For Good: Clearwater art events help local causes

Art lovers in Clearwater can enjoy their craft, buy pieces and give back to the community, as the city of Clearwater hosts its new Arts in the Park event. The event takes place July 18^th from 10 a.m. To 3 p.m.

“Arts in the Park is a new event. When I arrived seven years ago, I started working with the city on putting events downtown,” says Shelley Jaffe, president of the Clearwater Center for the Arts “My husband and I started to produce a poetry walk, which we had about 100 people coming to, and we did a book and wine festival, but the one thing we noticed is that we put on these great art events, but people didn't have anything to come back to until we put on another event.”

That is when Jaffe decided to open the Clearwater Center for the Arts.

“Although we do have gallery space and put on events, we also offer classes and seminars for the public.”

Jaffe says coming in the fall, the center will host monthly events for local charities to raise awareness to causes from human trafficking to breast cancer, poverty and hunger.

“What we do is ask artists to submit work that is relevant to the subject. So if it's about homelessness, then the artwork should have something to do with the subject of being homeless. Or if its about human rights, then it should communicate something about human rights. Then we put on a show and the artwork is displayed, we have a speaker from the organization speak on the topic. The art will be sold either by silent auction or by price tag.”

With any artwork sold, Jaffe says 50-percent goes to the artist and 50-percent goes to the center, a nonprofit itself. All of the proceeds from the silent auction go to the charity being spotlighted that particular month.

Soon after the opening of the center, the city suggested to Jaffe that she host a monthly outdoor event in the park across the street, soon Arts in the Park was born. The event runs year-round, and is the third Saturday of each month.

The Arts in the Park event is planning to take place July 18th outside at Station Square park located at 612 Cleveland Street in Clearwater. Should there be inclement weather, the event will still go across the street inside the Clearwater Center for the Arts.

For information on charity event nights coming this fall, visit the center's website.