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719 Central Avenue Hours:
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Our StoryThe Morean Arts Center is the oldest, largest, and most comprehensive visual arts organization in Pinellas County. Founded in 1917 as the Art Club of St. Petersburg, the Center has been providing art exhibitions and art classes to a rapidly growing population for more than 90 years. In 1964 the membership decided to focus on contemporary art and incorporated as the Arts Center Association, Inc. More recently, the Arts Center took the name of artist and Trustee Beth Ann Morean, a key benefactor and long-time supporter. As programming and membership increased, the Center staff expanded and now includes a professional management and programming staff of 23 (16 full-time and 7 part-time), 92 contracted faculty, and more than 120 volunteers. Our new Executive Director, Katee Tully, has worked with Evelyn Craft, our long-time Executive Director, to ensure a seamless leadership transition in March 2009. The Arts Center bought its first building in 1972. In the 1980s it began exhibiting nationally and internationally acclaimed artists, as well as cultivating and showcasing the talents of emerging artists. In 1980, a Florida Arts Council grant helped establish a children's art program, evolving into one of the Center's most successful initiatives. The Arts Center purchased a former furniture store in 1996, completing renovation of the 35,000 SF facility in November 2001, quadrupling exhibition space and providing room for studio classes in a wide variety of media. Over the last decade, Arts Center attendance has increased from 7,000 annually to more than 74,000; membership from 782 to 2,700 households; volunteers from less than two dozen to 242; and our mailing list from 1,500 to 16,000+ households. In 2007-2008 the Arts Center served more than 40,000 children and adults through classes, activities and programs, and granted need-based scholarships to 73 youth and 108 adults. Aside from Pinellas County, the Arts Center draws visitors, members, and students from Hillsborough, Pasco, Manatee, and Sarasota counties as well as tourists from across the United States and internationally. St. Petersburg's downtown renaissance, convenient access to the Interstate, and our educational and exhibition programming offer significant factors in our ability to draw visitors to St. Petersburg from elsewhere. Following the Arts Center's collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts' Dale Chihuly exhibition in 2004 (in which the Center presented a related glass exhibition that featured world-class artists and provided the educational component for the MFA's exhibition with 35,000 adults and children attending live, narrated glass-blowing demonstrations), the Arts Center began exploring a working relationship with the Chihuly organization that culminated in our agreement to include the first ever permanent collection of Chihuly glasswork, to be called the Chihuly Collection at the Morean Arts Center. The Chihuly Collection at the Morean Arts Center, in the heart of St. Petersburg's booming downtown arts district, will attract tourists and significantly contribute to the continued revitalization of one of Florida's most beautiful cities. With this expansion, the Center broadens its mission while it continues to provide services to our community to enhance quality of life.
Current Programs:Youth Studio Arts Classes for toddlers to teens K-12 Kidventures in art docent-led tours of contemporary art exhibitions, with hands-on art activities and curriculum guides meeting Sunshine State Standards K-12 Word & Image visual literacy program in partnership with Pinellas County Schools Academy Prep program for at-risk youth 10-week long Summer Art Camps for ages 5-15, serving over 1500 children each year. Adult Studio Arts Classes in all media including digital, photography, painting, drawing, clay, metalworking, mixed media, printmaking, and glass. Master Artist Workshops and Artist-in-Residencies with leading artists from around the world. Photo Talks featuring recognized documentary, commercial, and fine art professional photographers Selected gallery talks and artists' round table discussions with featured artists. Community Activities such as Gallery Walks, Family Days and initiatives with Title I Schools, First Kids with First Night St. Petersburg, and Kids Art with the Festival of States, among others. Some 25-30 rotating Contemporary Art Exhibitions each year with work by more than 2,900 artists of all abilities and backgrounds. The Arts Center is a member-supported, community-based not-for-profit organization. Our exhibitions and programs are supported in part by class tuition, private grants and donations, corporate sponsorships, grants from the City of St. Petersburg, the Pinellas County Commission through the Pinellas County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Tourist Development Council; the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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