6 minute read
CHIHULY CONNECTION
When Andy Schlauch, director of The Chihuly Collection here in St. Pete, embarked on a community outreach program, he found a willing partner at The Vinoy® Renaissance St. Petersburg Resort & Golf Club. The spectacular glass chandelier in the ballroom and the Persian set in the hotel lobby astound guests who ask questions, take photos, and seek more information about the talented glass artist. The only other hotels that have Dale Chihuly’s work on display are the Bellagio in Las Vegas, The Claridge in London, and The Ritz Carlton in Singapore.
How did Chihuly choose St. Petersburg? Schlauch says a Florida traveling exhibit came to this city after a show in Orlando. The success and lasting impact on the community inspired Morean Arts Center to make Chihuly’s work accessible to a larger audience. “It is actually a living endowment and helps to support the 100-year-old institution that teaches art through summer camps, evening programs for kids, adult art classes and even a personal glass experience,” says Schlauch. “Attendees get a halfhour of instruction and come out making their own ornaments, beverage glasses, paper weights,
and more. We have a lot going on in all of our facilities.” Schlauch used to work for Chihuly in Seattle. Three years after the exhibit opened in St. Petersburg, they wanted someone to drive programming, introduce other Andy Schlauch, artists’ travelDirector of The Chihuly Collection ing exhibitions and give people more reasons to come back. “They asked me if I wanted to relocate and it sounded interesting. That was seven years ago. I truly love St. Pete and working with the local artists,” said Schlauch. “The funny small world of it is that the pieces displayed at The Vinoy are commissions I worked on with Dale. I never got to see the final installation until I came here for the job interview. The hotel management would send me interior design boards with colors and fabrics planned for the renovation. Dale and I found some things in his archives which we presented, but Dale added elements to better fit the scale of the enormous lobby.” The Chihuly Collection’s accessibility initiatives include working with high school age students who have limited vision or are blind. “We had some glass shapes and forms that were not
Photo by Flourish Photography
going to be exhibited and we held them out to the students so they could actually feel and experience them,” said Schlauch. “It helped to illustrate what I say about Chihuly’s work during a museum tour.” Schlauch said it was so wellreceived and with that impetus, he reached out to people with Alzheimers disease and their caregivers at the Memory Café. Members of the group ask questions about art history and it spurs on conversation and memories.
The Center for Autism and Related Disorders was open to Schlauch’s recommendation of using art to help manage expectations and quell anxieties. “Using a similar touch tour of moving objects on a cart as I go through the gallery, everyone has the chance to come up close to an object. If it breaks, it is not an issue.”
Which answered the next question that comes to mind— how close is up close and is there a potential to damage priceless art? “As a matter of fact, Dale doesn’t like to have a lot of barriers around his work. The effort here is to make us more accessible as an institution to more diverse communities.”
“Morean Arts Center hosts an Art of Valor program for disabled veterans at James A. Hayley Veterans Hospital in Tampa. A glassblower that found learning to blow glass helped him personally, connected us and now the hospital routinely brings vets to the museum on Sundays. They work as a large group, actually blowing glass. People suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury discover that working with glass helps to relieve anxiety. “Among the benefits is the act of having to focus on blowing glass, so you are taken out of your normal space for a while,” said Schlauch. “They work on trying not to let sounds be triggers for their anxiety. There is also the social aspect – glass blowing is a team project. So, as former military, they are comfortable being in a cohesive group accomplishing a goal.”
Schlauch routinely sees Vinoy Club members come through the collection, especially when they have family traveling from out of town. He can tell they have a sense of pride of having the connection at The Vinoy and the collection here in St. Pete. It sets the hotel and the destination apart from other places to visit.
Just a few decades ago, St. Petersburg was known as a quiet retirement haven whose claim to fame was sandy beaches, warm weather and the signature green benches that lined its sleepy downtown sidewalks. Today, the Sunshine City—360 days each year, on average—boasts a bustling downtown waterfront that is pedestrian-friendly, crisscrossed by well-tended parks, and enlivened by world class museums, galleries, theaters, restaurants, shops and boutiques. Striking new architecture rubs neighborly shoulders with historic structures, and St. Petersburg is the first city in the state to earn the designation of Green City from the Florida Green Building Coalition.
A CITY OF THE ARTS
The 2020 SHINE St. Petersburg Mural Arts Festival added a dozen more expressions of art on buildings and traffic signal boxes created by international and local artists. Discover the murals via walking tours hosted by The St. Petersburg Arts Alliance, trolley tours, or on bicycle. Art enthusiasts can also partake in a self-guided tour via the app PixelStix at https://pixelstix.com/pixelstix-app/.
Based on a shared desire among city and community leaders in 2012, The Arts Alliance made a serious investment in St. Pete’s local arts organizations, artists and creative businesses with the introduction of ArtWalk. Held the second Saturday of every month, ArtWalk is a free and fun way to collect art, meet the creative minds in this vibrant city, and explore the following art-centric neighborhoods: • Waterfront Arts District • Central Arts District • The EDGE District • Grand Central District • Warehouse Arts District
St. Petersburg is home to no less than six performing arts companies, a dozen museums, theatrical and concert venues, studios and galleries. Be sure to add some time into your visit to experience the fabulous arts community here.
A SOUGHT-AFTER DESTINATION
St. Petersburg’s lively downtown waterfront attracts high-profile sporting and special events as well. April 23-25, 2021, the city’s bayside streets will buzz with race cars during the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the first North American race of the Verizon IndyCar Series. In April, its sunshine-filled avenues welcome athletes from around the nation to compete in the St. Anthony’s Sports & Fitness Expo and Triathlon. The Tampa Bay Rays, a World Series Major League Baseball team, swings for the fences at domed Tropicana Field during home games from April to September.
More sedate pleasures can be enjoyed every Saturday at the year-round, downtown farmers’ market that features fresh produce, flowers and handmade crafts and gifts.
ENDLESS OPTIONS, JUST STEPS AWAY
Any time of year, blue skies and golden warmth invite you outdoors to stroll through gardens and waterfront parks, swim and shell along pristine beaches, sail away for an afternoon’s fishing or sightseeing adventure, or hike or pedal along the scenic Pinellas Trail, a 53-mile dedicated recreation trail.
Evenings along St. Petersburg’s shoreline are magical, as well: Nightspots and restaurants come alive, gallery walks welcome evening strollers, and the city hosts a big block party on the first Friday of every month along Central Avenue with live jazz, food, drinks and dancing in the street. Please check for updates here https://www. VisitStPeteClearwater.com/event/first-friday-st-pete/7567.
Best of all, everything is close to your home base at The Vinoy. Follow your feet, get behind the wheel, or hop aboard one of the open-air trolleys that stop at the resort and shuttle between downtown points of interest. Need directions? Just ask The Vinoy Navigator.
This bayside destination beckons with cosmopolitan shopping, dining and major sporting and entertainment venues and events.
