Does the Tampa Bay Area Lack Culture?
As museums throughout the region open their doors for free on Saturday, we want to know what you think about the area’s cultural scene.
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Tampa Bay area residents have heard it all. The region is “devoid” of culture. It lacks refinement. There’s just not an appreciation for the arts here.
Despite a major performing arts center, an orchestra, the treasure trove that is Sarasota and dozens of museums and galleries, some agree with the critics.
Even so, many Tampa Bay area museums are stepping up to the plate to take part in Saturday’s Museum Live Day, sponsored annually by Smithsonian Magazine. On Sept. 29, museums throughout the country will offer free admission to expose their cultural offerings to a larger population.
In the Tampa Bay area, some of the museums providing free entry on Saturday include the Tampa Bay History Center, the Florida Holocaust Museum, the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts and the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. A complete list of venues is available on Smithsonian.com. Tickets for entry can also be printed out from the website.
So Tampa Bay, what do you think? Is our region doing just fine on the cultural front, or could it use some help? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
Deborah Williams
12:48 pm on Friday, September 28, 2012
There is culture.... the Thai Temple in Tampa, the Dali, the Sponge Docks..... but you have to seek it out. I think people come here for the beaches anyway, not culture.... you go a major city for that....
Carla Gibson
1:06 pm on Sunday, September 30, 2012
True, the tourists come here mostly for the beaches, but it is the RESIDENTS of Florida who are truly deprived of REAL culture on a level that can even come close to cities like New York City, etc.
As "culture" deprived as Detroit was decades ago, I went into immediate "Culture Shock" the minute I crossed the Florida state line and saw how backwards and clueless this state was (and still is) in that department. Not much has changed since then ....
This state will always remain trapped in that "good 'old boy / southern mentality thinking" that stubbornly resists progress, change, or anything to do with culture.
Florida (and the entire south) believes CULTURE is a "Yankee" thing .. as if they're still fighting the Civil War in their heads.