SHINE and Second Saturday ArtWalk: Here’s where we stand

It was always the plan that the SHINE Mural Festival’s 10^th anniversary year would be something unforgettable.

Thanks to Hurricane Milton, the sponsoring St. Petersburg Arts Alliance got its wish.

SHINE 2024 was scheduled to begin today and run through Oct. 20, with more than a dozen muralists creating real-time public art on the outside walls of downtown businesses.

Instead, the city is shell-shocked from the hurricane’s double-barrel punch of wind and water, and more than 400,000 Pinellas County residents are without electricity.

Jenee Priebe. Photo by Bill DeYoung.

SHINE director Jenee Priebe was on the phone 24/7 in the days before Milton’s arrival, and since the storm passed, her phone (once service was restored) has rarely left her ear.

“We’re trying to reschedule for sometime in November,” Priebe told the Catalyst. “That will give people time to recover, but still soon enough to give them something to plan for and look forward to.”

The intended walls are still standing; they’re not going anywhere. But re-assembling the artists – four international, two national and the rest from around the region and the state – that’s going to take some fancy footwork. “Scheduling-wise, for some of them it’s kind of a now-or-never situation,” said Priebe. “Some I know aren’t even available till January at this point. So we’re debating whether or not we’re going to have people just trickle in and paint as they can, or do we try to make it a traditional festival where everyone’s out at the same time?”

Then there’s a matter of renting the hydraulic lifts (and having enough fuel to operate them), the PODS for storage, and the availability of living quarters.

It is, she stressed, a “logistics nightmare.” Ironically, three of the international artists had already arrived in St. Pete to begin prep work when Milton called the whole thing off. “We’ll try and get as many of the muralists as possible back, out painting together. And try to figure out if we can reschedule the finale, and how many people could be available to come back for that.”

It is, clearly, a fluid situation. A lot could change, and probably will.

Priebe’s resolve, however, will not be dimmed. “I want to make sure the art community is seen and heard,” she said. “I feel like the art community has been such a pillar in St. Pete and has helped build the city into what it is, this feels like an important place to be sure we’re seen and heard as we rebuild.

“But of course with sensitivity to the fact that people are devastated, and this is unprecedented for our cities.”

Arts Alliance CEO Terry Marks said Saturday’s Second Saturday ArtWalk is still on – with one really important proviso.

As Duke Energy Florida restores power to neighborhoods around the city, “We’re advising people if they want to go to a gallery Saturday night, to call and see if it’s open,” Marks explained.

“I didn’t want to shut it down, because there may be people that need that, to get out, get away from their house and go into a gallery. So it’s really case-by-case.”

Nearly 50 galleries and artist studios were on the ArtWalk list for October 12 (5-9 p.m.). “Call first,” said Marks, “and see if it’s open and available.”