Arts & Culture

Jim Griffith is stepping down effective October, 2024 from his role as Chief Executive Officer of the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center. He will be assuming the position of Executive Director of the Sante Fe Chamber Music Festival, marking a new chapter in his distinguished career in the arts.

Urbanite Theatre’s Modern Works Festival takes place in Sarasota September 4 to 8. The festival is a celebration of female playwrights and theater-makers, who are still vastly under-represented in the theater industry.

Players Circle Studio opens its inaugural production with “13.” Director Kimberly Suskind says that the coming-of-age musical was the logical choice for the Studio Players’ new educational studio.

India celebrated its 78th anniversary of its independence from British rule on Aug 15. The India Association of Fort Myers observed the occasion recently with a gathering at Lakes Park in Fort Myers.

To help the Alliance replace the funding lost when Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed all arts and cultural grants, local playwright and actor Frank Blocker is bringing his Fringe Fort Myers 2024 Best-in-Venue performance back to the Alliance for one night only benefit on August 30.

“It’s Only a Play” is often described as a love letter to thespians and theater-goers, but it will appeal to anyone who’s ever wondered what it’s like at the after-party on opening night … or loves the art of name-dropping! To make this point, the cast lovingly parodied the comedy for WGCU.

Pineapples were such an important money crop in this part of the country in the 1880s, that Fort Myers put the pineapple on its official seal when it incorporated in 1885. Picking up on that theme, the Visual Arts Center in Punta Gorda is hosting an art show opening in September that pays homage to this region’s long-forgotten heritage as a major pineapple producer.

United Arts Collier has launched an initiative that will document the role the arts have played in making Collier County a worldwide arts mecca. The "Collier Arts Archive will contain memories and arts memorabilia collected from area arts organizations and individuals.

The Artful 8 group exhibition at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center will appeal to anyone who’s ever wondered about the significance of the number eight.

The City of Fort Myers continues to make repairs to the sculptures damaged by Hurricane Ian in September of 2022 — most recently to four of its Cor-Ten steel sculptures – two located at the Alliance for the Arts, one in front of the Laboratory Theater of Florida and another at Urban Community Farm in Dunbar. However, when Cape Welding arrived at the First Street entrance to Patio De Leon to re-attach the arm that had fallen off one of the figures in a sculpture known as the “Domino Players,” they had an unpleasant surprise.