Morean Center for Clay to host new exhibitions
ST. PETERSBURG — Alexia Benavent’s “De Aqui, De Allá” and Jenny Day’s “Happy Birthday Stinky” bring a power pair of new sculptural exhibitions to the Morean Center for Clay, 420 22nd St. S., St. Petersburg.
An opening reception is set for Saturday, April 11, from 5 to 9 p.m.
Benavent shares her ceramic dominos, relief photo tiles, and colorful banana bunches in a celebration of connecting with home and identity. Day displays an army of whimsical clay creatures surrounding an imaginary birthday party, using the fantastic and mystical to edge worry away.
When you see Benavent’s work, the first thing you will come to realize is its deep connection to place, exploring fragility through use of soft and hard materials.
“In a diaspora, often the only thing you can take from your home are memories. Suddenly everything can be a reservoir of memory,” Benavent says. “Old photos of a favorite restaurant, a bowl you used every day from your mother’s kitchen, even rusty tools from a childhood home can become treasured keepsakes and tangible connections to places that are not the same and may only exist now in this handful of remembrances. In a world that so strongly wants to deny you a place, they take you back to a time you didn’t even realize was so precious. Anything too big to fit in a suitcase is left behind forever. Items like photos are some of the last reminders of a home now long gone.”
Day’s work, by default, holds a deep reverence for the natural world, concerns about climate change and natural disaster. Lately, however, she has created another landscape populated by an army of friendly creatures.
“Here burdens are dismissed by the whimsical,” Day says. “‘Happy Birthday Stinky’ invites viewers to attend a birthday party for a skunk, complete with a dinosaur piñata, cake, ice cream, presents, balloons, and pizza.”
In the exhibition, the apocalyptic is supplanted by the surreal and the allegorical. Outside influences still seep in, broken ceramic windows let in a flurry of leaves, cigarettes, old tin cans, a dead bluejay. Day’s work often flirts with how the world might end, while simultaneously finding ways to adapt, recreate, and live on.
Both exhibitions will run April 11 through May 2. Hours are Wednesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Morean Center for Clay is free and open to the public. Visit www.MoreanArtsCenter.org for more information.
Ruth Eckerd Hall Chorus to perform
CLEARWATER — The Marcia P. Hoffman School of the Arts will present the Ruth Eckerd Hall Chorus performing their 2026 spring concert on Saturday, April 11, 7 p.m., in the Murray Theatre at Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 McMullen Booth Road, Clearwater.
Tickets are priced at $15 for general admission and $10 for students and military with a valid ID. Call 727-791-7400 or visit www.RuthEckerdHall.com.
The concert will feature direction by Yohance Wicks, the Marcia P. Hoffman School of the Arts music department chair. The chorus will present its spring concert full of songs from around the world. Selections will include the ethereal sounds of Sergei Rachmaninoff, the precious precision of Benjamin Britten and the earthy harmonies of Africa.
The Ruth Eckerd Hall Chorus is the adult chorus of Ruth Eckerd Hall’s Marcia P. Hoffman School of the Arts and is comprised of members ages 18 and older. In addition to performing throughout the community, the chorus also has toured in Europe, played Carnegie Hall, and performed at sporting events. The chorus has appeared alongside the Florida Orchestra, Linda Eder, Andy Williams and John Tesh. The Ruth Eckerd Hall Chorus is always welcoming new faces and voices each season. To learn more about the chorus and how to register, email contact rehedu@rutheckerdhall.net or call 727-712-2706.
Museum launches search for next executive director
TAMPA — The Tampa Museum of Art announced recently that its board has engaged global leadership advisory and executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates to lead the international search for the museum’s next executive director. The search comes as Michael Tomor prepares to retire at the end of March after more a decade serving as the executive director, a period marked by major institutional growth and the launch of the museum’s Centennial Campaign for Renovation and Expansion.
The search will be led by Russell Reynolds’ arts and culture practice leaders Katherine Armstrong and Olivia Stam. The museum welcomes applications from a wide array of candidates. Nominations, applications, or any other inquiries should be sent to TMAExecutiveDirector@russellreynolds.com.
“We are grateful for Michael’s extraordinary leadership and the vision he cast for the Tampa Museum of Art during a transformative period in its history,” said Ron Christaldi, chair of the Tampa Museum of Art board of trustees. He is chairing the executive search committee. “Our committee is conducting a thorough global search for a successor who can build on this strong foundation, inspire our community, and continue elevating Tampa’s cultural landscape. This partnership with Russell Reynolds will aid us in identifying a dynamic leader who can guide the museum through its next century of growth and impact.”
Tomor’s retirement, announced in December, comes after a 40-year career working at and leading art museums, including just over a decade at the helm of the Tampa Museum of Art. During his tenure in Tampa, Tomor has boldly led the Tampa Museum of Art into the future by acquiring 1,500 new objects for the museum’s permanent collection, dramatically increasing student and community outreach programs, including the introduction of the art and mental health program Connections. A major highlight of his tenure was the completion of a massive renovation that added over 17,500 square feet of exhibition space in two new promenades and eight new galleries, plus the opening of the new 8,000-square-foot Vinik Family Education Center, which introduced three new classrooms with the capacity to offer ceramics, multi-media, and digital art classes for children, teens and adults.
During the last five years, Tomor has led the museum through an ongoing $100 million capital campaign to renovate and expand the museum. The renovation is complete and has already transformed the museum experience. The expansion and fundraising efforts remain fully underway and unchanged, creating an iconic riverfront museum designed by New York-based architects Weiss/Manfredi.
For information about the museum, visit TampaMuseum.org.
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