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Art and sole

Follow the orange shoes along Franklin Street to Gala Corina, a celebration of art, architecture and culture.

By JANET ZINK
Published November 5, 2004

TAMPA - It's a cool Saturday morning, nearly two weeks before the opening of one of Tampa's biggest art shows, and volunteers have assembled downtown to paint hundreds of shoes.

That's right. Shoes.

Baby sneakers, Cookie Monster slippers, pumps and boots.

They present an odd canvas, but that's no problem for this group of artists. Many of them will be showing their own, more personal works at Gala Corina, a two-week exhibition that opens tonight in the old Badcock Furniture building at 1219 N Franklin St. and the surrounding area.

The artists will line the shoes, painted bright orange, along Franklin Street from Kennedy Boulevard several blocks north to the event. Organizers hope they'll catch the attention of people who work downtown and prompt them to follow the footsteps to Gala Corina.

And if a few people decide to slip into the shows, that's okay, too.

"I'd love to see them on some homeless people," said John Langley, an architect and Gala Corina founder.

Langley launched the event six years ago with 22 artists in the hallway outside his apartment in the old Corina cigar factory in Palmetto Beach. It has grown into a multimedia art event that energizes the Tampa arts community and last year drew 3,000 people. Nearly 100 exhibitors include sculptors, painters, photographers, filmmakers, performance artists, musicians and architects.

Gala Corina, created by architects, has also earned a reputation for calling attention to unique buildings and up-and-coming neighborhoods.

Two years ago, Gala Corina took place in an abandoned church in Tampa Heights under construction to become loft apartments. After people at the gala saw the space, now called the Sanctuary Lofts, it quickly sold out.

Last year, organizers planned to hold the event in the historic Arlington Hotel, slated for condos. Problems with fire safety scuttled those plans, forcing organizers to move the event to Ybor Square.

This year, Gala Corina moves to the former Badcock Furniture store below the Arlington Hotel. Owner Russell Versaggi, who also owns the Sanctuary, plans to develop the space into retail.

The building can only hold 300 people at a time. So organizers of Gala Corina are setting up food, music and art on the street. This year's theme is Ser Libre - Spanish for to be free.

The N Franklin Street location is perfect for putting the spotlight on a part of Tampa that Mayor Pam Iorio hopes to turn into a cultural arts district, organizers say.

"Gala Corina draws the kind of audience that we love to see living and working in downtown," said Paul Wilborn, creative industries manager for the city of Tampa, which is co-sponsoring the event for the first time. "They've shown off different areas. They've shown off Ybor City, they've shown off West Tampa. We need to be showing off that area, and Gala Corina is a perfect vehicle."

The event offers a high-profile showcase for up-and-coming local artists.

"A lot of people aren't maybe aware of what we do and how we do it," said architect Alex Bothos, a Gala Corina founder whose paintings will be for sale. "We bring so many people together, so many media. Our main thing is to inspire people to see there are a lot of good things happening in Tampa."

This year's Gala Corina will include a film festival on Saturday and an architectural competition themed "Envisioning Democratic Space."

"We have always had architects submit artful work as well as one or two architectural projects," Langley said. "But over the years we noticed that was beginning to diminish and the Gala Corina was starting to look like a more standard art fair. We wanted to bring back into the fold our local design talent."

Twenty-four architects have submitted ideas that reflect their idea of what a place for political discussion might look like.

"We're not asking the question why," Langley said. "We're just saying, is it the table with two chairs, is it two people talking, is it a convention center or is it something in the middle?"

Architect Mike Rinaud designed the event's entryway.

"It's a transition space from the real world into the world of art," he said. "To me they blend together."

A "freedom wall" with pens, charcoal and spray paint will invite gala guests to express their thoughts on what will become a piece of artwork documenting the show.

"The whole idea is to get the public involved," Rinaud said.

Participating artists say the event's growing popularity proves that Tampa residents are hungry for a vibrant arts scene.

"Every year we do the show you can tell how much people want it by the turnout," painter Andrej Kroslak said. "Culture is the soul of a city. If you don't have culture, you don't have anything."

Janet Zink can be reached at 226-3401 or jzink@sptimes.com

Gala Corina opens with a street party today from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. at 1219 N Franklin St. A $2 donation is suggested. A free Independent Film Festival is at 7:30 p.m. Saturday; it will feature experimental short films, animation and the movie Conspirators of Pleasure. Coolers and chairs are welcome. For information, call 248-1919 or go to www.galacorina.org

[Last modified November 4, 2004, 15:08:15]