The Metropolitan Museum of Art Annex 6 East 82nd St

Venture beyond the beaches in St. Pete–Clearwater and you'll observe top-notch museums, galleries, murals, and more.

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St. Petersburg–Clearwater may be all-time known for its blue skies and sunny beaches, just the surface area also has a earth-class art scene, complete with famous museums, notable galleries, and more than 600 murals.

In one case visitors have had their fun in the sun, they tin can tour the Dalí Museum to see the largest collection of his work outside of Kingdom of spain, or pop into galleries similar Duncan McClellan and Craftsman House to discover how St. Pete–Clearwater is an emerging centre for drinking glass fine art. Those who'd rather stay outside can take a bicycle or walking tour of St. Pete's many murals instead and learn all most the colorful works from an expert guide. Each fall, St. Pete–Clearwater hosts the Polish Mural Festival , which celebrates the area's street art with new works by both local and international artists.

To help you improve navigate it all, we've gathered our favorite museums and events below, from an institution of western art to a monthly fine art walk with 40 participating galleries. For even more, check out the St. Pete Arts & Culture Directory , fabricated available through the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance .

The Dalí Museum

The crown jewel of the St. Pete art scene, the Dalí Museum impresses with both its building and its drove. Designed by builder Yann Weymouth, the museum is a granite rectangle, split by a geodesic dome made of i,062 triangular pieces of glass that sparkle in the sun. (The dome pays homage to the 1 that adorns the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Spain.) Within the museum, visitors notice a helix-shaped staircase that references Dalí'south obsession with the Deoxyribonucleic acid molecule, plus the largest drove of his piece of work exterior of Spain. Check out nearly 300 oil paintings, watercolors, and drawings, so browse the more than 2,100 prints, photographs, posters, textiles, sculptures, and objects d'art . Afterward, caput outside to explore the museum's Avant-garden, domicile to a labyrinth, grotto, fountain, and wishing tree.

Museum of Fine Arts

Less than a mile from the Dalí Museum is the Museum of Fine Arts , which opened in 1965 as the first art museum in St. Pete. Founded by local art collector and philanthropist Margaret Acheson Stuart, it features intimate galleries filled with thousands of works, including fine art by Monet, Cezanne, Rodin, and Gauguin. Spanning nearly 4,500 years, the collection also features ancient Greek, Egyptian, Asian, African, pre-Columbian, and Native American art, too as decorative pieces, glass works past Tiffany and Steuben, and new media. Housed in a special gallery, the photography drove is one of the largest and most respected in the Southeast. Hour-long tours led by knowledgeable docents are a terrific way to get a feel for the museum; they're available every day of the week, with a special family unit-oriented pick on Saturdays.

The James Museum

Located in downtown St. Pete, the James Museum is entirely devoted to western and wildlife fine art. Local collectors Tom and Mary James founded the museum to showcase works they bought on trips out Westward, from oil paintings and ink drawings to pieces carved in stone. What started as their personal affinity for western art, landscapes, and wild fauna is at present a infinite to share artwork with guests of all ages; the museum also hosts workshops and, on the second Sat of each calendar month, family days.

Chihuly Collection

Seeing Dale Chihuly's glass artwork up close is ever mesmerizing, just even more then at St. Pete's Chihuly Drove —the outset installation of the creative person'southward work in a building specifically designed for that purpose. Here, the art and architecture work together to create a wholly unique visitor experience. Chihuly'due south 20-pes Ruby Red Icicle Chandelier , designed explicitly for the Collection, welcomes guests at the entrance, while popular series like Macchia , Ikebana , Niijima Floats , Persians , and Tumbleweeds atomic number 82 them through the edifice. Each room is devised to complement its installation, making for a museum unlike whatsoever other.

Morean Arts Center

The Morean Arts Center , which manages the Chihuly Collection, is a powerhouse in its own right, having founded the showtime art gallery s of Atlanta in 1917. That gallery still exists today, hosting contemporary art shows that are e'er gratuitous and open to the public, plus classes and workshops for guests of all ages. Besides role of the Heart are the Morean Center for Clay (the largest working pottery studio in the Southeast) and the Morean Glass Studio, which offers live glass-bravado demonstrations and the biggest art glass store in Tampa Bay. Whether you lot merely appreciate art or want to create some yourself, you'll find something exciting across the Morean'southward iv locations.

ArtWalk

Every 2nd Saturday of the calendar month, from 5 to nine p.1000., St. Pete hosts its pop ArtWalk , when more twoscore galleries and studios beyond the city's five art districts—Waterfront, Central, Edge, Grand Central, and Warehouse—come together as a unmarried arts destination. Guests can walk, drive, or have trolleys between the areas and pop into galleries to see exciting new work—all for costless. I popular finish during the event is ArtsXchange in the Warehouse Arts District; the studio is simply open to the public during ArtWalk or by appointment, so it's worth going to run across the resident photographers, painters, graphic designers, metal artists, and other creatives at work.

St. Pete Mural Bout

When you explore St. Pete, it chop-chop becomes evident that the town's artistic spirit extends beyond its museums, galleries, and studios to its exterior walls and streets. Go a closer expect on Florida CraftArt's walking mural tour, which takes place every Sabbatum from x to 11:30 a.yard. Considered the "original St. Pete mural bout," the experience covers four blocks in the Central Arts District and shares the stories behind 30 popular murals, with photo ops against colorful birds, fishes, bugs, and more. Beyond the tour, you can find dozens more than murals across the urban center, especially in the Edge Commune, where street art shares space with swaying palm trees and stately historic buildings.

>>Next: Programme your trip with AFAR's Travel Guide to Saint petersburg–Clearwater

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Source: https://www.afar.com/magazine/the-best-art-museums-and-events-in-st-petersburg-clearwater

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