BESTBets
‘Skyway’ Exhibit Visits Four Museums
“Skyway 20/21: A Contemporary
Collaboration” exhibition is taking place
across four Tampa Bay area museums –– the
Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg; The
John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in
Sarasota; the Tampa Museum of Art; and the
USF Contemporary Art Museum in Tampa.
This second triennial “Skyway” institutional
alliance and cultural partnership celebrates
the diversity and talents of 49 artists
and art collectives working in Pinellas,
Hillsborough, Manatee and Sarasota
counties. Fifteen artists’ works, focused on
the care of our national environment, can
be seen through August 22nd at the MFA,
St. Pete. Additional artists’ works can be
seen through September 1st at USF; through
September 26th at the Ringling; and through
October 10th at the Tampa Museum of Art.
38 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | JULY/AUGUST 2021
Styrofoam Objects with Bottles, a 2021 oil on
linen by painter Ezra Johnson, associate
professor of painting and video at the
University of South Florida in Tampa,
is among his works on exhibit in the
Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg’s
The Rose and portion of “Skyway 20/21.”
the Beast
The Rose and the Beast interactive
narrative adventure will be indoors
at the freeFall Theatre in St. Petersburg
from June 25th through August 8th.
Francesca Lia Block turns nine fairy
tales inside out during a fully accessible
walk-through experience that lets you
step into the stunning retelling of these
classic stories, while traveling through
a series of spaces with members of
your own party. The 90-minute visual
storytelling is for those 13 years of age
or older, and is available by choosing
a time between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. by
calling (727) 498-5205, or by visiting
freefalltheatre.com.
Images of St. Petersburg
Author and photographer
Alex Casano has self-published
pictorial books focusing on topics
from history to religion. His 10th
book, Historic St. Petersburg: A
Photographic Journey, is available at
amazon.com. His images range from
Derby Lane to Sunken Gardens
with familiar and unfamiliar
sites in between. Each photo is
enhanced with a caption about
the subject matter.
MFA’s Photos of
Sidelined Artists
“From Margins to Mainstays: Highlights from the
Photography Collection,” an exhibit that spotlights some of
the extensive photographs belonging to the Museum of Fine
Arts, St. Petersburg, will be on display at the museum through
September 26th. The photos in this special exhibition were
made by artists who were often sidelined or impacted by their
gender, race, sexuality, or nationality, and clearly illustrate the
transformation of photography since the art form began being
shown in American museums in the 1940s.
Stanton Thomas,
Ph.D., senior curator of
collections and exhibitions
for the Museum of Fine
Arts, St. Petersburg,
proudly shared Butchers,
a 1940 Gelatin silver print
from the book Harlem
Document by American
photographer Aaron
Siskind, 1903-1991,
which was a gift to
the MFA’s permanent
collection by Dr. Bob
and Ranee Drapkin.
GRAM