Gulfport: Where the Arts are in Bloom Year-Round

STORY BY JAMES BRIGGS

PHOTOS BY LARRY BUSBY

It’s a warm Saturday evening in Gulfport and the town’s cultural and business center, Beach Boulevard, is alive with a creative energy usually reserved for towns much larger than this artists’ enclave of 12,000 or so on the shores of Boca Ciega Bay. Locals and visitors make their way along the many new shops, restaurants and storefronts that have introduced themselves as part of the town’s unique charm in the past year and vendors and artists have taken their places for the town’s monthly third Saturday arts event.

Outside of Brend McMahon's art gallery, Gulfport's first curated fine arts gallery in years, fiber artist Dawn Waters is creating the kind of portraiture that has landed her on the cover of national arts publications.

“Harvest was the first album I owned,” says Waters. She’s echoing the title of her subject, Neil Young’s, seminal 1972 recording, and in some ways the arts community is experiencing its own harvest from the seeds planted by the creative hands of the artists who came before like Owen Patch, Frank Strunk, Tom Pitzen and August Vernon, to name just a few who have long created magnifi cent works of public art in Gulfport.

Three years ago, renowned ceramicist Brenda McMahon formed local arts collective ArtJones, which grew to include 20 professional artists by its third year in 2019, including luminaries in Florida’s art world such as master painters Ray Domingo and Jane Bunker, the aforementioned Waters and McMahon herself, as well as emerging stars on the scene like painter Anna Ayres, who last year was honored with a Creative Pinellas Emerging Artist Grant.

So, when McMahon opened her namesake Gallery last May, she found a public ready to embrace it and an arts community deserving of such a showcase. “All of these wonderful creatives descend on Gulfport with open hearts and creative joy. I wanted the Gallery to refl ect that,” says McMahon.

A Village of the Arts

Across the street, The Village Courtyard, an eclectic mix of creative businesses and entertainment, bustles with the activity of the recently opened North End Tap House while local Kava Bar, Low Tide, celebrates its sixth anniversary in a location that has seen neighbors come and go in the past few years. More music emanates from the stage in the center of the Courtyard, as a young lady in her early 20’s strums a guitar for the crowd and the tip jar.

Barbara Banno, President of the Gulfport Merchants Chamber, who last year relocated her own landmark Gulfport institution Stella’s to the Courtyard, says that the venue is a natural bridge from Gulfport’s artistic past to its creative future. “Before we had the Gulfport Tuesday Fresh Market, before we had Get Rescued, before we had the Fine Arts Festival, we had The Village Courtyard,” she says, chronicling other notable events organized by the Chamber she leads.

Next door to the Courtyard is Sumitra Espresso Lounge, a gathering space for the town’s art and business communities, which boasts a menu of coff ees, teas, chocolates and CBD-infused products and which serves as a free fl owing space for conversation and polite debate. Upstairs in the same building is Mother Ocean Studio, where tattoo artist Samantha Roberts uses her skills as an artist not only as a career but also as a healing practice by off ering medically restorative inkwork to survivors of breast cancer. It’s a wellknown and little stated fact among the artists in Gulfport that above all its other lofty functions, art, in its purest form, is a healing practice.

Sumitra owner Maurice Loeb, Joanna Hansen, left, and Cassidy Bergeron greet customers.

Singer Zai performs monthly at Sumitra.

A New Old Florida

Everywhere you look, it seems, the arts in Gulfport are in as full a bloom as the hibiscus and bougainvillea that line the town’s public streets and private yards.

As recently as a year ago, things looked very diff erent in downtown Gulfport. The building that now houses Brenda McMahon Gallery, as well as the stylish and eclectic off erings of Custom House Decor and the creatively themed and delicious baked goods from A Friend Who Bakes - all led by female entrepreneurs incidentally - was not yet occupied and some here were up in arms about the newly constructed building on Beach Blvd.

