August 22, 2023 – (KEY WEST, FL). On Sunday, September 3, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., join the staff of the Fort East Martello Museum, located at 3501 South Roosevelt Boulevard, to explore one of the island’s Civil War-era forts and its exhibits which encompass our rich and diverse history. Dubbed “Family Museum Day,” the program is designed to coincide with the Society’s wildly popular Community Day, a day offering free museum admission for Monroe County residents the first Sunday of each month.
While on the property, families are invited to take a self-guided tour of the fort and citadel, explore the outdoor sculpture garden, and view artwork created by celebrated Keys folk artist Stanley Papio. In addition to free admission, adults and children are welcome to explore the history of Florida’s indigenous people in the air-conditioned Lee Garrison Classroom by joining Society education specialist, Kassandra Collett, and art educator, Jenni Franke to create art inspired by South Florida’s first people. “Known as the “Shell Indians” due to their large shell mounds and creative use in tool making, the Calusa also carved and painted masks and animal figurines from wood such as the Gumbo Limbo, Cypress, and Buttonwood,” says Collett. “We welcome all families to the museum to study the tools, beads, sherds, and a dugout canoe on display at the museum and then create art inspired by objects found at Calusa sites around South Florida.” The Family Museum Day program is free and open to the public. Registration is not required, and all supplies will be provided by the Key West Art & Historical Society. For additional information about the program, visit kwahs.org/upcoming-events. You can also contact Collett at 305-295-6616 x504 or kcollett@kwahs.org. This project is sponsored in part by the Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture and the State of Florida, with additional support provided by The Helmerich Trust. Your Museums. Your Community. It takes an Island.
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“Clear Havanas: Key West’s Cigar Industry” to be next KWAHS Happy Hour with the Historian Event8/22/2023 August 22, 2023 – (KEY WEST, FL). Raise a toast to Florida Keys art and history with Key West Art & Historical Society Curator and Historian Cori Convertito, Ph.D., on Thursday, September 14, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. during her popular “Happy Hour with the Historian” program at Comedy Key West, 218 Whitehead Street. Enjoy a complimentary draft beer, glass of house wine or a soft drink while Convertito presents on the evening’s topic, “Clear Havanas: Key West’s Cigar Industry” which will explore the many facets of the once-burgeoning industry that was the principal economic backbone for the island. The early nineteenth century witnessed the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, a time of dramatic economic change when small cottage industries were replaced with large-scale factory production. On the heels of the Industrial Revolution, Cuba’s cigar making industry blossomed. With Cuba’s cigar economy booming, people sought opportunities outside the country looking to make financial gains. Key West’s neighboring proximity to Cuba and its tobacco plantations, a mere 90 miles away, was the ideal place to establish cigar making factories. Cuban immigrants arrived by the thousands to seek employment in Key West’s expanding cigar industry. “By 1876, Key West’s 29 cigar factories were producing a staggering 62 million cigars annually,” says Convertito. “With a population of more than 18,000 people in 1890, Key West became the largest and wealthiest city in the state of Florida and one of the most influential in the nation. That year, more than 100 million cigars were handmade in Key West. Aside from the warm, humid climate, ideal for maintaining a pliable tobacco leaf, factory owners were able to lure immigrants with affordable housing, a neighborhood environment and gainful employment in the cigar trade.” Despite the financial success of the cigar industry on the island, the inescapable progression to the unionization of workers and opposition from factory owners eventually drove many of the largest cigar makers to Tampa. The industry began manufacturing machine-made cigars that could be sold for a nickel, then the Great Depression hit in the 1930s. The expensive Cuban cigar simply could not compete. The heyday of the island’s cigar making was over, although the legacy and cultural impact of the cigar industry and its workers remains a vibrant part of modern Key West. Happy Hour with the Historian is limited to 70 attendees; reserve your spot now at kwahs.org/hh-cigars - $12 for KWAHS members, $15 for non-members. This project is sponsored in part by the Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, with additional support provided by The Helmerich Trust and Comedy Key West. For more information, contact Cori Convertito, Ph.D. at 305-295-6616 x507 or cconvertito@kwahs.org. Your Museums. Your Community. It takes an Island. August 22, 2023 – (KEY WEST, FL). The Key West Lighthouse and Keeper’s Quarters Museum has fully reopened following four months of intermittent closures due to restoration work spearheaded by Monroe County Project Management. The popular local historic landmark and tourist attraction, operated by the Key West Art & Historical Society and owned by Monroe County, welcomes visitors every day from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Located at 938 Whitehead Street, the property allows guests to experience stories about Florida Keys lighthouses and the families that operated the tower while residing on the grounds.
