Monday, February 13, 2012

An Arts Organization is a win-win for artists and community

Standing on the deck of the Gulfport Casino


view of the Gulf from the Gulfport Casino
 GULFPORT, FLORIDA
click on highlighted words for links


historical art community 

Picnic tables near the beach
Gulfport is an old community that writers and artists wintered in seeking the warmth of the Florida sun.  It is a small community next to St. Petersburg with its own mayor and government.  As many communities do, it has had its ups and downs, but now writers and artists are coming again, as well as, the tourists fleeing the ice and snow.  Here we call them snow birds as they fly away from the cold North to seek warmer winters here in Florida.  
This weekend the Cool Art Show was held at Gulfport's old casino, where dances and other events were once held.  PAVA( Pinellas Association Visual Artists) is the community art organization that presented there.  Community Art Organizations are wonderful groups. They support artists, give them a venue to sell their arts and give the community a sense of a creative culture. 

Gulfport Casino
 If you do not have an organization in your area that supports artists and the arts, you might consider starting one.  It is what we might call a win-win situation.  It is good for the artists and the community! No matter how large or small a town or community is it can benefit from the arts.  Just ask the residents of Summerton, South Carolina, a two stop light town who has started their own art association recently.  Not only do they show work, sell work, but they teach classes to adults and children. 
shops and cafes of Gulfport
Now if you are in NYC or London or Paris you are thinking this is such a small thing, we have such large museums and organizations here.  And you are right, you do, but someone had to start them and then they grew.  So do your best to encourage every area, small or large, to build the arts in their community...who knows it may one day house a Louvre or a Dali Musuem....or it may just make every families life richer








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