The Historic Peninsula Inn, in its yellow splendor colorfully accented by a rainbow fl ag and bench to match, takes up more square footage in the center of Beach Boulevard than does the town’s latest addition. However, due to its historic pedigree and abundance of Spanish moss shading the entrance of the charming courtyard of its adjoining Isabelle’s Restaurant, few seem to notice or care. It’s as much a part of downtown Gulfport’s character as the pirates and scalawags that fi rst settled here.

Mayor Sam Henderson, second from left, and wife Laura, perform with Sun Dog City, a popular blues band.

Gulfport Mayor Sam Henderson doubles as a professor of Environmental Science in neighboring St. Petersburg and understands that, in his words, “Maintaining our ‘Old Florida’ character while still expanding opportunities for economic growth is a central issue here,” and the townsfolk seem to concur. The Gulfport Merchants Chamber recently held a forum of business owners to lay out a creative vision for the arts to refl ect both the town’s rich heritage of art and a vision towards an even more artistic future. In June the town will unveil a newly designed First Friday arts event that has artists and locals abuzz.

The annual Peace, Love & Pride Festival takes place at the Historic Casino Ballroom, the town’s entry onto the National Register of Historic Places and a landmark anchor of both Beach and Shore Boulevards to the serenely tranquil bay along Gulfport Beach. To say that Gulfport is an active and visibly welcoming community for the LGBTQIA+ crowd would be true enough, though it seems to somehow miss the point. Gulfport welcomes all of its own and its visitors to love and create in a free, open and safe environment for everyone, and the art produced here refl ects that freedom and openness.

vision for the arts to refl ect both the town’s rich heritage of art and a vision towards an even more artistic future. In June the town will unveil a newly designed First Friday arts event that has artists and locals abuzz. The annual Peace, Love & Pride Festival takes place at the Historic Casino Ballroom, the town’s entry onto the National Register of Historic Places and a landmark anchor of both Beach and Shore Boulevards to the serenely tranquil bay along Gulfport Beach. To say that Gulfport is an active and visibly welcoming community for the LGBTQIA+ crowd would be true enough, though it seems to somehow miss the point. Gulfport welcomes all of its own and its visitors to love and create in a free, open and safe environment for everyone, and the art produced here refl ects that freedom and openness.

Laura Shepherd, far right, hosts a bi-weekly Facebook Live show from her Gulfport home. Here she is interviewing members of the support group Operation Regroup. Laura Shepherd, far right, hosts a bi-weekly Facebook Live show from her Gulfport home. Here she is interviewing members of the support group Operation Regroup.

Mayor Henderson, a former Gulfport Poet Laureate who happens to front a fantastic blues band - Sun Dog City - with his wife Laura on his time off , says that freedom of expression is what draws people to town. “This city lets you be who you are and even encourages you to be the person you want to be. It is an intimate place with a caring community of people from all over the world,” he says.

Gulfport’s waterfront has been drawing visitors since the early 1900’s and boasts its own artistic fl are. Public art installations line Shore Boulevard near the Historic Casino Ballroom and shops like Bo’Tiki, Zaiya ArtiZen Market, and Gulfport Beach Bazaar off er visitors an abundance of retail options.

O’Maddy’s serves up casual fi ne-dining at the foot of Williams Pier, the base from which many fi shermen cast their lines. The town’s most famous annual gathering, an irreverent costumed aff air called The Gecko Ball, takes place at the Casino every

Left, Larry Enlow and Maureen Kilroy, founders of the Enroy Foundation, hold musical and arts events monthly in Gulfport.

summer and highlights the social calendar for many locals and visitors. In recent years, the gala aff air has featured an auction of works by local artists with the proceeds going to local charities.

New businesses are opening regularly along Beach Boulevard and both Sea Dog Cantina and Gulfport Brewery will soon add their own fl ourishes to the already distinct character of the town. The future looks bright for the arts in Gulfport. This quirky community-based town will highlight its place as a creative force on the Tampa Bay arts scene while holding true to the irreverence and laid-back lifestyle that locals love and visitors envy.

