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Summer School is a 4-week-long interactive installation at Parachute Gallery in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida. This program is a celebratory response to the recent censorship of inclusive cultural content in K-12 schools, colleges, and public and private spaces across the state of Florida.
The installation will include:
- A bookshelf of banned books, available to read on-site or purchase-by-donation. 100% of book sales benefit Heard 'Em Say Youth Arts Collective, a Tampa-based non-profit that identifies, cultivates, and empowers young people in activism and advocacy through artistic education and expression. Independent bookstores, including Book and Bottle in St. Pete and Mojo Books and Records in Tampa, are donating books from Florida’s public school banned lists to be included!
- A video screening of storybook readings by local Drag performers. Performers are paid a stipend for their time, as Drag bookings have been negatively impacted by recent hostilities. (These will be shown on video rather than performed live to protect the safety of the individuals.) Dave Decker Photography is generously donating the videography.
- An exhibition of artwork that has faced censorship and backlash due to inclusive content. On view will be a selection of artwork that was created for Embracing Our Differences, a Sarasota-based non-profit that uses the power of art and education to expand consciousness and open the heart to celebrate the diversity of the human family. The artwork—created both by children and professional artists—made the news for being censored from display on State College of Florida’s campus in Bradenton, as well as a piece that was vandalized earlier this year at Sarasota’s Bayfront Park. The included artwork is positive, inclusive, and reflects an earnest hopefulness for a better, more loving world.
BUDGET:
Programming: $880
- 3 x $125 stipends for Drag performer book readings, videographer stipend, banned book purchases (aside from those donated), artwork printing, and reception food (made by local LGBTQ-owned baker)
Gallery Occupancy: $580
- Rent, utilities, insurance, and facilities costs for 4-week program + 1 week of installation + 1 week of deinstallation
Installation & Furniture/Displays: $75
Marketing: $75
GoFundMe Transaction Fees: $60
TOTAL: $1,670
ABOUT THE ORGANIZERS:
Jessica Todd is a writer, curator, and artist, and is the Director of Parachute Gallery in Tampa, Florida. She is passionate about building the creative infrastructures that support artists and arts organizations, as well as studying and addressing issues of equity, access, and inclusion in the art world and beyond. She seeks to amplify the voices of marginalized, unseen, and emerging artists who create work that is fresh, innovative, impactful, interdisciplinary, outside of the mainstream, and engaging to new audiences.
Victoria Alvarez is an artist and graphic designer based in Tampa, Florida. She has a studio in the Ybor City Kress building and is a passionate advocate of LGBTQ rights.
ABOUT THE VENUE:
Parachute Gallery is an exhibition and micro-retail space with a mission:
- To amplify the voices of artists from a diversity of backgrounds and life experiences without tokenizing unique perspectives.
- To elevate Crafts media in Tampa and nationally.
- To highlight underrepresented regional artists and introduce fresh national artists to our city.
- To exhibit Crafts media alongside painting, sculpture, and new media; self-trained artists alongside academic artists; and functional alongside conceptual objects.
- To obliterate the historical art hierarchies that perpetuate racism, sexism, and classism.
These are the values that drive our programming.
Parachute Gallery is a 160-sq-ft gallery located in the historic Kress building in the heart of Ybor City’s bustling 7th Avenue. They are nestled in a sweet little cluster of creative spaces on the Kress’s 2nd floor, including Tempus Projects, QUAID gallery, Department of Contemporary Art Tampa, FL, Tampa City Ballet, Heard ‘Em Say Youth Arts Collective, Kitchen Table Literary Arts, GrowHouse, and Screen Door micro-cinema.