A Conversation with Rob Davidson, of Davidson Fine Art Gallery about the St. Pete Arts Scene Part 5

To get some perspective about the St. Pete Arts scene, earlier in the month I sat down with Rob

Davidson and his staff of Davidson's Fine Art Gallery to get the view of a long time member of the St. Petersburg Arts scene.

This is the last of a 5 Post series where Rob Davidson talks about his Gallery, the Arts in St. Pete and how he sees the future of the arts in St. Petersburg. 

My Questions are in Bold

"What do you think is the biggest value the arts community provides to the City and its citizens," I asked

I think what it provides is a unique character to the City that's going to draw people here," Rob began."

"I see St. Pete in its heyday as a place where people are actually going because of the arts. To keep the unique flavor of the City, to not try to be Tampa and work with what's already here.

"In addition the arts community serves to preserve the City's historical past. "We used tear down older buildings but now can't just do that"

Amada added, "It is interesting that people are ordering historical prints from us".

"We work with the History museum and they have historical shots, we cleaned them up for McNulty Station printed them on canvas and had a lot of people ask us about them as we were printing them up."

Rob added, "So if we can build projects with communal studios and maybe living space, where people can immerse themselves in their art and not have to work three jobs just to meet their daily household expenses."

What do you think about the Arts Warehouse project?

"That's a good project. It's the kind of thing that needs to happen," Rob began.

"We needed to make space for art and make space for artists and make affordable space with maybe living quarters within where people can immerse themselves in their art and not have to work three jobs just to make the rent."

If you get into communal situations like that, you are building neighborhoods and kind of pulling the community in so that you use the arts to reach out to the community. Once you start fixing neighborhoods up, that kind of stuff is contagious. 

"Get arts projects into the community, reach out to the community, and build with the community to get a lot of these public art things going and that to me is the future of St. Petersburg.  So people can come down here to St. Pete and enjoy not only the environment but the arts and the arts community." Rob concluded.

The Davidson Fine Art Gallery us located at 2036 Central Avenue, St. Petersburg, FL 33712, the Phone Number is 727-827-1888. Right across the Street from Haslems Book Store.

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