When pandemic construction delays postponed Tempus Projects’ grand reopening on Nebraska Avenue, Tempus founder Tracy Midulla didn’t get discouraged. At the same time, she didn’t want to keep Tempus on hold any longer.
“We've had a really great run last summer and during the pandemic at LiveWork,” Midulla told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, referring to another Seminole Heights gallery space that accommodated her nonprofit. “The space was great for virtual programming and small groups of people by appointment.”
No Media Dance Party: DJ Faz w/DJ Gabe/Mike Mass/Kiii: Saturday July 17, 8 p.m.-midnight
$10 at the door; free for members
Tempus Projects. 4220 N Florida Ave., Tampa
tempus-projects.com
But LiveWork wasn’t suited for some of the larger exhibitions Midulla had planned for 2020, and now she’s playing catch up.
“We really need to catch up on our programming from 2020 and start housing some large exhibitions now that the world is moving forward,” Midulla added.
So she reached out to former Tempus landlord Frank Kane in search of a larger temporary space to host Tempus until construction on the Peninsularium is complete. The two struck a deal on the old Bali Bay Trading Company space on N. Florida Avenue. It’s about three times the size of Tempus’ former space, and Midulla is already brainstorming creative ways to use the extra space.
“I feel like we can do some exciting things,” said Midulla. “We can treat it as a gallery and as an event space, so I’m super stoked about that.
She’s most excited about the prospect of hosting live music and film screenings in the new space. And then, of course, there’s the “Home is Anywhere you Hang Your Head” exhibition.
The exhibition was supposed to run in March 2020 at Quaid, but we all remember what happened then. “It got postponed and postponed and postponed,” Midulla said.
Now, the exhibit is slated for the first week of September in Tempus’ temporary gallery space at 4220 N. Florida Ave. The new space is about 4-5 times the size of Quaid, which means “Home is Anywhere You Hang Your Head” is about to get bigger and better.
“The exhibition just needs to be redesigned, which is great, because it means more large pieces of artwork,” Midulla told CL. “I'm pretty excited about that.”
In the meantime, Midulla’s introducing everyone to the new temporary Tempus space with a dance party Saturday, July 17.
Dance parties have been the thing a lot of people have missed the most in the pandemic world. This one at the temporary Tempus space (see address and cover info on p. 8) night starts off with Mike Mass hosting performances from Wave Theory artists DJ Dfaz (Danny Fazioli) and emcee KIII. Kenneth Lighon III joined the collective after making a name for himself as a spoken word artist through Tampa’s Smoken Words. Stay late, too, because at 10 p.m, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s Senior Music Correspondent Gabe Echazabal plays some of his favorite dance hits which include Neneh Cherry’s “Buffalo Stance,” The Smiths’ “Bigmouth Strikes Again,” Prince’s “Controversy” and “Pull up to the Bumper” by the one and only Grace Jones.
And if you’re wondering what “No media” means no phones so no selfies, no Facebook, or Instagram. Just a freaking good old fashioned dance party—finally.
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