During the closure, the lighthouse tower, which originally opened in 1848, underwent a series of repairs including much needed metalwork, painting, and sealing of the original wrought iron staircase and viewing platform. Safety gates were also installed at the top of the structure to prevent accidental damage to the Third Order Fresnel Lens that was mounted in 1858. Adjacent to the tower, the modest oil storage shed also benefited from repairs and upgrades and will now form part of the museum’s display space. Plans also call for three replica 100-gallon oil butts to be positioned in the oil house, providing visitors with an enhanced understanding of how difficult the lighthouse keeper’s job was to keep the light fueled at night and during powerful storms. “The Key West Art and Historical Society is grateful to the county, TDC and contractors for completing the much-needed restoration of the tower,” says Michael Gieda, Executive Director of the Society. “We’re also excited to expand the museum display area to include the original oil house, allowing us to foster a better understanding of how the tower and property operated over time.” The Society would like to thank the various entities involved in this significant preservation effort including the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners, Monroe County Project Management, the Monroe County Tourist Development Council for providing the funding, Marino Construction, Specialized Property Services, Messery Painting, Check Electric, Kubi Custom Metals, Alex Klahm and Bender & Associates Architects. Information about the Museum’s opening hours, special events, and the exclusive Lighthouse Sunset Experience is found online at www.kwahs.org/lighthouse. July 26, 2023 – (KEY WEST, FL). On Sunday, August 6, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., join the staff of the Fort East Martello Museum, located at 3501 South Roosevelt Boulevard, to explore one of the island’s Civil War-era forts and its exhibits which encompass our rich and diverse history. Dubbed “Family Museum Day,” the program is designed to coincide with the Society’s wildly popular Community Day, a day offering free museum admission for Monroe County residents the first Sunday of each month.
While on the property, families are invited to take a self-guided tour of the fort and citadel, explore the outdoor sculpture garden, and view artwork created by celebrated Keys folk artist Stanley Papio. In addition to free admission, adults and children are encouraged to explore the history of aviation in Key West by joining Society educators Miss Kassandra and Miss Jenni in the air-conditioned Lee Garrison Classroom to make their very own popsicle stick airplanes. “Soon after Flagler’s Overseas Railroad began service, a new mode of transportation gained popularity around the globe. Flying became the rage, offering the swiftest way to travel from one place to another. By the 1920s, luxury flights carried passengers throughout North America, the Caribbean and South America. Key West became a principal connecting city on these routes,” says Education Specialist Kassandra Collett. “Juan Terry Trippe started Pan American Airways in Key West in 1927, making the island the birthplace of one of the most successful airlines in history. We are excited to commemorate this aviation milestone during our free Family Museum Day program.” The Family Museum Day program is free and open to the public. Registration is not required, and all supplies will be provided by the Key West Art & Historical Society. For additional information about the program, visit kwahs.org/upcoming-events. You can also contact Collett at 305-295-6616 x504 or kcollett@kwahs.org. This project is sponsored in part by the Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture and the State of Florida, with additional support provided by The Helmerich Trust. Your Museums. Your Community. It takes an Island. June 27, 2023 – (KEY WEST, FL). The Key West Art & Historical Society is pleased to announce the opening of its forthcoming exhibition “Don Pinder: Eyes on the Island”. This is the first exhibition devoted exclusively to the work created by “Key West Citizen” photographer Don Pinder during his long career in Key West—including many works never before published or shown. More than 50 black-and-white and color photographs will be displayed taken on assignments documenting Key West history and culture for the newspaper. The Society welcomes the public to a special reception on July 14 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Key West Museum of Art & History, 281 Front Street, to mark the exhibit opening.
