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.

Read the rest of this entry »

In a traditional world, mechanics and Cirque du Soleil acrobats aren’t usually beer buddies. But the Birdhouse Factory isn’t exactly typical, and the Cirque Mechanics acrobatic troupe (pictured) is anything but ordinary. In the troupe’s death-defying spectacle, performers fly, climb and contort their way through rotating gears, trampoline walls and aerial hoops. This stunning combination of engineering and human agility also features machines that were built to test acrobatic limits — and performers who rise to the challenge every time. The evocative storyline of factory workers who have a few tricks up their sleeves also incorporates elements of circus and theater. Clowns, mimes, jugglers and contortionists round out the cast. Tues., March 24, 1 and 7 p.m., Ruth Eckerd Hall, Clearwater, $35-$50, 727-791-7400, rutheckerdhall.com. (Franki Weddington)

Also today: For its annual LGBT Community Gala, USF welcomes keynote speaker Betty Castor, who presents “Global Diversity in Action,” an address on the importance of inclusionary practices and USF’s role in a global environment. The event also features the PRIDE awards and the presentation of the newly-endowed USF LGBT Scholarship. 5:45-8 p.m., Gibbons Alumni Center, USF-Tampa, 813-974-5468.

Last chance to see: Electronics Alive V, University of Tampa’s biennial exhibit that features experimental computer animations, interactive 2D and 3D digital art, and multimedia computer graphics and installations by artists from here and around the world, among them, Corey George, Greg Perkins, Doug Sutherland, Sally Grizzell Larson, Viktor Koen, Kazuhiko Kobayashi, Masakazu Takano, Mark Stock, Carlos Franklin, Roque Rivas and Jeff Whipple. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Scarfone/Hartley Gallery at R.K. Bailey Art Studios-University of Tampa, 310 N. Boulevard, Tampa, 813-253-6217, utampa.edu.