Southwest Florida musicians are invited to share their music at Drop the Mic – Music Open Mic Night on March 27 from 7 – 9 p.m. at the Alliance for the Arts, 10091 McGregor Blvd. Fort Myers, FL 33919. Seasoned performers and newcomers are welcome to share their work against a vibrant backdrop of local art during the 33rd Annual All Florida Juried Exhibit.

Sign-ups are at the door, so slots are first come, first play. This event is free and open to musicians of all ages, but a $5 suggested donation is encouraged to keep Alliance programming affordable and accessible.

For more information, call 239-939-2787, visit 10091 McGregor Blvd. Fort Myers, FL or go online at ArtInLee.org/DropTheMic.

The Alliance for the Arts seeks Alliance member artists in Lee County to submit their work to the Art Lives Here campaign to transform billboard space into public art. Selected artwork will be displayed on billboards throughout Lee County. All Alliance member artists residing in Lee County are encouraged to submit.

“Our vision is to bring artwork outside of the traditional context of museum and gallery walls, while bringing attention to emerging local artists’ work,” says exhibition coordinator Krista Johnson.

An entry may consist of 1 to 3 artworks. A non-refundable entry fee is $20 for one entry and $35 for 2 or 3 entries.  Alliance for the Arts memberships are $55 and are good for one year. All entries must be submitted online no later than March 15, 2019. Artists can download the prospectus and submit their work online at www.ArtInLee.org/ArtLivesHere. Not all submissions receive a billboard. You may become a member to submit.

Art Lives Here is made possible by Alliance season sponsor Carter Outdoor.

For more information, call 239-939-2787 or visit www.ArtInLee.org/ArtLivesHere.

The Alliance for the Arts, in partnership with Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, presents a Community Appraisal Day on March 16 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at 10091 McGregor Blvd. Fort Myers. Meet with auction house experts from Leslie Hindman Auctioneers and find out the values of your fine jewelry, artwork, decorative objects, furniture, Asian works of art, books, maps, silver and beyond.

A 20 minute appraisal session is $10 for Alliance members or $20 for non-members. Pre-registration is required. For more information, call 239-939-2787, visit 10091 McGregor Blvd. Fort Myers, FL or go online at ArtInLee.org/Appraisal.

Theatre Conspiracy at the Alliance for the Arts continues its 25th consecutive season with Joe Turner’s Come and Gone by August Wilson and directed by Sonya McCarter, opening March 1 and playing through March 17. This will be the third installment of August Wilson’s Century Cycle Series that Theatre Conspiracy at the Alliance for the Arts has produced. The Cycle charts the African-American experience through each decade of the 20th century.

In a Pittsburgh boarding house in 1911, owners Seth and Bertha Holly play host to a makeshift family of people who come to stay – some for days, some longer. Each denizen of the boarding house has a different relationship to a past of slavery as well as to the urban present. They include proprietors, an eccentric clairvoyant with a penchant for old country voodoo, a young homeboy up from the South, and a mysterious stranger searching for his wife. One of the most spellbinding and emotionally rich plays in Wilson’s Century Cycle, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone shines a light on America’s newly freed men and women determined to take their rightful place in a new world.

“A large amount of the history taught about African-Americans centers on slavery but very little is taught about the years following slavery,” says director and Alliance Community Engagement Coordinator Sonya McCarter. “August Wilson does a beautiful job of bringing to light the triumphs and tragedies of a people searching for a place to fit in a post slavery world.  As with most of Wilson’s work, this play has universal appeal as it highlights a person’s search for identity, love and a place to call home.”

The Joe Turner’s Come and Gone cast features local actors:

Nuniez Philor as Seth Holly, owner of the boarding house
Tijuanna Clemons as Bertha Holly, Seth’s wife
Lemec Bernard as Herald Loomis, a resident of the boarding house
Cantrella Canady as Martha Loomis Pentecost, Herald Loomis’ wife
Jim Yarnes as Rutherford Selig, a peddler
Kristoffer Reid as Jermey Furlow, a younger resident of the boarding house
Cicero McCarter as Bynum Walker, a rootworker
Rozaria Brown as Zonia Loomis, Herald’s 11-year-old daugheter
Kavon Simmons as Ruben Mercer, a boy who lives next door
Ruthgenia Augustin as Molly Cunningham, a young resident woman of the boarding house
Katherine Oni as Mattie Campbell, a tenant of Seth’s

Individual tickets to each show are $26, $11 for students or $22 for Alliance members. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturdays with a new 7:30 p.m. start time and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. An audio described performance will take place on March 17. Reservation of headsets is required prior to the show by calling 239-939-2787.

