Arts In

Amanda Cooper is the longtime Curator of Exhibitions at the Morean Arts Center, the 100+ year mainstay of St. Petersburg’s arts community, with a mission to provide training in the arts for all ages. Amanda talks with Barbara St. Clair about the process of shaping the Morean’s adventurous themed exhibitions. She explains how the gallery focuses on local artists but places their artwork in a national perspective, and shares what she’s looking for in an emerging artist’s work. She details the history of the Center, which now includes the Chihuly Collection and glass-blowing Hot Shop, and the Morean Center for Clay - the largest working pottery in the Southeast. Amanda shares the challenges of keeping on the cutting edge of contemporary art while raising four children, and tells Barbara about the painting she saw as a teenager at the Museum of Fine Arts, that led her toward an arts career. Find out more about the Morean Arts Center’s classes here, with training available in drawing, painting, welding, potter