Born and raised during the Great Depression in a house on Petronia Street, Don Pinder joined the U.S. Navy after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Suffering from a dislocated shoulder, he returned to Key West on the advice of Navy medical staff, only to quickly join the Marine Corps. It was during this latter service that he trained as an aerial photographer, capturing compelling images over Okinawa and Borneo during World War II. This experience led to a job at “The Miami Herald” shortly after the war’s end, but his hometown beckoned. In 1953, he took a position with the “Key West Citizen” as its staff photographer—a job he proudly held for 35 years. Key West provided Pinder with a profusion of photograph opportunities—from notable celebrities to the destitute vagabonds—all skillfully captured with his camera. During his long career he recorded U.S. Presidents Harry S Truman and John F. Kennedy, British Prime Minister Harold MacMillan, theater director Philip Burton, and American playwright Tennessee Williams. He covered business openings, sports matches, military events, the bi-annual Island Roots Festival, shrimp industry workers, film premiers, and Bahama Village church choirs. “Eyes on the Island tells Key West’s history on an intimate scale, highlighting stories we may have otherwise missed or people and places that we have forgotten. The exhibition allows us to reflect on over three decades of history told through the eyes of Don,” says Dr. Cori Convertito, curator and historian for the Key West Museum of Art & History. “His photographs are essential records of an island that has had an enormous influence on South Florida culture. His images provide an insider’s view of the community—its business owners, political activists, and creatives, as well as its mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters.” “Don Pinder: Eyes on the Islands” runs until November 5, 2023, in the Bryan Gallery and is sponsored by the Florida Department of State, Division of Arts & Culture, with additional support provided by The Helmerich Trust. For more information, call Cori Convertito at 305-295-6616 x 507 or cconvertito@kwahs.org. Your Museums. Your Community. It Takes an Island. June 6, 2023 – (KEY WEST, FL). Raise a toast to Florida Keys art and history with Key West Art & Historical Society Curator and Historian Cori Convertito, Ph.D., on Thursday, June 15, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. during her popular “Happy Hour with the Historian” program at Comedy Key West, 218 Whitehead Street. Enjoy a complimentary draft beer, glass of house wine or a soft drink while Convertito presents on the evening’s topic, “With a Rebel Yell: The Life & Art of Stanley Papio” which will explore the rebellious welder-turned-metal-artist who transformed other people’s junk into spectacular works of art.
