The Studios@5663 artists created an interesting challenge for themselves this Halloween season. Their plan: to convert an 11-studio building into an art-themed haunted attraction in just 13 days.
“We're going to be working nonstop these next two weeks for sure, but it'll be worth it,” John Gascot told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. Once complete, the studios will temporarily appear as a haunted version of itself with a different theme/spook in each studio.
“There’ll be a scary Mona Lisa, a living Goya painting, a Cubist nightmare, and I feel compelled to stick a Bob Ross in there as well,” Gascot told CL.
The best night to visit is Sat. Oct. 23 during 4th Saturday Block pARTy, Pinellas Arts Village’s signature event. This way you can catch Pompei’s blacklight art show and the costume contest at Derek Donnelly’s Cove Gallery & Studio while you’re in the neighborhood. But the studios are open Halloween weekend, too.
“I think there’ll be things that you’ll want to come back the following weekend and [experience] again, because you're like, ‘Oh my God, I didn't catch everything in there,’” Gascot added. “So yes, it's a haunt attraction, but it's also an art installation that you get to interact with."
The Haunting of Studios@5663. 7 p.m.-10 p.m. Sat. Oct. 23 (also on Oct. 29-31). Studios at 5663, 5663 Park Blvd N, Pinellas Park. $5 per person suggested donation benefits Diversity Arts 501c3. Masks required. @studios5663 on Facebook
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