When was the last time you checked out an area gallery? Ages, we'd reckon. It's not exactly easy to support local artists. A lot of galleries are closed on the weekends — time we reserve for catching up on chores and running errands anyway — and many gallery owners seem to enjoy the same 9-to-5 hours as our own work places during the week. That leaves two options: 1. Opening receptions, always lovely for meeting the actual artists (who better to explain some of the wacky shit hanging on area walls?), not to mention the free drinks and hors d'oeuvres; and 2., gallery walks.
Walks, also called hops, strolls and other cutesy names, are the perfect way to check out several gallery spaces in one fell swoop. In the space of about four hours, art lovers can visit a dozen or more galleries — and the occasional museum — during a leisurely stroll through Tampa and St. Petersburg's respective downtown areas.
On a recent Thursday evening, the Tampa Museum of Art and seven downtown galleries took part in the inaugural Downtown Art Encounter. From 5:30 to 9 p.m., the museum and galleries that include Baisden, Beaker, Art by Architects and Matthews Art Gallery opened after hours to allow working stiffs a chance to catch their latest shows. In just over three hours I inspected an A.A. Rucci show at the TECO Plaza Gallery; Las Damas de Arte — featuring the works of 50 female artists — at UT's Scarfone/Hartley galleries; the wonderful Magna Graecia at TMA, and a fun, laugh-out-loud show of postcards by musician Mark Mothersbaugh at Matthews Art Gallery. All this, and with plenty of time to attend the 9-11 p.m. after-party at the laid-back and bohemian Artists Unlimited Inc. (where the 12th Annual Black & White Show dazzled the respectable crowd).
Similarly, in downtown St. Petersburg, the Downtown Arts Association offers gallery walks the second Saturday of each month. Visitors can park on Central Avenue and take advantage of extended hours at 531 Central Fine Arts, The Arts Center, Gallery Enormous, Studio Szabries, Florida Craftsmen Gallery and more than a dozen other galleries and studios.
If you can scare up a few hours once a month or so, any art lover can stay abreast of local and national talent. And if you can't, well … whose fault is that then?
Tampa's Downtown Art Encounter is tentatively scheduled as a third-Thursday quarterly event, which would place the next walk at 5:30-9 p.m. July 17. Call the Tampa Downtown Partnership at 813-221-3686 or visit www.tampasdowntown.com to confirm. St. Pete's gallery walks take place from 5:30 to 9 p.m. the second Saturday of each month. To receive e-mail updates, call Dick Fortune at the Glass Canvas Gallery, 727-821-6767.
This article appears in May 14-20, 2003.