This October, the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance’s SHINE Mural Festival returns to St. Petersburg, bringing at least 18 new murals to downtown’s art districts and the surrounding neighborhoods. The festival is part of a continued effort to transform St. Petersburg streets into a curated, open-air museum showcasing large-scale murals painted by world-renowned artists.
While SHINE attracts artists from across the globe, it stands out as a great showcase for local artists to make their mark at an internationally renowned festival. This year, local artists include Ashley Cantero, Egypt Hagan and Nneka Jones of Tampa; Sydney Prusso of Dunedin; and Jeff Williams, Dream Weaver and Van Der Luc of St. Petersburg.
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The SHINE Mural Festival returns to St. Petersburg in October.The artists receive full creative expression to use the walls as canvas, illuminating the power of art in public spaces. The public is invited to watch the artists at work, ask questions and offer encouragement.
“SHINE continues to be a gift to St Petersburg and our community in many ways,” says St. Petersburg Arts Alliance CEO Terry Marks. “It honors our local artists and brings in national and international artists. The festival brings together the community to celebrate the accessibility of the murals as an inclusive outdoor museum. To start off with a kickoff event in Childs Park is icing on the cake.”
The kick-off party is scheduled in conjunction with the Carmada Street Carnival from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. October 15th at the Childs Park Recreation Center. The event will feature live vehicle painting, as well as an exhibition of cars painted in previous years of SHINE and an appearance by the Nomad Art Bus.
The finale “Art Party” will be held on October 22nd at 2025 Third Avenue S. in the Warehouse Arts District and will feature art installations, light and projection installations and live performances.
The week-long festival also includes several SHINE Bright Spots community art projects that enhance public and pedestrian safety.
For more information go to
SHINE Mural Festival.
Tampa Bay International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
The Tampa Bay International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, Florida’s longest-running, LGBTQIA+ film festival, returns for its 33rd year October 7th-16th. The festival showcases compelling films and videos by, for or about the LGBTQ+ community that entertain, empower and enlighten the festival audience.
The opening night kicks off with “MAMA BEARS,” an intimate, thought-provoking exploration of the journeys of Sara Cunningham and Kimberly Shappley - two “mama bears” whose profound love for their LGBTQ+ children has turned them into fierce advocates for the entire queer community - and Tammi Terrell Morris, a young African American lesbian whose struggle for self-acceptance perfectly exemplifies why the mama bears are so vitally important.
For more information go to
Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
“Flower + Brigade:” An exhibition by Kelly Moeykens and Abby Elizabeth
The upcoming “Flower + Brigade” at D-Gallerie in St. Petersburg is a combined exhibition by American artists Kelly Moeykens and Abby Elizabeth. It is the first Tampa Bay area exhibition for both artists. The opening reception is October 7th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and the exhibition will remain open until November 6th.
“Flower + Brigade” consists of mixed media artwork created from everyday recycled materials and green toy army men.
“Both artists utilize different mediums to transmit their messages on social inequality and the unjust world we live in,” an exhibition description on the D-Gallerie website says. “As artists, Kelly and Abby, think sculpturally and the visual language and creative energy between their works complement each other in a way that ultimately creates something much bigger than the individual.”
D-Gallerie is located at 1234 Dr. MLK Jr. Street N. Unit C in St. Petersburg. For more information go to
Flower + Brigade.
“Borrow and Steal: Appropriation from the Collection”
The Museum of Fine Art, St. Petersburg explores art appropriation and the idea of originality and authorship in the exhibition “Borrow and Steal: Appropriation from the Collection.”
This multimedia exhibition draws from the MFA collection to look at a variety of modes of contemporary appropriation, with a particular focus on its uses as a feminist takeover of the historically male-dominated art world, as well as in addressing racist histories.
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Roger Shimomura's "American Neighbors" is part of the exhibit "Borrow and Steal: Appropriation from the Collection" at the Museum of Fine Art, St. Petersburg.
“Anchored by Sherrie Levine’s ‘After Degas,’ this exhibition traces the art historical lineage of appropriation art,” a description on the MFA website says. “A member of the Pictures generation, Levine was featured in the groundbreaking exhibition ‘Pictures’ in 1977, curated by Douglas Crimp at Artists Space in New York City. The artists included in that exhibition were each interested in the unauthorized use of mass media imagery, a practice that was to become defined as appropriation. The title references the ambiguity of images, as well as the lack of medium specificity that became a defining part of postmodern artist practice.”
The exhibition runs through February 5, 2023. For more information go to
“Borrow and Steal: Appropriation from the Collection”.
Gasparilla Music Foundation instrument drive and fundraising concert
The Gasparilla Music Foundation and its Recycled Tunes program host a fundraising concert and musical instrument donation drive on Friday, October 14th at the Cuban Club in Ybor City.
The foundation is accepting gently used instruments in exchange for a free ticket to the 2023 Gasparilla Music Festival. The fundraising concert features Cuban music sensation Cimafunk. General admission tickets are $25. For more information on the musical instrument donation drive go to
Recycled Tunes. For more information on tickets to the concert go to
Cimafunk concert and fundraiser.
SoHo Art Walk, Diverse Abilities Arts Festival postponed due to Hurricane Ian
Two events scheduled for Saturday, October 1 in Tampa, the SoHo Art Walk and Diverse Abilities Arts Festival, have been postponed due to Hurricane Ian. For each event, a new date is yet to be determined.
Apply for 53rd annual Gasparilla Festival of the Arts
Artists can apply for the Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts through October 7th. Now in its 53rd year, the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts is one of the most prestigious art festivals in the Southeast. A total of $87,500 in prize money is awarded, including $15,000 for the Raymond James Best-in-Show award. The festival is scheduled for March 4th and 5th, 2023 at Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park in Tampa.
For more information on applying go to
Raymond James Gasparilla Arts Festival.
South Arts 2023 Southern Prize and State Fellowships applications
The application deadline for the South Arts 2023 Southern Prize and State Fellowships program is Monday, October 10th.
The South Arts Southern Prize and State Fellowships acknowledge, support and celebrate the highest quality artistic work being created in the American South. The program is open to individual artists living in the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
Nine artists - one per state - will be named State Fellowship recipients, sharing $80,000 in awards and inclusion in a touring exhibition. South Arts is committed to practices and funding that create greater cultural equity, represent the diversity of our region, are inclusive of diverse voices and artistic expression and are accessible to everyone. Recipients are selected by national juries based on artistic excellence that reflects and represents the diversity of the region.
For more information go to
Southern Prize and State Fellowships