Tampa Bay Arts Passport

09/26/2025

HEY ART LOVER ✨ Here’s what’s happening in your arts community this week:

* October is packed full of events — and we’ve gathered them all in one place for you to see. A look at some of the things we’re most excited about, plus a peek at our Arts Passport nights.


* Guest contributor Mo Houston got the inside scoop on Coastal Film Lab’s new Dropbox outside one of St. Pete’s most beloved coffee shops and how it helps drive creativity.


* Performers in Tampa are coming together to say something against gun violence as part of a nationwide event that puts the spotlight on those perhaps most affected by gun violence — teenagers — and gives them a creative voice.

09/25/2025

🚨 BREAKING: We tricked Creative Loafing Tampa into giving us an award.

Tampa Bay Arts Passport is officially Best New Resource for Arts Coverage in Best of the Bay 2025. Which means either (A) we’re doing something right, or (B) everyone else was on vacation when the voting happened.

Either way, we’ll take it.

Big thanks to all of you who read, subscribe, argue with us in the comments, and generally prove that Tampa Bay actually does care about the arts. Turns out “following the money” and “asking hard questions” still wins awards. Who knew?

🔗 community.cltampa.com/best-of/2025/arts-and-entertainment/best-new-mural-20779629

09/24/2025

Within 3 short weeks, as Pinellas County’s budget approval deadline loomed, commissioners proposed and then voted to strip funding from only the county’s affiliated arts and culture organization — Creative Pinellas.

Commissioners said they didn’t see enough efforts going into promoting arts tourism, despite the nonprofit having two arts tourism pilots ready to launch this fall and early 2026.

You can catch up on the whole saga on the Arts Passport right now.

Also, if you want to stand with the arts and show your support, you can purchase a yard sign featuring the vibrant “Better Together” mural painted by Leo Gomez and commissioned by Creative Pinellas.

A portion of every sale goes directly back to Creative Pinellas — making each sign a decoration and a vote of confidence in the future of creativity in Tampa Bay.

09/23/2025

BOOK CLUB TIME 📚 This October, we’re reading “Lies in Bone" by award-winning playwright and author Natalie Symons — a darkly funny, sharply observed novel that digs into the secrets we inherit and the ones we create.

Then, we’ll gather at freeFall Theatre for a special book club discussion with Natalie Symons herself. Expect an intimate conversation about the novel’s twists, truths, and inspirations — plus a peek at what’s next.

📅 October 5 | 11 AM
📍 freeFall Theatre, St. Pete
🆓 Free book entry for Arts Passport members (pick them up at Tombolo Books)

➡️ Sign up at tbartspassport.com

09/21/2025

GET YOUR TICKETS TODAY: Join us at Greenlight Cinema for a special screening of “Hidden Figures,” the acclaimed film celebrating the groundbreaking Black women mathematicians whose brilliance helped launch America into space.

BONUS: Arts Passport members get special discounted tickets!

09/21/2025

CATCH “FAT PIG” NOW: There’s still time to head over to The Studio@620 and catch a performance of Dead Canary Theatre’s production of “Fat Pig,” a play written by Neil LaBute and directed by Stephen Riordan.

“Cow. Slob. Pig. How many insults can you hear before you have to stand up and defend the woman you love? Tom faces just that question when he falls for Helen, a bright, funny, sexy young woman who happens to be plus-sized – and then some. Forced to explain his new relationship to his shallow (although shockingly funny) friends, he finally comes to terms with his own preconceptions of the importance of conventional good looks. Neil LaBute’s sharply drawn play not only critiques our slavish adherence to Hollywood ideals of beauty but also boldly questions our own ability to change what we dislike about ourselves.” - synopsis provided by The Studio@620.

09/19/2025

TAMPA BAY ARTS NEWS: Here’s what’s happening in your arts community this week:

🖼️ This Saturday, you can visit 11 (yes, eleven) different museums in St. Pete for FREE. We also looked into why the city has so many.

💸🚫 Creative Pinellas, the county’s designated local arts agency, has laid off half its staff and canceled numerous events as commissioners pull funding.

🎧 Listen to actress Susana Cordón explore the question — How do you make a vampire hilarious without breaking the spell? — in this week’s Tampa Bay Arts Passport Podcast.

🎭 Fat Pig — Neil LaBute’s sharp and unflinching play — is performing at The Studio@620—a Dead Canary Theatre Company Production.

09/18/2025

This Saturday, you can walk into eleven different museums in St. Petersburg for free. Eleven. In a city smaller than Cincinnati. We’re talking Dalí’s surreal dreamscapes, entire collections of glass, western art and wildlife, African American history, and even a museum dedicated to the Arts and Crafts Movement. The question isn’t just which one you’ll hit first — it’s how did all of this end up here?

Museum of Motherhood
Dr. Carter G. Woodson African American History Museum
Imagine Museum
The The Florida Holocaust Museum
The The James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art
Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg Museum of History
Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center
The Dalí Museum
St. Petersburg Arts Alliance
City of St. Petersburg, Florida

by Avery Anderson This Saturday, you can walk into eleven different museums in St. Petersburg for free. Eleven. In a city smaller than Cincinnati. We’re talking Dalí’s surreal dreamscapes, entire collections of glass, western art and wildlife, African American history, and even a museum dedicat...

09/17/2025

OCTOBER EVENTS IN TAMPA BAY: Listen, we know you’re busy and need to know things in advance and before you know it, October will be here.

So, Arts Passport has lined up three events that lean into the spirit of connection. From novels to cinema to century-old horror, it’s all about finding yourself in someone else’s story.

09/17/2025

Half the staff gone. Four community events canceled. And an arts community left scrambling.

Creative Pinellas has made drastic cuts just days before the Pinellas County Commission votes on its final 2025-26 budget, which does not include funding for the arts nonprofit. The fallout reaches from an international exhibition opening reception to neighborhood workshops — and leaves artists and audiences wondering what comes next.
👉 Here’s an update on what's happening at Creative Pinellas.

by Avery Anderson With its future funding on the chopping block, Creative Pinellas has laid off half of its staff and canceled nearly all of its fall programming — a drastic move just days before the Pinellas County Commission votes on whether to cut the nonprofit’s budget. The decision shutters

09/16/2025

HEY THERE, JUPITER BLOOM 🪷 Looking for a new indie band? Or maybe you’re thinking, “Wait, I’ve seen them before…”

Well, not exactly. Yes, Jupiter Bloom was once Quail Hollow, but they’ve shed that old sound and discovered where their voice and vibes really hit.

Now, they’re kicking the door in with their debut single “Water Lilies” — out now and ready for Tampa to have the first taste of this new rhythm.

09/15/2025

Ever wish there was a space to try something new — to laugh at yourself, stretch a little, and maybe surprise yourself along the way? 🎭

American Stage's fall drama school starts Oct. 6–7, with classes for every level. Improv if you need a confidence boost. Scene study if you’re ready to dig deeper. Intro to acting if you’ve always wondered what it feels like to stand in the light.

Because sometimes the stage isn’t about becoming a star — it’s about finding your voice.

📖 Full story in the comments.