Culture in Florida is a monthly news roundup to showcase our state’s wonderful diversity, spotlight the organizations and artists that contribute so much to our communities, and stress the comprehensive benefits of arts and culture to Florida’s economy and quality of life.
Here’s a sample of arts and culture around the state for the month of July:
SPECIALEVENTS
On Saturday, July 13th, the Matheson History Museum teamed up with the Gainesville Sun and Piedmont Publishing for a unique partnership called the “Gainesville Memories Community Project.” This project utilizes images from the Matheson’s collection to create a book focused on the city’s history prior to 1940, tentatively entitled “Gainesville Memories: The Early Years.” Community members were invited to bring in their historic photos dating back to 1940 or earlier.
The Pensacola Orchestra performed a free concert in the Happiness Is exhibition at the Artel Gallery on July 25th. The musicians, a string quartet with oboe, performed works by Mozart, Elgar, and others.
Florida Secretary of State, Laurel M. Lee, visited Tampa and St. Petersburg on July 18th and 19th. While in Tampa, she toured the Straz Center and met with a group of young actors from the cast of Annie with the Patel Conservatory. In St. Petersburg, she alongside Senator Darryl Rouson met with staff from the Morean Arts Center to discuss their community engagement programs, and ended the day by exploring the spectacular Chihuly Collection with her family. Photographs below are from her Twitter page.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
OPENINGS AND CLOSINGS
The Ringling Museum in partnership with the Circus Arts Conservatory opened their Summer Circus Spectacular this month, which will run through August 3rd. This hour-long show, housed in the Historic Asolo Theatre, showcases breath-taking circus acts such as the Rolla Bolla, Hand Balancing, Aerial Lyra, Hula Hoop and Interactive Comedy. This summer special is perfect for the entire family!
The 31st Annual Arts in Gadsden exhibition opened at the Gadsden Arts Center & Museum in Quincy on July 25th, and will run through August 6th. This celebration of the region’s creative work presents 101 works by 82 artists. Exhibited works span the mediums of watercolor, egg tempera, acrylic, oil, photography, clay, encaustic, wood, metal, glass, papier maché, and serigraph.
The Venice Theatre opened their performance of Urinetown on July 26th, and it will run until August 11th. The production is described as “a side splitting sendup of greed, love, revolution (and musicals!), in a time when water is worth its weight in gold.”
APOLLO 11 ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS
July 20th, 2019 marked the 50th anniversary of the first Moon Landing by spaceflight Apollo 11. Several arts organizations around the state took an opportunity to celebrate this event with special programming outside of their regular season!
The Gulf Coast Symphony celebrated the event with a concert of “moon music” and footage from the historic flight. The program included iconic fare such as Strauss’ “Also Sprach Zarathustra” made famous by the film “2001: A Space Odyssey,” themes from the popular TV show “Star Trek,” and two segments from Gustav Holst’s “The Planets.”
On July 31st and August 1st, the Melbourne Municipal Band will celebrate the moon landing anniversary with a picnic concert featuring various jazz hits.
UPCOMING IN AUGUST
On Thursday, August 15th, the Naples Players will present “Laugh for a Change!” in collaboration with the United Arts Council of Collier County. This fun-filled night of improvisational comedy will allow the Southwest Florida to unite for a great cause: to help provide access to the arts for at-risk children in their community. There will be two separate performances, at 6:00 PM and 8:30 PM.
Have an event you’d like to see featured as part of this blog series? Please fill out this form: https://goo.gl/forms/rNFpweK1euL3y9YH2. Note: submission does not guarantee inclusion.
