Compiled By Caron Schwartz
Copper lips. A pensive gaze. Serpentine tresses adorned with an ivy wreath. Meet Dionysus.
The Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg recently installed a rare 2,200-year-old Greek bronze head of the god of wine and theater in its ancient art gallery. The hollow-cast bronze sculpture is on long-term loan from a private collector. There are fewer than 30 surviving large-scale Greek original bronze statues in the world, according to Senior Curator Michael Bennett, and only six are in the United States
Displaying this work of art continues the MFA’s ongoing initiative to enhance the museum’s presentation of ancient art. Other upcoming offerings designed to bring ancient art to the forefront at the museum:
- Back to the Future with Dr. Michael Bennett, a year-long series of lectures, gallery spotlights, and intimate garden conversations centered on the MFA’s distinguished collection of antiquities.
- Five mosaics from ancient Antioch that are part of the MFA’s founding collection will be on display together for the first time in late summer 2019.
- The exhibition Ancient Theater and the Cinema will be presented in the upstairs gallery from November 9 to April 5, 2020, with the head of Dionysus serving as the centerpiece of the show.
The MFA is also excited to share that the closing date for the exhibition, A Feast for the Eyes: European Masterpieces from the Grasset Collection, has been extended through Labor Day. The Grasset family has generously allowed the MFA to keep their precious works of art on view for the community to enjoy until Monday, Sept 2. We also want you to know that Above the Fold: New Expressions in Origami is closing a week earlier than expected. The last day to catch the much-talked-about traveling exhibition is now Sunday, Sept. 22.
NYE@MFA | FLIGHTS OF FANCY l Celebrate New Year’s Eve at the Museum of Fine Arts
Ring in the new year at an all-inclusive evening featuring entertainment by illusionist Magic by Mio, gourmet seated dinner, unique dessert stations, open bar, dancing, valet parking, midnight champagne toasts, access to the MFA special exhibition galleries and, of course, prime viewing of the First Night fireworks.
Watch for details and reserve a night to remember! Event proceeds support MFA exhibitions. A portion of each ticket is tax-deductible, and sponsorships are available. To sponsor, contact the MFA Development Office (727) 896-2667 ext. 257.
Hello Dalí!
Salvador Dalí may have been child-free but his museum at One Dalí Blvd. in St. Petersburg isn’t.
Little Surrealists Tour: Every Saturday 11 a.m. to noon kids ages 4-11 are invited to bring their families on a special 1-hour Museum tour. Meet on the third-floor overlook and get ready for awesome art & family fun. (Warning: you may accidentally learn a thing or two, too.) Free with Museum admission.
DillyDally with Dalí: Children ages 4-11 can discover the creative world of Dalí through games, puzzles and arts and crafts activities that educate and encourage family interaction. Takes place every noon to 2:30 p.m. every Saturday under the direction of the Museum’s education programs associate in the first-floor Stavros Education Center. Free.
Do you wanna dance (Bobby Freeman, Beach Boys, Ramones, Bette Midler — choose your favorite)
So You Think You Can Dance, the 16-time Emmy® Award-winning show that sparked America’s fascination with dance, is set to captivate audiences again this fall as the top 10 finalists tour 40 cities across the states. The tour stops at Ruth Eckerd Hall on Tuesday, October 29 at 7:30 pm. Along with top 10 finalists, the lineup will feature two of Dance’s All-Stars, who will be announced at a later date.
For a complete list of tour dates, please visit dancelivetour.com.
Tickets, which range in price from $45 to $100, are on sale. For more information and the purchase call the Ruth Eckerd Hall Ticket Office 727-791-7400 or visit www.RuthEckerdHall.com. The ticket office is open Monday through Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm. and one hour before show time.
Take the trolley and beat the heat
St. Petersburg artists unite once a month for our Second Saturday ArtWalk. Studios and galleries stay open late on and welcome visitors from 5-9 pm.
Free ArtWalk Trolleys run every 30 minutes to let you explore the Central Arts District, EDGE District, Grand Central District, and The Warehouse Arts District. The Waterfront District galleries can be seen by using the FREE Downtown Looper, which will run every 15 minutes.
Many of our ArtWalk studios/galleries celebrate the opening of brand new exhibitions during ArtWalk. Discover wonderful surprises, visit your favorite artist or find a new one. All are waiting for your exploration, conversation, purchases and inspiration. Make an evening of it and stop for dinner, drinks or dessert at a downtown restaurant.
It’s impossible to take in the entire ArtWalk in one night, so put Second Saturday ArtWalk in your calendar for months to come! You can find a map of participating galleries, studios, trolley stops and where to find parking at stpeteartsalliance.org/artwalk.
In other news, the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance is proud to again offer the Jim Rolston Memorial Professional Development Grant to a St. Petersburg artist. The $5,000 grant is intended to provide financial assistance for training or education in improving or developing new art forms that will facilitate taking his/her work to the next level.
An accomplished artist and sculptor, Jim Rolston was a founding board member of the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance who found his artistic voice when he was able to devote all of his time to his art after retiring. Continually working to develop his talent, he was committed to arts education and training. Jim’s family and friends established this fund in his memory, a fitting tribute to his belief that an artist’s journey is never over – there is always more to experience and learn. This grant for visual, literary or performing arts provides an artist the opportunity to transform their talents and interpret their experiences with the world around them.
