Celebrating Culture, Art and Architecture

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Tampa Museum of Art

Photo Credit: Tampa Bay CVB

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Tampa Theatre will take your breath away.

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Asolo Theatre at the Ringling Museum in Sarasota

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Jacksonville's Florida Theatre is a perfect place to begin or end your night out on the town.

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Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center and Patel Conservatory

Photo Credit: Steve Poisall

With the opening of the spectacular Tampa Museum of Art in February 2010, Florida added yet another major arts destination to its repertoire. But the Tampa museum is still just one of several arts and entertainment venues that have opened recently – or plan to open soon – in the Sunshine State.

Tampa's Treasures

When it opened, the facility housing the Tampa Museum of Art was as much of a draw as its opening exhibition of rarely seen works by Henri Matisse. The building, on the banks of the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa, makes quite a statement, with a sparkling, pierced-aluminum exterior and a second-story, open-air sculpture gallery. Once inside, visitors are treated to a dramatic, three-story atrium and seven interior galleries featuring translucent ceilings and polished-stone floors.

At 66,000 square feet, the new space easily accommodates the museum’s growing collections of contemporary and classical art, its educational programs as well as world-class traveling exhibits. The opening exhibition, “A Celebration of Henri Matisse: Master of Line and Light,” included prints, paintings and sculpture by the legendary artist.

But perhaps most importantly, the museum will be the centerpiece of a new, cultural hub in Tampa – a central gathering space downtown that residents and visitors alike can enjoy. The museum’s location, in the beautifully redesigned Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, is next door to the new Glazer Children’s Museum and within walking distance of the Straz Center, the John F. Germany Library and the Tampa Theatre.

Around the State

Other artsy attractions that have opened recently in Florida include the Palm Beach Photographic Centre, which has its new home in West Palm Beach’s City Center. Besides ample space for its photo exhibitions, the center’s new digs feature classrooms, studios and a state-of-the-art photo shop.

The Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center held its first full season in 2009-2010 at the newly renovated historic federal building in downtown Fort Myers. The Neoclassic revival structure was first established in 1933 as the Fort Myers Post Office, constructed of Florida limestone with coral formations and seashells embedded in its walls. Today, the art center is used for both art shows and for performing arts, including concerts, dance shows, film and theater.

The Florida Museum for Women Artists, devoted solely to the accomplishments and artwork of women, has opened in DeLand; and the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts, on the campus of the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, boasts an international collection of textiles, including traditional handmade textiles, embroidery, and contemporary wearable art and fiber arts.

Coming Soon

In coming years, two major new art museums are poised to debut in Florida. The Miami Art Museum is scheduled to open in an impressive new home in 2013. And, like in Tampa, this museum will form part of a larger cultural destination – the new Museum Park, on Biscayne Bay in downtown Miami. Museum Park will also be the future home of the Miami Science Museum and the Historical Museum of
Southern Florida.

The Sarasota Museum of Art, a new modern and contemporary art museum, will be housed in one of the city’s most-beloved historic structures – the former Sarasota High School. The new museum will be a division of the renowned Ringling College of Art and Design, established in Sarasota in 1931. An opening date has not yet been determined.

Performing Arts Venues

Where you can see ballet, opera or the symphony around the state:

North

• Curtis Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, Gainesville
• Florida Theatre, Jacksonville
• Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts Moran Theater, Jacksonville
• Pensacola Symphony Orchestra, Pensacola

Central

• Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater
• Peabody Auditorium, Daytona Beach
• Sunrise Theatre, Fort Pierce
• Youkey Theatre (Lakeland Center), Lakeland
• Largo Cultural Center, Largo
• King Center For The Performing Arts, Melbourne
• Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre, Orlando
• Mahaffey Theater at the Progress Energy Center, St. Petersburg
• Straz Center, Tampa

South

• Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Fort Lauderdale
• Parker Playhouse, Fort Lauderdale
• Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall, Fort Myers
• Tennessee Williams Theatre, Key West
• The Adrienne Arsht Center, Miami
• The Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater, Miami
• Gusman Center for the Performing Arts, Miami
• The Philharmonic Center For The Arts, Naples
• Historic Asolo Theater, Sarasota
• Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, Sarasota
• Lyric Theatre, Stuart
• Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, West Palm Beach