bay Ice Cream Festival. Indulging your sweet tooth from 11am-8pm is a no-brain(freeze)r. Function junction Artists, showcase all your different talents at “For the Love of Function,” an exhibit coming to Atelier de SoSi in August when the gallery space will be transformed to represent a living space. We’re looking for textiles, glassware, furniture, wall art, table settings, lighting, etc. Applications: open through July 20 Opening Reception: August 10, 6-9pm For more information and to apply click www.bit.ly/3MxA4If, email info@atelierdesosi.com, or call 727-370-4192. To get an idea of Atelier’s style, check out “LIT,” an exhibition that immerses the viewer in a glowing ambiance and colorful experience with works in neon, plasma, glow paints, lighting, and other illuminating materials. Atelier de SoSi, 2380 6th Ave. S in St. Pete. Gallery hours Tues., Weds., Thurs. 1-5pm.
Afro-Cuban funk phenom Cimafunk makes his highly anticipated return to Tampa for a one-night-only performance in Ybor City at the Cuban Club on October 14. The Tampa appearance will be the last show of his El Alimento Tour of the United States. Tickets ($25 general admission, $100 VIP) are available at www.bandsintown.com. Calling all nature enthusiasts! Join us on a safari through the Museum of Fine Arts galleries as we discover how animals, plants, weather, water, and sky have inspired artists since the dawn of time. Learn how artists can not only share the beauty of nature but also help protect it. This camp includes a Friday field trip to the St. Pete Pier and the Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center. MFA’s Art & Nature Camp, July 18-July 22, 9am-4pm. Camp is designed for rising 1st to 5th graders. Cost: MFA members: $190. Not-yet-members: $250. Scholarships are available. For more information and to register: www.bit.ly/3LAl9vm. The Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg presents the first solo museum exhibition of multidisciplinary artist Gio Swaby (b. 1991, Nassau, Bahamas), whose work explores the intersections of Blackness and womanhood. Employing the portrait genre and a range of textile-based techniques, Swaby’s work is anchored in a desire to present and celebrate the complex personalities of the sitters. On display through Oct. 9.
Chris Lang “Walking toward/ away from you” 40
JUNE/JULY 2022 | ParadiseNewsFL.com
Gio Swaby “My Hands are Clean 4” 2017 The Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg is proud to be a Blue Star Museum and to show our appreciation to military families. From Armed Forces Day (May 21) to Labor Day (Sept. 5), the MFA offers free admission to active-duty military personnel, including National Guard and Reserve, and their families. Spouses and families are eligible for Blue Star Museums even if the active-duty member is deployed/not present.
The Tampa Museum of Art (another Blue Star Museum; see www.arts.gov/initiatives/ blue-star-museums for a complete list) has announced a $25 million gift from Dick Corbett in support of its Centennial Capital Campaign for Renovation and Expansion. The single largest private gift ever made to a Florida-based public art museum and art education center will support the museum’s capital campaign, which began in 2020.
American Landmark Apartments has selected multimedia artist Brian B.V. Cooper as its 2022 Artist in Residence in Tampa. The program, now entering its third year, provides no-cost housing and studio space for up to one year for select visual artists. In return, grant recipients are asked to implement on-site community art events and educational programs, including classes for adults and children. Cooper will literally hang out at Amira at Westly in Tampa’s Town N Country neighborhood. He will offer a variety of classes and workshops on interactive painting and drawing, video production, internet editing and digital painting for residents. For more information on the program visit www.artistsalapts.com.
Brian B.V Cooper Nixon’s the One! On Oct. 28, 1970, President Richard Nixon spoke to a crowd of 7,000 people in the Bayfront Center Arena (now the site of the Dali Museum) to boost the campaigns of Florida Gov. Claude Kirk and Rep. William C. Cramer. This marked the first time St. Petersburg was visited by a sitting president.