Stanley Papio was 34 years old when he settled in Key Largo in 1949. He had worked a series of odd jobs across Canada and the United States; his favorite of these was welding. He started his own welding business along U.S. 1 at Mile Marker 101 and encouraged people to leave old cars, washing machines, trailers, motors, and pieces of scrap metal in his yard. Papio once remarked that “a bunch of junk is a welder’s glory. Buying new stuff is not a welder’s way”. He breathed life into this old junk. Trash piles assumed new identities. Car fenders became alligators. Dishwashers became people. Eventually, he constructed his own folk art environment using bed springs to create a fence around his property. He re-named his welding shop “Stanley’s Art Museum,” and charged 25¢ admission, thus creating a lawn of folk art for travelers on the nearby highway to view with astonishment and amazement. “Papio was a quirky Keys character who settled in Key Largo before most of the large hotels and businesses were established,” says Convertito. “As the population swelled and encroached on his property, complaints were logged with the local authorities by the newly arrived residents that his welding business was an eyesore. Annoyed with the neighbors, Papio grabbed the discarded appliances and cars on his property and created caustic and satirical pieces of artwork representing his neighbors as a way of fighting back.” The imagination and resourcefulness of Papio is what inspired the Key West Art & Historical Society’s annual Stanley Papio Kinetic Sculpture and Art Bike Parade. Each spring, the Society encourages the community to take objects that would otherwise be discarded and create art with parts that move for a parade that travels the length of Duval Street. Happy Hour with the Historian is limited to 70 attendees; reserve your spot now at kwahs.org/rebelpapio - $12 for KWAHS members, $15 for non-members. This project is sponsored in part by the Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, with additional support provided by The Helmerich Trust and Comedy Key West. For more information, contact Cori Convertito, Ph.D. at 305-295-6616 x507 or cconvertito@kwahs.org. Your Museums. Your Community. It takes an Island. June 5, 2023 – (KEY WEST, FL). Martha Hubbard, culinary director and executive chef of Key West’s Unity Table at Williams Hall, will be signing copies of her highly acclaimed cookbook “Old Island Eats” at the Key West Museum of Art and History on June 21, 2023, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Hubbard creates community among friends and strangers though the power of food. Her new cookbook is a collection of vintage, original Key West recipes and a selection of Hubbard’s own recipes and menus from decades of cooking for the island. A nibble pulled together from whatever’s in her pantry, her refrigerator and her imagination is as carefully curated as her layered, gloriously extravagant, multi-course dinners at Unity Table. “Key West Museum of Art & History is honored to bring Chef Martha’s new cookbook exclusively to our museum store for a month,” says Dan Ayers-Price, Director of Retail Operations. “The book has a small-island charm with an emphasis on local, seasonal foods that have formed our culinary foundation for decades.” Each recipe with its workbook-style tips and suggestions showcases Hubbard’s extraordinary gift for creating wonderful food that even first-time cooks can replicate. The cookbook is thoughtfully accessible for beginners and thoroughly challenging for experienced cooks. Her recipes walk you through each step, offer suggestions for substitutions and serving and inspire new ways of approaching familiar recipes. You’ll find perfect recipes for Key West favorites, like Key Lime Pie, Key West Pinks, Grits & Grunts and Queen of All Puddings. For more information about the cookbook signing, contact Dan Ayers-Price at 305-295-6616 x509 or dayers@kwahs.org. Your Museums. Your Community. It takes an Island. May 30, 2023 – (KEY WEST, FL). On Wednesday, June 7, history and media studies professor Dr. David Morton will give a talk on the history of filmmaking in Florida as part of the Key West Art & Historical Society’s Distinguished Speaker Series. His lecture entitled, “Motion Pictures at a Great Savings! A History of Florida’s Film and Television Industry” takes place from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Tropic Cinema, 416 Eaton Street.
