The Catalyst Sessions begins tonight on Facebook Live

We rely, as a community, on the arts as a shared experience. Concerts, plays, gallery openings, museum exhibits and public events bring us together.

And in this time of isolation and uncertainty, it’s important to be reminded that although we may not be gathered in one room, we are still together, as a community, in our many individual rooms.

Which is the rationale behind The Catalyst Sessions, which begins at 7 p.m. today. It’s a live streaming event in which people from St. Pete’s arts sector – musicians, actors, artists, movers and shakers – will visit from their homes, practicing social distancing while still reaching out and connecting with the community.

Each weekday, at 7 p.m., the Catalyst Facebook page will come alive, literally, with a familiar face, a familiar voice, a friend to tell us what they’re reading, watching, listening to – or creating. We’ll have a song or two, a couple of laughs, and – the most important thing – a comforting sense of togetherness. A way to remind ourselves that we are, once and forever, a community.

Check us out tonight for the inaugural run, with Paul Wilborn and Eugenie Bondurant, live from home.

And feel free to laugh as I click the wrong things, push the wrong buttons and make any number of rookie mistakes on this first attempt!