Gulf Coast Life: Arts Edition
John Davis has been a full-time Reporter/Producer for WGCU since 2009. He is the local host for NPR’s Morning Edition and producer and host for WGCU’s radio talk program Gulf Coast Life! John came to WGCU as an intern in 2007, and is now reporting on a broad spectrum of topics of interest to Southwest Florida. Prior to joining WGCU, he worked at WDUQ-FM in Pittsburgh, PA covering local government and general assignments.John studied journalism at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Florida Gulf Coast University. His work has garnered awards from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania, the Radio Television Digital News Association, and a first place award and “Best in Show” from the Florida Associated Press for his investigative work in 2011. Send news pitches to wgcunews at wgcu.org
Latest Episodes
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Pine Island artists Deb Zwetsch and Zan Lombardo have collaborated on a joint exhibition now at the Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers titled, “We Contain Multitudes.” The artists join us live in studio to talk about the exhibition, their artistic inspirations and their artistic approaches, both collaboratively and as individual artists. -
Fort Myers-based artist Ananda War holds her first solo exhibition at DAAS CO-OP Art Gallery & Gifts titled “IS.” War is also a tattoo artist and owner of the Light Hand Tattoo & Healing Arts studio. Ahead of the exhibition’s opening reception, Feb. 2, War joins us in studio to talk about her creative process, her art and its connection to the metaphysical. -
The Southwest Florida Symphony’s next Masterworks concert, Feb 3, will feature Naples-based pianist Alexandra Carlson performing Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3, along with performances of Gideon Klein’s Partita for Strings, and Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8. We’ll delve into the program in a conversation with Maestro Radu Paponiu and the symphony’s community outreach ambassador Robert Van Winkle. -
The Wasmer Art Gallery at Florida Gulf Coast University hosts an installation titled “A Tenuous Framework,” Jan. 18 – Feb. 29. The installation comes from artistic collaborators and married couple Brent Budsberg and Shana McCaw. The exhibition continues the artists exploration of perceptions of history, ancestral memory, and psychological displacement. We take a deeper dive into the installation in a conversation with the artists and Wasmer Art Gallery Director John Loscuito. -
Surface pattern designer turned award-winning expressionist painter Kim McAninch now has an exhibition at the Alliance for the Arts titled “It Makes Me Wonder.” We talk with the Sarasota-based artist about the exhibit, her background, and her creative process. -
The Southwest Florida Symphony kicks off 2024 with the second concert of this season’s Masterworks series. The performance features Grammy winning violinist and vocalist Charles Yang performing arrangements of songs by The Beatles and the Animals. The concert also includes a performance of perhaps the most well-known classical composition in modern times, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5. -
Gulf Coast Life Arts Edition’s 2023 year-end music review is look back at some of the musicians featured on the program over the past year. We’ll hear original music from a broad spectrum of music genres as well as conversation with the artists telling stories about what inspired their songs. -
The Florida Repertory Theatre is performing Katori Hall’s play “The Mountaintop,” which serves as a fictional reimagining Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s last night before his assassination after delivering his historic “I Have Been to the Mountaintop” speech. We’ll hear from the production’s director, Ansley Valentine. -
Players Circle Theater is collaborating with the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation to present an evening of short plays centered in the climate crisis. The Dec. 12 performances are part of a global initiative called Climate Change Theatre Action, which highlights the role arts and culture play in addressing the climate crisis. -
The Alliance for the Arts hosts the 5th annual Arts on Tap fundraising celebration, Friday, Dec. 1, including live music, craft brewers and food trucks. Alliance Executive Director Molly Rowan-Deckart previews the event and talks about the nonprofit’s latest gallery exhibition, the new digital arts laboratory, the Alliance’s ongoing Art House Cinema series, and the upcoming release of the newest Arts and Economic Prosperity study.
