St. Petersburg, FL (June 2019) – The City of St. Petersburg’s Parks and Recreation Department and The Dalí Museum celebrate 22 years of partnership. The Dalí has collaborated with the department’s neighboring recreation centers for the Recreation Center Summer Workshop to inspire youth through art.
“Our summer camps are an opportunity for youth to play, learn and explore. It’s our mission to provide youth with a positive experience that introduces them to new things in a safe and fun environment,” said Mike Jefferis, leisure services administrator at the City of St. Petersburg. “The Dalí Museum has been a supporter of our mission in helping us continue to invoke that positive experience in youth by providing a free workshop.”
More than 125 elementary-aged summer campers, across six recreation center locations participate in the five-week workshop each summer. Recreation center teams communicate to campers the importance of art as they experience multiple cultural institutions in the area with associated projects and activities.
Over the years, the workshop has thrived, and summer camp participants have gained an appreciation for the arts. This summer, two new recreation centers have been added to the workshop’s schedule. Along with the additional centers, The Dalí is partnering with other local arts organizations to help broaden the camper’s experience.
Campers will not only tour The Dalí Museum’s permanent collection and create Dalí-inspired hands-on activities, they’ll also tour the Duncan McClellan Gallery for a glassblowing demonstration, plus a dance experience with dancer-in-residence, Alex Jones at The Studio@620. At the end of workshop, a reception is held at The Dalí for the campers and their families, including a performance by the Dundu Dolee African dancers, a tour of the Visual Magic: Dalí’s Masterworks in Augmented Reality special exhibition and a showcase of the campers’ artwork. It’s a chance for families to see what opportunities exist to captivate their children’s interest in the arts through the cultural offerings of St. Petersburg.
For more information about the St. Petersburg Parks and Recreation Department’s summer camps, visit www.stpeteparksrec.org/programs, and for more information about The Dalí Museum, visit www.thedali.org.
About the St. Petersburg Parks and Recreation Department
The St. Petersburg Parks and Recreation Department is nationally accredited by the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies, and with 17 recreation facilities, nine swimming pools, over 150 parks and more than 70 athletic fields, the department makes it a mission to preserve and enhance the city’s parklands and recreational facilities and engage the community in leisure activities. Visit www.StPeteParksRec.org to learn more.
About the Dali Museum
The Dalí Museum, located in the heart of picturesque downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, is home to an unparalleled collection of over 2,400 Salvador Dalí works, including nearly 300 oil paintings, watercolors and drawings as well as more than 2,100 prints, photographs, posters, textiles, sculptures and objets d’art. The Museum’s nonprofit mission, to care for and share its collection locally and internationally, is grounded by a commitment to education and sustained by a culture of philanthropy.
The Dalí is recognized internationally by the Michelin Guide with a three-star rating; has been deemed “one of the top buildings to see in your lifetime” by AOL Travel News; and named one of the ten most interesting museums in the world by Architectural Digest. The building itself is a work of art, including a geodesic glass bubble, nicknamed The Enigma, featuring 1,062 triangular glass panels, a fitting tribute to Salvador Dalí’s legacy of innovation and transformation. Explore The Dalí anytime with the free Dalí Museum App, available on Google Play and in the App Store. The Dalí Museum is located at One Dalí Boulevard, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701. For additional information contact 727.823.3767 or visit TheDali.org.
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