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Founded
in 1917 as the Art Club of St. Petersburg, The Arts Center has been
providing exhibitions and classes to a rapidly growing population for
more than eighty-five years. In 1964, the membership decided to focus
on contemporary art and incorporated as the Arts Center Association,
Inc. The Center hired its first professional director in 1979. As programming
and membership increased, the Center staff expanded and now includes
a professional management and programming staff of twenty full time
employees, nine part-time workers, 63 contracted faculty and numerous
volunteers. The current Executive Director, Evelyn Craft, joined the
organization in May 1997.
The
Arts Center bought its first building in 1972, renovating and expanding
over the next 24 years to accommodate the growing space needs of increasing
education and exhibition programming. In the 1980's the Center began
exhibiting artists with national and international reputations, as well
as the best emerging artists.
Our invitational shows are juried by nationally-recognized arts professionals and have included many award-winning Florida artists including: Leslie Neumann, Demi, Arturo Rodriguez, Luis Vega, Gustavo Acosta, Victoria Gitman, Gale Fulton Ross, Thomas Koole, Denis Gaston, Josette Urso, James Michaels, William Pachner, Robert Calvo, Mernet Larsen, John Eckert, Duncan McClellan, Mark Fehl, Thomas Murray, Craig Rubadoux, Russ Gustafson-Hilton, Charlotte Schultz, Roberta Schofield, Candace Knapp, Nicole Awai, Jack Barrett, Allison Massari, Lynn Whipple and Richard Beckman. Student exhibitions include the Pinellas County School partnership project, "Word and Image", the Youth Arts Corps show, and various individual schools. We showcased the works of 2,088 contemporary artists, including world-renowned artists, many local artists and Arts Center students. We reached over 23,000 children through our Word & Image program and Summer Art Camps.
In
1980, a Florida Arts Council grant helped establish a children's art
program, evolving into one of the Center's most successful initiatives,
including summer vacation camps serving over 1500 children in 2006.
Continued funding from the City of St. Petersburg, the Pinellas County
Arts Council and the State of Florida fosters continued growth in education
programs along with additional outreach programs into county schools,
local neighborhood centers, and various partnership programs with community
organizations, such as the Pinellas County Schools, Academy Prep, Creative
Clay, American Stage, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Tampa Bay Lightning,
the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and the Midtown Redevelopment Group.
The
Arts Center purchased the former Lester Brothers' furniture store in
the fall of 1996. Renovation of the 35,000 sq. ft. facility was completed
in November 2001. The Arts Center currently has 5,000 sq. ft. of exhibition
space in six galleries: Hough Gallery, Synovus Gallery, Everett Gallery,
Stanley Gallery, Risser Gallery, and Progress Energy Gallery. Classrooms
include space for ceramics, painting, drawing, digital imaging, photography,
printmaking, jewelry making, metal-smithing, and sculpture.
