They love Friday (kinda a no-brainer, right? I mean, who doesn't?) and, on the first Friday of every month, they love it more. So much so, they stay open later and bring in artists so you can meet 'em as you peruse their work. Here's who's on deck this month — and where you can find the artists and their art. Note: this all happens between 6-9 p.m.
Meet Robert Taylor, a Tampa Bay photog who has an exhibit, Origins, at The Disco Dolls Studio (4631 N. Florida Ave.). Meanwhile, over at Tempus Projects (4636 N. Florida Ave.), you can still catch Sunistra: The Sinister Side of the Sunshine State. It's a juried show focusing on our sunshine-y, sometimes sinister-y state. In Tempus' other spaces you can find Sharon Norwood's Defining Beauty, a multimedia exhibit that examines gender, race and class. Norwood's exhibit focuses, too, on curves and curls, and this is the tip of what to expect from this Jamaican artist.
Next door at CUNSTHAUS (4634 N. Florida Ave.), Meg Leary's Ride of the Valkyries marks this artist's first Tampa show. It consists of nine gold-leafed hair dryers. Each represents a Valkyries (Brünhilde, Waltraute, Helmwige, Gerhilde, Siegrune, Schwertleite, Ortlinde, Grimgerde and Rossweisse, in case you missed that day in high school) as they're described in Wagner's Opera Der Ring des Nibelungen. These are no "sit there and do nothing" hair dryers, either — they'll spin, sing and fly through the air, often seemingly at random. So, um, yeah… you're gonna have to see this one to understand it.
Finally, don't miss Carmela Zabala, Daisy Robles and Soojin Brown at The Independent (5016 N. Florida Ave.); their exhibit — H.A.G.S. — will make you yearn for summers past.
And there you have it: One artsy, easy, fun Friday night.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Your Best Digs)
This article appears in Jun 28 – Jul 5, 2018.