For the Love of Art: The Florida Prize

When I was a child, I made up elaborate stories to tell my friends. My imagination is what carried me through the day. As an only child, I relied on my imagination and my creative side so much.  As an adult, my love for any of the creative arts still holds an important place in my heart. Whether it’s in the written form, song form, paint form, whatever form art can be created in I love it!

I’m lucky enough to live in an area where I feel as if art is appreciated. I know you may not automatically think of the arts when you think of Orlando, but there’s a side I see and get to experience that I wish more Orlandoans and even tourist got to see.

Our community is rich with local artists which in turn brings in other like minded people. You can head down the Mills 50 area (Viet-town) and see some of the most awesome artwork done on the side of buildings. Head to Winter Park and there’s a few small, intimate museums rich with history and beauty. Most importantly, Orlando is home to the Orlando Museum of Art . OMA is a place I whole heartily support and wish more people within our community would visit.

Did you know if you have a Bank of America or Merrill Lynch credit (or debit card) you can get free general admission every first full weekend of the month? That’s a pretty neat perk, and if you haven’t visited already this may be a good stepping stone in getting you into the museum. You can click here to see the list of museums THROUGHOUT all of the US if you’re not in Orlando.

There are some pretty awesome exhibits at OMA but it’s upcoming event that’s got me SUPER excited. OMA will be hosting the Florida Prize Exhibition Preview Party next Friday on June 2, 2017. This is in celebration of the 2017 Florida Prize in Contemporary Art. The event allows the ten Florida artist to preview their work and ten local restaurants will pair up with the artists to come up with fun, creative dishes that compliment their masterpieces. As a foodie AND an art lover, this is a dream come true.

You can check out these pictures from last years event to see how awesome it was! This year restaurants 1921 by Norman Van Aken, Bulla Gastrobar, Reyes Mezcaleria, The Rusty Spoon and Soco will be at the event showcasing bites inspired by the ten artists. There’s live music, a DJ annnnd AN OPEN BAR. You get to enjoy all of this while getting an early preview of the Florida Prize exhibition. This is truly a phenomenal event.

 

If you’re in the Orlando area, I really hope you can come out and support this. I’ll for sure be there and I hope to see some of my readers there! You can get tickets here.  Also, check out the Orlando Museum of Art’s website to learn more about the facility and see all the amazing things they have to offer! OMA is a true jewel of our city and deserves all our love.

You can also check out Orlando Weekly’s sneak peak at the nominees here.

Are you guys art lovers like me? How about foodie? What’s your favorite medium of art? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below 🙂

 

Until next time,

 

 

**The above photos belong to the Orlando Museum of Art; this is NOT a paid for post. Support your local museum people!