Creative St. Pete 2011: An Emerging Picture by Bob Barancik

I hope that you will enjoy this short video that presents a decidedly incomplete and personal celebration of our rapidly evolving creative community.

2010 has been a year of significant creative accomplishment for St. Pete, and 2011 portends more good things ahead.

I would like to divide this blog entry into two parts. First, a list of highpoints that caught my eye and, then, a list of immediate challenges facing our cultural community.

Highpoints in a completely arbitrary order:

• The new Dali Museum and the Chihuly Collection/Morean Arts Center. These institutions might be game-changers for the city.


• The Saturday Morning Market. Wow & Yummmm!
  


• The Grand Central Arts District. The creative economy in action.
  


• New Wing of the Museum of Fine Arts + New Director for the MFA. Best of the old and the new.
  


• Crisplip Arcade & 600 Block of Central Avenue. This urban real estate project continues the creative redevelopment of our Central Avenue creative corridor.
  


• The Palladium Theater. An architectural and cultural gem of the first order.
  


• The St. Pete Opera. High European musical culture with plenty of local talent.
  


• American Stage. An intimate, state-of-the-art performance venue and catalyst for the restoration of Williams Park.
  


• Creative Clay & Cakewalk Artist Coop. Helping and promoting artists of all abilities.


• Florida Craftsmen Gallery. A continuing cornerstone of the St. Pete creative scene.
  


• The Studio 620. Perhaps my favorite creative venue anywhere in the country.
  


• The Florida Holocaust Museum. One of the largest and most dynamic museums of its kind in the world—and the only Holocaust Museum to feature living artists on a regular basis.
  


• Sunscreen Film Festival. They hit the ground running five years ago and are still going strong.
  
  
• Salt Creek Artworks. Where real artists create real art.

Challenges facing the creative community that need to be addressed in 2011:

• A creative, engaging, and sustainable vision for The Pier.


• A comprehensive branding and marketing plan for “Creative St. Pete.”


• Permanent safeguards for the preservation of our precious public waterfront.


• Reviving the moribund Baywalk shopping, dining, and entertainment complex.


• The humane and sensible management of homeless people and aggressive panhandlers; and restoration of Williams Park and the sidewalks outside City Hall as safe venues for law abiding, tax paying citizens.

I hope to start an informal, informed, and open digital dialogue on these items in the new year. Perhaps you’ll consider participating!