by Shilpa Ganatra, Travel Editor
The holiday hotspot of Miami has long been Florida’s destination of choice for art lovers, thanks to its stretch of galleries, museums and open air exhibits. But nearby St Petersburg is threatening to take its crown.
Known best for its 35 miles of beach and its incessant sunshine, the recent opening of the Dali Museum – holding the largest collection of his paintings outside of Spain – has indicated a change for the coastal area.
More recently, in an attempt to curb bad graffiti, the authorities began commissioning murals on walls prone to vandalism. Their cunning plan worked: the areas of St Pete and Clearwater have changed from run down to art-embracing, and remain rubbish tag-free.
The city’s Chihuly Collection in the Morean Arts Centre is another well-established element of the area’s arts scene. The facility houses an array of Dale Chihuly’s finest work, with the artists’ work also currently being shown in Las Vegas’ Bellagio. After being inspired by Chihuly’s work the Morean Arts Center’s Glass Studio and Hot Shop offers the chance for novices to lern the fundamentals of glass blowing and attempt to create a masterpiece from just $75.
There’s more to come for art-lovers visiting the area – in early 2016, the Dali Museum will be home to exhibition Disney & Dali: Architects of the Imagination, exploring the unexpected friendship between Salvador and Walt.
Yes, really.