Create
Creativity is in full bloom at FloridaRAMA
Chad Mize debuts a 360-degree installation called “Randomize” May 15.
Things at FloridaRAMA continue to get more interesting. Recently, episodes of David Downing’s bay area TV talk show Oh Yeah! were videotaped in the big room of the immersive art experience inside The Factory St. Pete.
And the emphasis on local artists, evolving works and fresh perspectives has increased ten-fold since FloridaRAMA first opened (as Fairgrounds) in 2021.
Chad Mize has curated REALM, opening Friday in the FloridaRAMA Gallery. Consisting of work by 28 local and national artists, it consists of sculpture, painting, mixed media and installation.
Among the contributors: Rhys Meatyard, Carrie Jadus, Rebekah Lazaridis, Spencer Meyers, Artist Jones, Tyler Gillespie, Saumitra Chandratrya, Wasil, Andrea Pawlisz, Cristi Lopez, Ethan Early and Acute Perception.
The show, which opens with a 7-9 p.m. reception Friday, continues through June.
Saturday brings the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance’s monthly Second Saturday ArtWalk, and from 5 to 9 p.m. FloridaRAMA is offering discounted admission, live music, a look at REALM, a book reading by Sally Pye (Mummy Eats a Gummy) and the launch party for the Churned x FloridaRAMA ice cream collaboration.
ArtWalk, a self-guided tour through dozens of St. Pete studios and galleries, is from 6 to 9 p.m. Here’s the map for May 9.
Meanwhile, Mize debuts a 360-degree installation called Randomize May 15, a wraparound room of his signature brightly-colored doodles, designs and patterns, in an experience he calls “clean and chaotic at the same time.”
On the same day, artist Brigitte Coovert introduces three mixed-media sculptural works, distributed around the FloridaRAMA space, all of which tie in to the loose “mermaid” storyline of the place (the works are called Lotus Orb Diorama, Glue Baby Sculpture and Domed Sculpture).
May 16’s Voices in Realm, a literary discussion featuring regional writers exploring storytelling across creative disciplines, is scheduled for 6-8 p.m. Writers include Eleanor Eichenbaum, Erin McCoy, Keifer Calkins, Tyler Gillespie and Yuki Jackson. Admission is free.