To widen the post-show conversation and discuss what the art onstage means to us as individuals and as a society, the Alliance will facilitate a community conversation, also on March 17. The opportunity is included with ticket purchase.

Joe Turner’s Come and Gone is sponsored by Noreen Raney. To purchase tickets or for more information, call the box office at 239-939-2787, visit 10091 McGregor Blvd. Fort Myers, FL or go online at www.ArtInLee.org/Theatre.

The Alliance for the Arts’ March exhibition, 33rd Annual Juried All Florida, will exhibit from March 8 through March 30 with an opening reception on March 8 from 5 – 7 p.m. at 10091 McGregor Blvd. This exhibition features pieces created by artists working in a wide variety of media from all over the state of Florida. The juried entries come together for an exciting exhibition representing today’s Florida artists.

From 664 entries, 60 artists and 60 pieces were selected by the juror. Artists include: Jeff Abbott, Jaime Aelavanthara, Brooke Anderson, Joanne Barrett, Penelope Breen, Melissa Carcamo, Hilda Champion, Steven Chayt, Muffy Clark, Sammy Cottrell, Alison Curtis, Vic Delnore, Glen DePasse, Christine Di Staola, Jessie Dilich, Sharon Eng, Cheryl Fausel, Lynn Foskett, Julie Gauthier, Janet George, Geoffrey Hamel, Judith Harthorn, John Ippensen, Ameena Khan, Ann Kozeliski, Yvonne Krystman, Karen Kuykendall, Jay Lana, JoAnn LaPadula, Pat Leggett, Diane Lublinski, Olivier Lutaud, Bruce MacKechnie, Inna Malostovker, Claire Melli, Robert Moore, Carol Murphy, Melissa Nece, Elizabeth Ogata, Jose Pardo, Katrina Parker, June Powell, Gregory Presley, Christine Reichow, Lynne Renzenberger, Robert Richard, Paula Rucket, Carol Schmidt, Carolyn Steele, Carve Stone, Nancy Terrell, Guy Tieman, Rachel Ulrich, Havelyn Villar, Laura Waller, James Woodfield, LouAnn Wukitsch, Christian Wyatt, Patricia Zalisko and MANO.

This year’s juror is R. Lynn Whitelaw. Whitelaw was the founding Director and Curator of the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art, located on the Tarpon Springs Campus of St. Petersburg College (SPC), and held that position for 17 years. Over the years, Mr. Whitelaw’s curatorial efforts have resulted in over 140 exhibitions shown at Hillsborough Community College, the Tampa Museum of Art and the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art.

“My overlying interest was to showcase exciting examples of contemporary art in Florida that reflect artistic talent and innovative work that respect, or experiment with, materials,” says juror R. Lynn Whitelaw. “My only regret is that there were a large number of wonderful works that fit my criteria, but I had to make hard decisions to cull the show to 60 pieces. “

The opening celebration will be March 8 from 5 – 7 p.m. Whitelaw will be on hand to present awards including $1,000 cash for Best In Show, a 2nd place $250 gift certificate for Golden Artists Colors, $100 cash for 3rd place and Jurors Choice Award(s) of Alliance for the Arts membership(s).

Meet and engage with exhibiting artists during a conversational tour through the gallery on March 9 at 10 a.m. during the Alliance for the Arts weekly GreenMarket.

Receptions and gallery talks are open to the public and do not require tickets or reservations. While the gallery admission is free, a $5 suggested donation keeps Alliance programming affordable and accessible.

All Florida is sponsored in part by Elemental Stone and Waterworks.

For more information, call 239-939-2787 or visit www.ArtInLee.org/AllFlorida2019.