Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center

Shah Hadjebi, Marti Koehler, Mariapia Malerba, and Wilson McCray are painting a mural on paper at BIG ARTS now through October 24. It’s a mammoth project - as tall as a person and as long as a football field with both end zones included. It’s also the first time the four artists have worked with each other, says Malerba.

The Sidney and Berne Davis Art Center’s latest exhibition “Exposed: The Art of Photography” explores the distinctive styles and vision of five different photographers. Ahead of the Sept. 5 opening reception, we talk with three of the featured photographers: Tonya Barnes, Beth Everhart and Brian Tietz.

From Sarasota to Marco Island and Venice and Sanibel to Arcadia and LaBelle, Southwest Florida is home to more than a dozen art centers. Most host visual art exhibitions showcasing member, regional and nationally renowned artists that change every month. In September, there are 32 shows at these venues, underscoring the importance of the arts in our part of the country.

Last year, Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed $32 million in arts and culture grants that had been approved by the Florida Legislature. This year, the state’s $115.5 billion budget includes $18.3 million in arts and culture grants, but only a handful of Southwest Florida arts organizations qualified for a share of that money. For the second year in a row, 14 Lee county arts organizations were denied state funding, including the Alliance for the Arts and Florida Repertory Theatre. Each of Lee’s arts organizations is employing a medley of measures to make up for the loss of state grants.

Aerial silks originated in France in 1959, with Cirque du Soleil incorporating them into their performances beginning in 1987. Since then they’ve proliferated as an elegant and dynamic performance art that combines poses, inversions and body movements to tell dramatic and evocative stories. In the past decade, silks have also emerged as a fitness option, with aerial silk gyms cropping up worldwide.

On September 28, 2022, Hurricane Ian covered Fort Myers Beach with more than 18 feet of wind-driven surge and wave action. In the process, it obliterated Paradise Tattoo’s studio. Rather than give up or relocate, founder Dawn Webb and her coterie of close-knit artists - Sam Taylor, Alia Alexander, Colin Orion and Victoria Casazza - rebuilt and reopened. Through perseverance and an unyielding passion for their craft, Webb and company restored more than a studio. They reignited their creative spirit.

From Sarasota to Marco Island and Venice and Sanibel to Arcadia and LaBelle, Southwest Florida is home to more than a dozen art centers. Most host visual art exhibitions showcasing member, regional and nationally renowned artists that change every month. In August, there are 29 shows at these venues, underscoring the importance of the arts in our part of the country.

From 6 p.m. until midnight on Friday, a team of silk aerialists from Fit to Fly will be performing poses, inverts, drops and partner routines in the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center grand atrium. It’s part of “A Midsummer Night Dreamstate of Jams, Dance and Alternative Circus.” Jenna Algeo will be one of those performers.

From Sarasota to Marco Island and Venice and Sanibel to Arcadia and LaBelle, Southwest Florida is home to more than a dozen art centers. Most host visual art exhibitions showcasing member, regional and nationally renowned artists that change every month. In July, there are 24 shows at these venues, underscoring the importance of the arts in our part of the country.

From Sarasota to Marco Island and Venice and Sanibel to Arcadia and LaBelle, Southwest Florida is home to more than a dozen art centers. Most host visual art exhibitions showcasing member, regional and nationally renowned artists that change every month. In June, there are 26 shows at these venues. Each will stimulate viewers’ imaginations and underscore the importance of the arts in our part of the country.