ARTS & CULTURE
The Chihuly Collection
The world-class glass art museum celebrates 10 years PHOTOS/CHIHULY STUDIO
Float Boat and Sunset Persian Wall
BY MARCIA BIGGS The work of pioneering studio glass artist Dale Chihuly can be found in the collections of more than 200 museums worldwide, including the Smithsonian and the Louvre, but it is here in downtown St. Petersburg that he chose to open his first permanent museum designed specifically to display his work. The Chihuly Collection is a 10,000-square-foot shrine to the art of one of the world’s most recognized names in glass art. This July, the Morean Arts Center celebrates the 10th anniversary of the Chihuly Collection. St. Pete artist and Morean Arts Center benefactor Beth Morean had set the wheels in motion for the Chihuly Collection through her acquaintance with the artist. “Back in 2004, Dale Chihuly had an exhibit at the St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts,” relates Morean Arts Center executive director Howayda Affan. “Beth
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StPeteLifeMag.com
July/August 2020
knew Dale Chihuly and she and other board members at the time were instrumental in convincing him to build a permanent gallery in St. Pete. She knew his passion for education and children, and wanted to leverage the educational value of the Collection not only to the future of the arts in this city, but as a tool to educate the public.” Through Beth Morean’s generosity, the Morean Arts Center purchased a diverse collection of hundreds of Chihuly works, from his trademark jewel-toned icicle chandeliers to his delicate floating Persian Wall, freeform baskets, and organic underwater scenes of colorful orbs and reeds. A temporary space designed by award-winning architect Alberto Alfonso on Beach Drive opened in 2010. It eventually moved to the current 10,000-square-foot building directly across from the Morean Arts Center on Central Avenue in 2017.
