Sarasota: where urban amenities meet small town living.

Saint Petersburg

St. Petersburg is the cultural hub of central Florida. With six museums, scores of galleries and an active performing arts community, St. Petersburg offers residents and visitors a wide variety of cultural activities. Take a stroll and encounter breathtaking public art that dots the landscape of St. Pete -- or take in a tour of many private galleries that proudly call St. Petersburg home.

Art and Culture inquires please e-mail to ann.wykell@stpete.org.

St. Petersburg Arts Grants Program

City Arts grants are available for eligible nonprofit cultural 

organizations and programs. In 2008 applications will be 

accepted for Mini Grants and Special Project Grants only. 

Files:

 Arts Grants Program Guidelines

 Staff Worksheet

 Cover Page and Certificate of Review

 FY09 Arts Grants Application 

FY 09 Arts Grant Application Proposal Budget

Gasparilla Festival of the Arts

The Gasparilla Festival of the Arts showcases 300 of the world's most talented artists who "turn the streets of downtown Tampa into a museum."   Over 100,000 visitors come to the free festival to take in art displays, live entertainment, children's activities and food vendors.  About 1,000 artists apply each year for the 300 spots.

The festival is one of the country's premiere outdoor art events and has a rich history in the City of Tampa.  The forerunner of the festival was the juried art exhibit at the Florida State Fair. The best art from around the state was exhibited at the State Fair, held in Tampa every February in conjunction with the City's Gasparilla pirate invasion.  When the Fair moved to a site outside of its downtown origin, the art exhibit evolved into a display of local art work.  Art activists realized that the informality of the State Fair exhibit had brought diverse, high quality artwork to many people who normally never ventured into museums and they wanted that to continue. The concept of a sidewalk art festival was conceived in the summer of 1970 and the first show occurred in 1971.

Art in Action

Art in Action is a nonprofit organization dedicated since 1982 to bringing visual arts education to the classroom. The Art in Action program enriches the lives of thousands of students each year in public and private schools and after school programs through an engaging, hands-on curriculum that teaches art history, art appreciation, and art techniques. Through the training and support of educators, Art in Action seeks to make visual art an integral part of every student's classroom experience.

Why Art?

Art is a visual language that speaks to students of all learning styles, providing them the opportunity to create, problem solve, and think critically — skills essential for success both in the classroom and beyond it. Art education engages children more fully in all aspects of learning and gives them a richer understanding of themselves and the world around them. Art encourages children to become curious, imaginative students and interested, thoughtful people.

Letter from the Executive Director

Can you imagine a classroom in which every child is engaged and focused? One in which students value the work of their classmates and are confident about their own? An environment that encourages students both to look inside themselves for inspiration and to be curious about a world outside their own experience? This kind of classroom isn't merely imaginary — it exists wherever the arts play a significant role in learning.

As a teacher, I see how important it is for my students to be truly engaged. When they make a model or play-act an event, they become invested in the process — they visualize context, notice details, and figure out new ways to solve problems. Art has the power to make learning real. Although most children won't become artists, most are visual learners whose exposure to visual language brings the world around them into focus. Art education reaches every student: the scholar and the athlete; the techie and the dreamer; the self-starter in the front row and the child hiding in the back, waiting to see a language that finally makes sense.

Yet some educators dismiss the arts as frill. Ninety-eight percent of teachers say they lack confidence to teach art, and many schools cut art instruction so they can focus on "the basics." At Art in Action, we believe that art is basic.

I founded Art in Action when my daughter was in kindergarten because I didn't want budget cuts to rob her or her classmates of the very real benefits of a quality art curriculum. Twenty-five years later, Art in Action is a leading art educator in the Bay Area, fulfilling the dream of parents and educators who believe that all children should have an excellent, well-rounded education. Great schools have great art programs; Art in Action seeks to make every school — and every student — great.

Judy Sleeth

Founder & Executive Director

Art in Action

School Programs

The Art in Action program is a discipline-based, sequential art curriculum designed around the works of the great masters. The curriculum comprises 108 lessons, 12 each year from kindergarten through eighth grade. The Art in Action program is aligned with California and National Visual Arts Standards and integrated with other elements of the core curriculum.

Taught by classroom teachers and parent volunteers, the Art in Action curriculum is fun to learn and easy to teach, even for non-artists. Art in Action provides training for teachers and volunteer docents, ongoing school support, and all the art materials and prints necessary for implementing a yearlong program. Curriculum books provide detailed, recipe-style directions for guiding successful discussions and projects, while still allowing the flexibility to ensure that the Art in Action program will complement every school environment.