James Briggs is Owner & Creative Director of Carroway + Rose, a Creative Arts Agency representing artists, nonprofi ts and small businesses in Pinellas County, Charleston, SC and Santa Fe, NM.

If You Go

First Friday and third Saturday monthly 6-10 pm – Gulfport Art & Gallery Walk along Beach Boulevard To fi nd a calendar of events and for more information go to visitgulfportfl orida.com or drop by the Gulfport Welcome Center at 3101 Beach Boulevard.

Artist Spotlight

Wendy Ohlendorf Ohlendorf atelier & Mermaid Mercantile Gulfport Community Arts, Founder

Tucked away in the back corner of The Village Courtyard you will fi nd the quaint, bustling storefront of Ohlendorf, atelier, Mermaid Mercantile, and the classroom of Gulfport Community Arts. Accomplished couture fashion designer Wendy Ohlendorf brought her ideas to Gulfport just 3 years ago from Portland, Oregon. Portland was where Wendy fi rst showcased her fashion designs on runways and in her studio-storefront there.

Today, Gulfport is home and that storefront in The Village Courtyard is where Ohlendorf is creating community through art and design. Currently six teachers are on staff and at least a dozen rotating classes every month, with new off erings added regularly. “Artists teaching art” is the Gulfport Community Arts tagline. Ohlendorf takes this motto seriously - as a lifelong artist herself, she strove to design a curriculum for the local arts community that was enjoyable as well as a real hands-on learning opportunity. Classes range from life drawing and painting to mixed media and experimental techniques, as well as TED-style talks and art history. This month GCA expands to foreign languages, dramatics, and writing.

“Gulfport is a town rich in artists and creative expression,” Ohlendorf said “It is our [GCA] desire to share that passion for art deeper into the community . While creating a learning center that reaches beyond the arts; linking everyone of every skill level and ability to subject matter that encourages them and sparks that desire to stretch themselves and their own possibilities for expansion and growth.”

And about fashion design, how does that fi t into the mix? Currently, Ohlendorf is working on several custom dress designs for both local clients and her following in Portland. You can see many of her designs on display in that little storefront with big artistic ambitions in the Courtyard. It is evident in Wendy’s fashion design style how she translates her educational background in fi ne art and design with her love of textile to create visually impactful works of wearable art.

Artist Spotlight

Brenda McMahon Brenda McMahon Gallery ArtJones, Founder

On a beautiful February afternoon in 2019, artist Brenda McMahon was walking through Gulfport’s popular Tuesday Fresh Market when she saw a For Rent sign in the window of a new building on Beach Boulevard. “In a flash I stopped, looked at the small, vacant retail space and thought - this is my new gallery,” she said. “I signed the lease on Valentine’s Day and this May marks the one-year anniversary of the Gallery’s opening.”

McMahon is a ceramic artist born in Brooklyn, NY, and raised in the small beach community of Rockaway Beach. “It was not unlike Gulfport. Just 45 minutes from Manhattan, it was worlds away from the hustle and bustle,” she recalled. “When I stumbled upon Gulfport in 2008, I fell in love. I found my home. Gulfport is an ‘Old Florida’ town; an openhearted community where you know your neighbors, love to support local businesses and make lifetime friends.”

A full-time ceramic artist for more than 25 years, McMahon curates a gallery with artwork from local, regional and national artists. The gallery is a virtual art show, filled with clay, glass, fiber, acrylic, abstract and pastel paintings. “I have always felt that a diversity of mediums resonate beautifully together,” she said. Handcrafted wooden tables hold the space for Japanese inspired ceramics. Blown glass sparkles in the windows, while brilliant pastels warm the walls. Dimensional ceramic wall murals add texture and volume to the space where mixed media acrylics carry you into a dreamy waterside landscape.

“All of these wonderful creatives converge in this artist enclave community with open hearts and joyful expressions,” she says. “We welcome you to our magical town.”

The Brenda McMahon Gallery is open 5 days a week; Mondays & Wednesdays it is closed so Brenda can work in her ceramic studio.