The application deadline is Friday, Sept. 6 at 5 pm. For more information and an application see
Jim Rolston Professional Development Grant at stpeteartsalliance.org.
Fine arts and fashion fundraiser
What do a fashion show, luncheon and musicale have in common? All will take place during Calvary Episcopal Church’s fundraiser on Saturday, August 17. There will also be a display by artists from the Suntan Art Center in Pass-A-Grille and the Beach Art Center in Indian Rocks Beach. The 1 pm to 4 pm festivities will be in the church parish hall at 1615 1st St. in Indian Rocks Beach and will serve to kick off the fall/winter series of fine arts programs presented by the church.
The theme for the afternoon is the sounds and sights of summer with a touch of French Impressionist influence in some of the musical selections. Matt Burke, musical director at Calvary, on keyboards, will be joined by Victoria Garcia, area harpist and Leslie Long, choir member at Calvary. Colette’s of Madeira Beach will showcase fashions for beach, travel, casual, business and semi-formal wear.
Tickets are $20 per person or $150 for a table of eight. For more information and tickets, contact Calvary Episcopal Church Monday –Thursday 9 am to -1 pm at 727-595-2374.
Inhale Einstein Exhale Hitler (thank you Acoustinauts)
The Florida Holocaust Museum has unveiled a rare letter handwritten by Albert Einstein, which is now on view in the museum’s permanent exhibition, “History, Heritage and Hope.” The document was an early draft of an open letter printed in “der Aufbau,” a journal for German-speaking Jews in the U.S. It was published on Nov. 16, 1945 to coincide with the seven-year anniversary of Kristallnacht. The letter was a plea to the Jewish community to help Holocaust survivors. It called on the United Nations to work for peace and for Great Britain to open immigration quotas for survivors to emigrate to Palestine.
The letter was donated by past board chair and longtime museum volunteer Irene Weiss of Palm Harbor and her brother Peter Cohn of California. The donors’ grandfather, Dr. Siegfried Kurt Glaser, helped Einstein write it in 1945, and he kept it until giving it to their father, Werner Cohn. Upon their father’s death, the two decided to give it to the museum, a place dear to Weiss’s heart.
Run to Fun Home through August 18 at American Stage
Every once in a while a Broadway musical comes along that surprises, moves and excites audiences in ways only a truly landmark piece of theatre can. This groundbreaking and life-affirming new musical was the event of the Broadway season, receiving raves from critics and audiences alike and garnering five Tony Awards. Based on Alison Bechdel’s best-selling graphic memoir, Fun Home introduces us to Alison at three different ages. We follow her as she explores and unravels the many mysteries of her childhood in this refreshingly honest and intimate musical about seeing your parents through grown-up eyes.
Tickets: $48 to $58 through 727.823.PLAY (7529) or boxoffice@americanstage.org. American Theater is located at 163 3rd Street North, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
Funky AND chic (sorry New York Dolls)
St. Pete will get funky at the Mahaffey Theater when George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic bring their “One Nation Under a Groove Tour” to town on Thursday, Aug. 29 at 7:30 pm. Capping over 50 years of touring and recording, George Clinton is set to embark on his final tour with the legendary Parliament Funkadelic before he retires. The band is touring with Fishbone, Main Squeeze, and Miss Velvet & The Blue Wolf.
Tickets range from $45 to $75 and VIP packages are available. Guests can purchase tickets online at www.TheMahaffey.com, by phone at 727-300-2000, or at the Mahaffey Theater box office from 11:00 am – 5:00 pm, Monday through Saturday.
Classical and chic
The fall concerts of the Tampa Bay Symphony, under Music Director & Conductor Mark Sforzini, will feature Ellen dePasquale as soloist in Barber’s Violin Concerto. She was concertmaster of the Florida Orchestra from 1996 to 1999 and associate concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra until 2007. On the program are Symphony No. 2 by Brahms and Burst by Kyle Wernke, a finalist in the Tampa Bay Symphony’s 3rd Annual Call for Scores Composition Competition. Mark Sforzini is also executive and artistic director of St. Petersburg Opera.
The Tampa Bay Symphony, celebrating its 33rd season, has more than 80 classically-trained volunteer players, many of them music teachers. The performances will be Sunday, November 11, at 2:30 pm at the St. Petersburg College Arts Auditorium in Clearwater; Tuesday, November 19, 8 pm at the Palladium in St. Petersburg; and Sunday, November 24, at 2:30 pm in Ferguson Hall at the Straz Center in Tampa. Tickets are $20 for adults and free for students, who must show student ID if they are 18 or over. Full season packages for the fall, winter and spring series are available.
More from across the Bay …
The Tampa Museum of Art has again achieved accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums, the highest national recognition afforded to the nation’s museums. Accreditation signifies excellence to the museum community, to governments, funders, outside agencies, and to the museum-going public. The Tampa Museum of Art was initially accredited in 1989. All museums must undergo a re-accreditation review at least every 10 years to maintain accredited status. Of the nation’s estimated 33,000 museums, only 1,070 are currently accredited.