Elian Visit Gainesville

Mural at Haven Hospice/Rails-to-Trails by Argentinian Urban Muralist Elian, 352walls.org

This article is brought to you by VisitGainesville.com

When one thinks of art and culture in the state of Florida, they might automatically think about the famous Wynwood Art District of Miami or perhaps they think about Art Basel, a modern and contemporary art fair that is held every year in Miami.

What one may not know about the art scene in the Florida is that about 340 miles north of Miami is a thriving and active urban art and culture scene in the city of Gainesville.

Gainesville is known for having a number of places to go to attend live musical and theatrical performances in addition to having its own thriving public art scene.

Public Art

2501 352walls

Mural at :08 Seconds Building by Italian Urban Muralist 2501, 352walls.org

As a person who has a deep appreciation for street art, I was excited to find out about Gainesville’s flourishing urban art scene, which is the only public mural or ‘street’ art display of its kind in the North Central Florida area.

Created by 11 local, regional, and international artists, the downtown section of Gainesville is home to the 352walls/ Gainesville Urban Art Initiative, a project where urban street artists have collaborated to create large-scale paintings on buildings around the city.
Some of the most interesting pieces of the 352walls initiative include the painting on the :08 Seconds Building by Italian urban muralist 2501, the mural on the Market Street Pub by Ukrainian artists Interesni Kazki, and the wrapped electrical boxes by Portuguese artist Fuel.

Theater & Dance

In addition to street art, Gainesville has a number of other activities related to arts and culture. One place where visitors to Gainesville can go to see Broadway, off-Broadway and regional shows is the Hippodrome Theatre, which hosts various musicals, comedies, dramas, and holiday productions throughout the year.

The Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts is another place of cultural interest in Gainesville and has hosted shows including STOMP, the Bolshoi Ballet, and Riverdance. Additionally, the Curtis M. Phillips Center showcases performances from the Dance Alive National Ballet, which is a professional ballet company based in the city that has dancers from numerous countries around the world!

Visitors to Gainesville will also love the Gainesville Community Playhouse, which is Florida’s oldest community theater. The playhouse has been producing numerous high-quality plays and musicals since 1927, and is definitely a place that is not to be missed during a trip to the city!

Arts & Culture Festivals

Arts Festival Gainesville

A little boy enjoying art at the Arts Festival, VisitGainesville.com

Gainesville is also home to several art festivals including the annual three-day Fifth Avenue Arts Festival which takes place every spring, the Santa Fe Spring Arts Festival, which also occurs every the spring, and the Downtown Art Festival and Show which is held in the city every fall.

Gainesville is truly a wonderful place to experience art and culture in the United States. The next time that you find yourself in Florida, don’t pass up the opportunity to visit Gainesville!

For more information on what is going on in the art scene of Gainesville, make sure to check out their Facebook and Twitter pages.