The grandly conceived Cultural Arts District in Tampa is still nascent, but fine art in smaller doses populates the downtown now. The Downtown Art Encounter on Friday showcases six galleries, including Beaker Gallery, where paintings by Franklin Einspruch and Paolo Maggis are on view. Maggis' painting Bagno interno giomo is shown above. Also on the tour is the Tampa Museum of Art, where its contemporary art exhibition, "Crosscurrents at Century's End: Selections from the Neuberger Bergman Art Collection," is in its final week, and a new public art project, the clock tower at Union Station. All will be open from 5 to 9 p.m. and, beginning at 6 p.m., free HARTline streetcars will shuttle viewers to the venues. You can catch one at any of the addresses listed below. Most galleries will serve refreshments and all have free admission. For information, call (813) 251-3688 or (813) 221-6876.
Downtown Art Encounter Venues
Tampa Museum of Art, 600 N Ashley Drive
Beaker Gallery, 401 N Ashley Drive
Scarfone/Hartley Gallery at University of Tampa, 401 W Kennedy Ave.
