Tampa Arts: Drift Displays, Call To Photographers, Film Debut

TAMPA, FL — Artists and art lovers are invited to the openings of Gone to the Dogs in Tempus Volta and Regulated Industries, the first of the selected exhibition proposals for Drift, an independent curators space, Thursday, Feb. 16 from 7 to 9 p.m. with a Member's Hour at 6 p.m.

Gone to the Dogs, a solo exhibition by Will Douglas in Tempus Volta, investigates drive and desire. Dec. 27, 2020, was the closure of greyhound racing at Derby Lane, the oldest continuously operating greyhound track in the world. The repetitive images in this series are created with losing tickets from the final day of these races.

On the first anniversary of the closure, Douglas revisited Derby Lane to document the space, creating pictorial investigations of a place that once provided a spectacle and is now a vessel for a performance of the past. After investigating the themes present in the culture of dog racing, Gone to the Dogs is about losing and seeking paradise.

Regulated Industries, curated by RJ Junger, includes the work of Pia Bakala and Fred Vorder-Bruegge and is the first of the 2023 awarded exhibition proposals for Drift, an independent curators space.

Recent works by Vorder-Bruegge and Bakala explore a kind of ecological ruin, with Bakala contextualizing Trans Bodies as native to the environmental world enduring societal regulation and Vorder-Bruegge scavenging decommissioned industrial sites for objects and remains that weave themselves into a narrative of decay and transient identity. These works are a mutual expression of humans’ ability to mutate with and grieve alongside a seemingly scorched and disappearing landscape.

Gone to the Dogs and Regulated Industries are up through March 16 and can be viewed Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Fridays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and by appointment by texting 813-340-9056.

Tempus Projects is located at 1624 E. 7th Ave. in Ybor City.

More Tempus Projects

Also on view Thursday night will be Jewels and Binoculars Hang from the Head of the Mule and What Does the Cowboy Dream About? in Tempus Projects’ Main Gallery A and B.

Jewels and Binoculars Hang from the Head of the Mule is a group exhibition featuring the work of Kendra Frorup, Coulter Fussell, Michael Jones and Michi Meko. It will be on display through March 2.

What Does the Cowboy Dream About? is a solo exhibition by Takeo Faison, a multimedia artist and brand artist living and working in Tampa Bay. His background in printmaking has served as a springboard into screen printing, fashion design, interior design and creative direction. Faison’s most recent project, Somewhere Store, is a curated fashion retail experience operating out of a storefront at The Factory in St. Petersburg. The exhibit will be on display through March 2.

Contemporary Beadsmithing

Restrung: Contemporary Beadsmiths opens this Thursday, Feb. 16 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Parachute Gallery at the Kress Building, 1624 E 7th Ave., Suite 240.

Restrung: Contemporary Beadsmiths is a visually decadent installation of conceptual beadwork made by artists from a range of disciplines and backgrounds. The exhibition is a physical manifestation of a 2021 article for Metalsmith magazine written by curator Jessica Todd, and includes the work of five of the featured artists: Catherine Blackburn (Terrace, British Columbia), Curtis Talwst Santiago (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), Hilary Hertzler (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), matt lambert (Hägersten, Sweden), and Teresa Sullivan (Olympia, Washington).

Beadwork has a reputation in the art world as being crafty, unsophisticated, and easy to replicate. This is not only inaccurate, but deeply rooted in colonialism, racism, classism and sexism.

Hierarchies of material and process are a reflection of an intentional rejection of the domestic, the ritualistic and the arts of colonized people to establish social dominance. Restrung: Contemporary Beadsmiths seeks to celebrate and elevate beadwork.

Screen Door Film Debut

Screen Door: an Ybor City Microcinema and Flex Fest will present the film debut of artist Martine Syms' The African Desperate (2022) during Emo Night at the Movies with the Crate Brothers Saturday, Feb. 25 from 7 to 10 p.m. at the microcinema at 1624 E 7th Ave., Tampa.
Tickets are $8. Click here.

Celebrating Art Keeble's Art Legacy

Art Keeble, who served as executive director of the Arts Council of Hillsborough County for more than 32 years, died on Jan. 23, 2023.

There will be a celebration of his life at the Tampa Theatre on Saturday, Feb. 18, at 3 p.m. with a reception to follow.

Keeble devoted a lifetimes to the arts and is credited with helping to inspire the revival of Hillsborough County's art movement. Prior to joining the arts council, Keeble was the director of the Tennessee Arts Commission from 1979 to 1984, the director of the Arts Council of Knoxville, Tennessee, from 1975 to 1979 and the marketing coordinator for Tennessee Crafts from 1972 to 1975.

When he came to Tampa, he joked that most people didn't even know the county had an arts council. With the late County Commissioner Jan Platt serving as his mentor, Keeble began the process of taking arts to the people, founding the Ybor City Saturday Market, bringing theater and dance performances to school children throughout the county and championing arts centers in Tampa's suburbs such as Center Place in Brandon and the Carrollwood Cultural Center.

The general public didn’t even know there was an arts council. He planned to change that. He wanted to better serve local artists. And he promised to “take art to the people.”
And that’s what he did. Soon, then-Hillsborough County commissioner and mentor Jan Platt started showing Keeble how to get things done.

Shear Madness

The Jaeb Theater in the Straz Center for the Performing Arts got a fresh makeover this week in preparation for the Feb. 15 opening of Shear Madness.

The actors in this show need to be ready for anything … Why, you ask? Because the clues change every night, so the show changes each time they step on stage.

In the screwball hair-salon-whodunit, audiences figure out the crime by following the clues and even questioning the suspects.

