Arts Council Presents the Connections Project 2017

5th Annual Arts Event Arrives at Gato Building on May 5th! 

The Florida Keys Council of the Arts works to support all the arts, in all the Keys, all the time. The local arts agency launched its fifth annual Connections Project road show in Key Largo a few months ago and it has arrived in Key West at the spacious lobby in the Gato Building. The Reception is this Friday, May 5th from 5:30-7:30. The community is invited to visit the vibrant 24-foot mosaic mural created by local artists and art lovers. The reception is open to the public. Parking is available at the Gato Building located at 1100 Simonton Street, so please join us during this Cinco de Mayo celebration and also visit the Upper Duval Gallery Walk which is the same evening.

The Connections Project is one of the Arts Council’s innovative fundraising activities connecting community members with local arts and cultural initiatives. The Arts Council provides a 6×6 blank canvas to local professional artists and artistic residents who then create a piece of art. “We asked them to create art on the canvases in whatever medium or style they chose,” Elizabeth Young, Executive Director explains. “The project is now in its fifth year and the work is outstanding — it reflects the beauty and the uniqueness of the Keys.” The individual canvases ranging from oils and watercolor to photography, collage, fabric arts and mixed media, showcase subjects including bright-pink tropical flowers, realistically-depicted birds and sea life, abstract symbols, turquoise ocean and shore, blazing red-orange sunsets, island denizens and waving palms.

After connecting with the art, patrons can also collect art by making a $35 donation for one canvas or a $100 donation for three at the reception or online at www.keysarts.com. Once the show has ended, donors receive a randomly selected piece of the mosaic in the mail. Each work includes an artist statement providing insight into the origin of the work and the artist’s thoughts and inspiration.

Proceeds from Connections Project directly benefit Keys’ artists and arts organizations through Arts Council grants, including the Artists in Schools grant, ArtReach and Special Projects grants.

For more information call the Florida Keys Council of the Arts at 305.295.4369 or visit www.keysarts.com.

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