The spring season must be in full swing because visual art offerings across the Bay area will be vying for your attention on Friday, March 6. Here's the low-down:
• At 7 p.m., Eckerd College and Creative Clay executive director Grace-Anne Alfiero host a screening of Who Does She Think She Is?, a documentary about the challenges faced by female artists. The screening takes place in Miller Auditorium and will be followed by a panel discussion with Alfiero, Eckerd faculty and students; for more information go to eckerd.edu or watch the movie trailer at whodoesshethinksheis.net.
• From 7-10 p.m., St. Petersburg's C. Emerson Fine Arts rides the wave of pop surrealism with an exhibit of internationally based artists who work in illustration, installation, painting, printmaking and painted vinyl toys. A live performance by Isabel Czerwenka-Wenkstetten and live screen-printing by Rocky Grimes take place at the opening reception. For more information, go to c-emersonfinearts.com.
• Also from 7-10 p.m., the Tampa Artist Emporium kicks off a new tradition of Emerge art shows organized by Chad and Suzie Cardoza. This month's installment takes fame as its theme, inviting 15 guest artists to create an artwork inspired by a celebrity. For more information, go to tampaartistemporium.com.
• It's slimmer pickings on Saturday, which is probably good news for Café Hey (myspace.com/cafehey), as they launch GASP!arilla — an exhibit billed as an antidote to the annual outdoor art fair featuring work by Allen Hampton, Elizabeth Kozlowski, Jaisen Crockett, Daniel Mrgan and Daniel Williams.
• Oh yeah, and don't neglect the annual Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts. You know the drill: More than 300 artists take over Franklin Street and Lykes Gaslight Square Park on Sat., March 7, and Sun., March 8, to compete for a total of $75,000 in prizes and carnival food-fueled sales. Sifting through the schmaltz to find genuine artists peddling their good work may take an hour or two, but they're there. Let's hope Tampa is kind to them, despite the recession. For more information, go to gasparilla-arts.com.
This article appears in Mar 4-10, 2009.