Dates are Feb. 15 to 18 at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 19 at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21 to 24 at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 25 at 2 and 7:30 p.m., Feb. 28 to March 3 at 7:30 p.m., March 5 at 2 and 7:30 p.m., March 7 to 11 at 7:30 p.m., March 12 at 2 and 7:30 p.m., March 14 to 18 at 7:30 p.m. and March 19 at 2 and 7:30 p.m., March 21 to 25 at 7:30 p.m., March 26 at 2 and 7:30 p.m., March 28 to 31 at 7:30 p.m. April 1 and 2 at 2 to 7:30 p.m., April 4 to 7 at 7:30 p.m. and April 8 at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Click here for tickets.

Call For Photo Entries

The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts announces the call for entries for the 2023 International Photography Competition.

Sponsored by the Tampa International Airport, the 24 winners’ images will be presented in an exhibition at the airport.

The International Photography Competition is a time-honored tradition that has been held for over two decades. This flagship effort from FMoPA commemorates its commitment to keeping photographic art central to everyday life and culture, calling photographers from around the world to showcase their art.

Submitted images will be judged on originality, technical excellence, composition, overall impact, artistic merit, and as otherwise determined by the panel of renowned judges.

Last year, FMoPA received thousands of submissions, from which 21 were chosen to be held in its Community Gallery exhibition.

In preparation for another massive submission wave, FMoPA has tripled its panel of judges to accommodate the trend of growing submissions it has seen each year. Three winners will be chosen from each category along with a “Best In Competition” winner selected from all submitted
photographs.

In celebration of the airport's sponsorship, this year’s contest will feature a new category, Plane/Air Travel.

The categories are:

● Plane/Air Travel Photography
● People/Portraits
● Places/Landscape
● Nature/Science/Animals
● Documentation/Photojournalism
● Still Life
● Abstract Photography

Winners from each category will be awarded prizes donated by FMoPA’s sponsors and will be hosted in an exhibition at TPA from June 12 to Aug. 18, where they will be on display to nearly 60,000 visitors each day.

“Tampa International Airport has long been an avid supporter of eye-catching and diverse public artwork, and we’re delighted to partner with the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts to bring a new exhibit to our facilities,” said marketing manager Kelly Figley, who oversees TPA’s Public Art program. “This competition will attract the work of world-class photographers for all of our airport passengers and guests to enjoy.”

The submission deadline is April 10.

Ailey II Takes Stage At Straz

Coming up Thursday, Feb. 16, at 8 p.m., Ailey II takes the Ferguson stage as part of the Straz Center’s Amplify Project. Along with several other pieces, the renowned dance company will perform Revelations, a work that fervently explores the places of deepest grief and holiest joy in the soul.

Ailey II is universally renowned for merging the spirit and energy of the country’s best young dance talent with the passion and creative vision of today’s most outstanding emerging choreographers. The company embodies Alvin Ailey’s pioneering mission to establish an extended cultural community that provides dance performances, training and community programs for all people.

Click here for tickets.

Tampa City Ballet To Perform

Tampa City Ballet’s latest immersive dance experience will be presented on Feb. 17 and 18 at 6:30 p.m. in the shared flex space of the Kress Collective, Tampa’s newest arts hub, 1624 E 7th Ave. in Ybor City.

The intimate performance will include an excerpt from renowned choreographer Fernando Suels' work, Playground, as well as a viewing of Tampa City Ballet's second short independent film, UN-DER-LINE, inspired by the exploration of tunnels and things that hide beneath the surface.

The film will be followed by a piece of the same name choreographed by director Paula Nunez. The work is an ode for freedom, and explores the concept of emerging; the beneath and the emergence to the above.

Click here for tickets.

Filmmaker To Present 'Wild Hope'

On Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m. Ferguson Hall at the Straz Center will host to second National Geographic Live presentation of the season, Wild Hope, with award-winning photographer and filmmaker Ami Vitale.

Vitale shares her personal odyssey from documenting the heartbreaking realities of war to witnessing the inspiring power of an individual to make a difference. Her award-winning work illuminates the unsung heroes and communities working to protect our wildlife and find harmony in the natural world. Hear her awe-inspiring stories of the reintroduction of northern white rhinos and giant pandas to the wild, as well as Kenya’s first indigenous-owned and -run elephant sanctuary.

Click here for tickets.

Tax Strategies For Creatives

Tax Strategies for Creatives will be presented Feb. 21 at 3 p.m. at the Entrepreneur Collaborative Center, 2101 E Palm Ave., Tampa.

The goal of the workshop is to provide some last-minute tips for filing in 2022 and to help artists prepare for 2023. The workshop will discuss who qualifies as an arts business for deductions, common expenses to deduct as an artist, and the kinds of records artists need to track.

This workshop is for educational and informational purposes only, and should not be used to replace professional tax advice. Click here to register.

Last Weekend For 'The Elephant Man'

Tampa Repertory Theater's much-anticipated production of Bernard Pomerance's The Elephant Man will run for a final through Feb. 19.

The theater will present the story of John Merrick at the Studio Theatre at the Hillsborough Community College Performing Arts Center, 1411 E 11th Ave., Tampa, with performances at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday matinees.

Directed by Emilia Sargeant, The Elephant Man features actor Paul Potenza in the challenging lead role, playing the horribly deformed young man with a rare skin and bone disease in late 19th-century London.

In this true story, Merrick becomes the star freak attraction in traveling sideshows and, eventually, abandoned and helpless, he is admitted to London’s prestigious Whitechapel Hospital. Under the care of the celebrated young physician Frederick Treves, Merrick is introduced to London society and slowly evolves from an object of pity to an urbane and witty favorite of the aristocracy and literati.

Click here for tickets.