Brush to canvas: News from the art community

SHINE Mural Festival artists at work this week at the Skyline Building, 2600 Dr. MLK Jr. Street N. Photo: SHINE Facebook. November 2026, it would appear, has become the official art month for St. Petersburg. Let’s look at what’s going on: Creative Pinellas has in fact designated November Art Everywhere month, with grant monies going to numerous arts organizations (and individual artists) to ensure there’s something happening from the first day to the last. Read all about Art Everywhere, and see the schedule, at this link . The 12 th annual SHINE Mural Festival began last week, as 13 artists, local, statewide and even international, have been assigned outer walls, on downtown businesses, on which to create. The festival’s closing reception is Saturday, 5-8 p.m., at the Morean Arts Center. Read all about SHINE, and see which artists are painting where, at this link . Thursday through Sunday, the EDGE District will be ground zero for the inaugural Booker Creek Arts Festival , combining a juried, professional art show with a walking tour of businesses along and near Central Avenue (the artworks have been installed there). With cool events along the way. Read all about Booker Creek, and see the official map, at this link . And this all just so happens to correspond with the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance’s monthly Second Saturday ArtWalk . Around 40 studios and galleries will be open from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday (aka Nov. 14), and you’re welcome to come in, look around and talk the talk (art, that is) while you walk the walk. Here’s the map to this month’s self-guided tour, with information about trolley service and more. Paul Eppling’s “Security Lizard,” I-275 5th Avenue onramp. Photo: City of St. Petersburg. Public art online The City of St. Petersburg has joined a nationwide online archive, and search system, that catalogs municipal public art installations. The City owns close to 90 pieces; not the SHINE murals, however, those aren’t City property. At this link you can locate Mark Aeling’s steel sculpture Gladiolus Blossom , the Elder Jordan statue by Jon Hair, Paul Eppling’s Security Lizard , the Sunshine City Mosaic and other truly impressive pieces. There’s also a page for Bending Arc , nationally known fiber artist Janet Echelman’s massive “hanging net” sculpture. In the photos, it’s billowing majestically at its St. Pete Pier installation site. In reality, Bending Arc has been locked in a box since January, 2025, and the City has yet to address whether it’s coming back or not. Art in a new way The Museum of Fine Arts has “reimagined” its extensive collection, for an initiative called Art Unbound that will be unveiled Nov. 21 (this is why several of the smaller gallery rooms have been closed since September). MFA Executive Director and CEO Klaudio Rodriguez came up with the idea to group art by theme and connection, rather than era, style or medium. During an Arts Alive! podcast in 2025, Rodriguez hinted that something new and different might be coming. “I’m proposing that we need to be able to tell stories in new ways,” he said. “In more engaging ways. And that includes bringing in technology, that includes bringing in different voices and a variety of different expertise that are not necessarily traditionally employed in that way. We’re going to use all the tools in our arsenal to move it forward.” New exhibits An exhibit by Laura Spencer, left, and George Retkes debuts Saturday at the Tully-Levine Gallery. Images provided. COALESCE: A Creative Union , opening with a Saturday reception at the Tully-Levine Gallery, on the ArtsXchange campus, is a joint show of works by artists Laura “Miss Crit” Spencer and George Retkes. The reception happens 5-9 p.m. (you guessed it – during the Second Saturday ArtWalk, which is always a bustling scene at the ArtsXchange). Laura and George, aka George and Laura, will guest on Friday’s Arts Alive! podcast. Just launched at the Dalí Museum, Dalí: Disruption + Devotion brings together works by El Greco, Diego Velázquez, Luis Meléndez and Francisco Goya, on loan from the Boston Museum of Art. Kay Walking Stick/Hudson River School is new at the James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art. The idea is this: Works by WalkingStick, the renowned, contemporary Cherokee artist, are paired with paintings from The New York Historical’s collection of 19th-century Hudson River School art. Please add us to your mailing list – send all press releases and event info to bi ** @ ************ st.com . You can also submit your events to the Catalyst calendar, by clicking here . Share Tweet Share Related Topics: art artists Arts Alliance Creative Pinellas events exhibits galleries Murals Shine St. Petersburg Click to comment Subscribe to the Daily Spark Get the latest right to your phone Subscription Form Name Email Subscribe Subscribe to the Daily Spark Get the latest right to your phone Subscription Form Name Email Subscribe You may like