Daily Loaf

Aqua Wynwood 2007: Rusted wheelbarrows cut with lace-like patterns by Cal Lane at New York’s Foley Gallery. Photo by Megan Voeller.

Since reports (like this one) surfaced that collectors were actually buying earlier this summer at Art Basel in Switzerland, the international art fair circuit has managed at least partially to shake its recent image as a victim of the economy.

In December, when Art Basel Miami Beach arrives in Florida, St. Petersburg’s C. Emerson Fine Arts will take part in Aqua Art Miami, one of the popular satellite fairs that orbit around the larger showcase. Aqua, which plans to ditch its original venue (the Aqua Hotel on Miami Beach) and set up shop only in the Wynwood gallery district, has a reputation as one of the stronger satellites. It typically includes galleries from around the US along with a smattering of international participants.

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If you missed the weekend markets but don’t want to shell out high prices for the chemically-enhanced “fresh fruit” at the big box grocers, head to the Gulfport Tuesday Fresh Market for your locally-grown fruits and veggies, fresh seafood, and even local arts and crafts, along with live entertainment. The market runs year-round from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Tuesday on Beach Blvd. in Gulfport’s Florida Waterfront district. Visit
gulfportflorida.us/tuesday-morning-fresh-market for more info.

Put your produce from the Tuesday Market to good use at the Florida Herb Society Meeting. Herbal swaps begin at 6:30, and every meeting features a new event or guest speaker from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Past events include Iron Chef-style herbal cook-offs, lessons in cooking with herbs, and tips and tricks for growing herbs in the Florida climate. For more info, e-mail bodyandmind@ymail.com or call 727-365-8574. Third Tuesday of every month, Clearwater Garden Club, 405 Seminole St., Clearwater, free.

It’s the last week to see Film Lingual III, C. Emerson Fine Arts’ annual showcase of genre defying photographic works. This year’s roster of artists — David Audet, Nancy Cervenka, Brandon Dunlap, Corey George, Illuminations 33701, Jamie Jackson, Laszlo Horvath, Matthew Lindhardt, Austin Nelson, Leah Oates, Dana Plays and Joseph Walles — promises diversity in their creative explorations, alternately serving up documentary photography, digitally-crafted images and sculpture made from found movie film. Through June 20, Tues.-Fri. 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Sat. noon-5 p.m., C. Emerson Fine Arts, 909 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, 727-898-6068, c-emersonfinearts.com (Megan Voeller)

This post continues an ongoing conversation with local arts leaders about how the economy is impacting their business. (Read the first in this series of posts here or an even earlier post here.)

The national media are starting to pick up the broader story about the effects of the recession on arts organizations and the art market. This Boston Globe article opens with the bittersweet account of a patron requesting an extended donation payment plan; in the past week, more ominous stories about art museums and the Frieze Art Fair hit the New York Times. All three articles suggest that the worst may be yet to come.

On the other hand, this story about the $69 million economic impact of Olafur Eliasson’s Waterfalls hit NYC newspapers this afternoon—a glimmer of good news that emphasizes one of the many ways in which we value art (i.e., by its nifty tendency to attract tourists).

As of three weeks ago, representatives from both the Salvador Dali Museum and the Tampa Museum of Art told me their building projects are on track to meet previously set opening dates (fall 2010 and fall 2009, respectively). And Lights on Tampa 2009 remains set to take place during the Super Bowl. (I assume it will play a role in luring Super Bowl visitors to Tampa’s downtown—what those visitors will think of the city’s core when they get there is another question.)

Thoughts from other players in the Bay area arts community:

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