Creative Pinellas: Supporting Local Arts

Online visitors can tour the Virtual Glass in the Gallery exhibit at creativepinellas.org.

Working to help the arts community rebound

BY CINDY STOVALL

It’s difficult to escape the impact of COVID-19 in what seems like every area of our daily lives. Here in St. Pete, where the arts rule, that impact has been particularly unforgiving. Though our community certainly considers theater, visual arts, literature and music among the essentials of daily living, for the purposes of public health, the reality has meant performance and event cancellations, lost commissions, salary and revenue shortfalls estimated to be over $5 million throughout Pinellas County to date.

But, with hardship comes the opportunity to find the proverbial silver lining – and to develop new ways to survive. To no one’s surprise, there is simply no stopping the innovation of creative minds and there are no limits to our desires to lift each other up.

One of a number of organizations rising to the moment is Creative Pinellas, which has developed multiple forums aimed at assisting large numbers of affected artists, arts businesses and arts nonprofits. The Pinellas Arts Community Relief Fund was established in March, early in the fight, when it was clear that the arts would suffer significant, possibly crippling losses. A partnership formed between Creative Pinellas, The St. Petersburg Arts Alliance, the Foundation for a Healthy St. Pete and, managing the fund itself, Pinellas Community Fund.

“We knew we needed to step in and offer meaningful support,” said Barbara St. Clair, executive director of Creative Pinellas. “Of course, the partnership with John Collins and the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance, the Pinellas Community Fund and FHSP just made everything come together more quickly and put us in a position to really act on our idea.”

Fundraising began and donations poured in from all directions - from every-day people to local arts patrons and large community businesses. Applications were distributed and shared on every conceivable mail and social media platform. Proceeds in this first round approached $100,000 and were raised to benefit individual artists as well as arts businesses and organizations. Hundreds applied for awards ranging from $500 to $1,500 each.

Reaction, as you might expect, was a mixture of gratitude and relief: “I was able to cover the rent on my studio this month.” “This helps offset the losses from 3 cancelled arts shows.” “I’m so grateful to our amazing arts organizations, joining forces to help.”

The partners understood that the need still far exceeded the funds raised in the first round. So the second round of the relief fund has already been procured, and applications are being accepted as this issue goes to press. If you are an artist in need, please visit pinellascf.org/pinellasartsrelief to check availability of funding. Donations are also still being accepted.

Virtual and Online Arts

So many of us have enjoyed virtual arts offerings on Facebook Live, YouTube, and our new best friends, Zoom and Twitch TV. I, for one, have greatly enjoyed many of these offerings - marveling at the collective resolve of the crazy talented artists in our midst and their journalist cheerleaders. Many fundraising efforts are attached to these independent programs with varying degrees of return.

Creative Pinellas decided to go that concept one better when it devised Arts In, a hugely innovative program launched recently on creativepinellas.org. AI, an arts content platform, houses a large archive of video and audio arts content available for public viewing anytime.

Even better, Creative Pinellas is able to offer a scaled stipend for content submitted based on duration and previous piece distribution. “It’s a way to collect and offer great content, keep artists creating AND offer them a revenue source,” says Leigh Davis, arts and culture outreach manager.”

This is the kind of thinking that will help see us through this craziness, and I do so love “win, win” solutions. Visit creativepinellas.org/artsincall or for questions, email artsin@ creativepinellas.org,

Fun-raising

“We Are Family,” a multi-hour, multi-talent performance festival, premiered in May on the Creative Pinellas Facebook page to a large and engaged online audience. The talent extravaganza raisied over $5,500 for the aforementioned Pinellas Arts Community Relief Fund through ticket sales. We got to enjoy poetry from a poet laureate, Broadway quality vocals, readings and even a little bossa nova. Singer and ACT (Arts Conservatory for Teens) CEO Alex Harris hosted the opening hour, fundraising and interviewing many community artists and arts executives.

Around the time COVID-19 began lowering the boom, the Gallery at Creative Pinellas was enjoying a time of great growth, with regular exhibitions, expanded gallery hours and signature programing like Emerging Artists, Coffee with the Curator and frequent student shows, classes and events. When the gallery closed to the public, a beautiful glass exhibition, “Glass in the Gallery,” featuring the works of great craftsmen like Duncan McClellan, was in full swing.

Without losing a step, a special online version of Coffee with the Curator was broadcast live and featured “Glass in the Gallery” curator Mary Childs of Duncan McClellan Gallery. She played moderator, along with manager of curatorial programming, Danny Olda. They had conversations with several of the exhibition artists, including McClellan, in a public forum that also took audience questions – just as it would have in the gallery.

This was an early and effective adaptation to a pretty big set of challenges. But it only sparked the momentum that has resulted in some very comprehensive and innovative programming. “We are always in keeping the goal of revenue generation for the arts and artists in mind,” says Olda. Of course, the entertainment value to all of us with a bit of extra time on our hands and a longing to see the work of our favorite creatives, is a pretty big plus.

On a personal note, Creative Pinellas stepped in to produce my own pandemic production of Beauty & The ‘Burg LIVE! Around the World in May – another online variety show featuring performances from many of the podcast guests that have appeared on Beauty & The ‘Burg over the past six years.

Just recently, the 2020 artists selected for the Emerging Artists Grants program appeared together in special live programming that showcased their work. The curated exhibit of their work can now be viewed online at creativepinellas.org

Community arts organizations like Creative Pinellas have filled a void that we could not have hoped to anticipate. No doubt, this tireless team will come up with even more innovative concepts to keep us engaged, to keep us working and to keep us strong. I, for one, just wanted to say thank you.

Cindy Stovall’s Beauty & the ‘Burg podcast covering the arts in St. Petersburg airs on Wednesdays at 6 pm at heliumradio.com. Archives of previous shows are available.

Artist Mark Mitchell is interviewed for the opening of the Creative Pinellas Emerging Artists Exhibition.