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Pinellas Creative opens new exhibit
Travis Anthony reports
LARGO, Fla. - The latest exhibit from Creative Pinellas offers a window into the hidden world of Puerto Rican art culture.
Keepers of Heritage: Custodios de la Herencia contains work from 20 artists.
The collection is a mixture of paintings and sculptures, bringing different media together under one roof.
"You walk in and you just sort of step back and you're in awe because it's such a beautiful and dynamic show," said Chief Executive Officer Barbara St. Clair, "It's a very nuanced and very magnificent story."
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The collection combines older works with more contemporary pieces, with the common factor being that the artists all come from Puerto Rico.
"I still need time to sit in front of them because it's just so intricate," shared Ketsy Ruiz, an artist and Marketing Associate at Creative Pinellas, "I'm also going through my journey about learning my history and my culture and my lineage."
This collection's value is shown all together in the snapshots of history shared of each era the artists experienced.
"As time goes on, history gets lost," admitted Ruiz, "When you have this, especially in art, that is a recording of history that is a recording of culture."
Ruiz continued, "It's contemporary art. It's not being stereotyped in any way. You can see how talented they are."
You can see the exhibit yourself at Creative Pinellas. They are open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.
To learn more about Keepers of Heritage, visit Creative Pinellas by clicking here.
In addition to this exhibit, Creative Pinellas is currently accepting applications for the 2024 Emerging Artist Grant until September 6th.
To find out how you can apply and for gallery hours and location click here.