Often overlooked in its contribution to film history, Florida has played a key role in creating the modern entertainment industry. Morton’s presentation will discuss how Florida became a “third coast” to the American film and television industries over the past one hundred years. Starting with the first film pioneers in Jacksonville during the 1900s and 1910s to South Florida’s television boom during the 2000s and 2010s, Florida has inspired countless exciting stories captured by the camera. “The history of filmmaking in Florida offers an alternate universe of sorts, raising the question, what would the American motion picture industry might have looked like if it had not been incumbered by the hegemony of the Hollywood studio system?” says Morton. “Unlike California, where the center of production has consistently been centered around Los Angeles, at different times over the past one hundred years Florida has had several different major production hubs.” Several films will be highlighted during his presentation including “The Flying Ace,” “The Yearling,” and “Creature from the Black Lagoon.” Of particular interest to attendees will be an emphasis on the motion picture “Carib Gold” that was filmed largely in Key West during the 1950s. Staring Ethel Waters, Coley Wallace, and Cicely Tyson, “Carib Gold” is a maritime-themed B-movie that tells the story of a sailor on a shrimp boat fishing off the Florida Keys who discovers a sunken treasure of gold while diving to repair some nets. Trying to lay claim to the treasure, violence erupts onboard the vessel resulting in the death of the captain. A manhunt ensues through the Keys by the harbor police and in several local seedy bars until the killer is brought to justice. The presenter, David Morton, received his Ph.D. in Texts and Technology from the University of Central Florida in 2019, where he also is an instructor in both History and Media Studies. He was a recipient of the 2016-17 Fulbright scholarship and serves as program director for the Flickering Landscapes Conference Series. His forthcoming book, “Motion Pictures at Great Saving: A History of the Florida Film and Television Industry” is expected for publication in 2023 with University Press of Florida. To reserve tickets for the lecture; visit kwahs.org/dss-morton - $12 for KWAHS members, $15 for non-members. Funding for this program was provided by Florida Humanities and sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture. Additional support provided by The Helmerich Trust, Aloys & Carol Metty and The John & Marilyn Rintamaki Family Charitable Fund. For more information, contact Cori Convertito, Ph.D. at 305-295-6616 x507 or cconvertito@kwahs.org. Your Museums. Your Community. It takes an Island. Internationally renowned marine wildlife artist and conservationist Dr. Guy Harvey will be signing copies of his highly acclaimed illustrated book, “Santiago’s Finest Hour” and his new book “10,000 Chicken Sandwiches – The Story of My Fishing Family, Jamaica 1956-1986” at the Key West Museum of Art and History on June 4, 2023, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Books and art prints will be available for purchase and Harvey will be available for meet-and-greets as well as photo opportunities.
In “Santiago’s Finest Hour” Guy Harvey draws inspiration from Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea,” a novel that earned Hemingway the Nobel Prize in Literature. Through his pen-and-ink illustrations, Harvey has captured key moments from the novel about an aging Cuban fisherman named Santiago and his struggle to catch an enormous marlin in the Florida Straits. Fifty-nine of Harvey’s sketches appear with excerpts from Hemingway’s 1952 classic, giving new life to the exhausted old man and his surroundings. Harvey, who grew up in Jamaica, began drawing Hemingway’s story in 1973 while studying marine biology at Aberdeen University in Scotland. In 1985, he displayed a series of forty-four original pen-and-ink drawings at an exhibit in Jamaica that depicted the famous fishing story. Based on the positive response he received at the exhibition, he began painting full time and by 1988 was providing custom artwork for use on a variety of products. Harvey began to travel the world to gain more knowledge of the habits and activities of marine wildlife and became an avid scuba diver and skilled underwater photographer. A passion for the beauty and wonder of the underwater world has driven Harvey to be a leading conservationist and advocate for the protection of our environment. The Guy Harvey Research Institute at Nova Southeastern University and The Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation have taken on a leadership role in providing the scientific information necessary to understand and protect the world’s fish resources and biodiversity from continued decline. In addition to the book signing, Monroe County families are invited to take a free guided tour of the “Depicting Hemingway” exhibition of Harvey’s original works as part of the museum’s popular Community Day program. They are also encouraged to join the education department on the porch for a free marine art project. Led by educator Kassandra Collett, families will have an opportunity to merge art and science by creating their own Gyotaku prints. Much like Harvey’s paintings of marine life, this form of Japanese printmaking has enabled fishermen to document various species and size of their catch. These records have provided marine scientists with detailed information about conservation efforts that are essential for the future of our oceans. For more information about the book signing and Dr. Harvey’s visit, contact Cori Convertito at 305-295-6616 x507 or cconvertito@kwahs.org. Your Museums. Your Community. It takes an Island. May 15, 2023 – (KEY WEST, FL). On May 31, the Key West Art & Historical Society will open its latest exhibition, “Sushi in the Shoe: Celebrating 25 Years of New Year’s Eve Drop” that will showcase many of the iconic dresses designed and worn by world renowned drag queen Sushi, also known as Gary Marion. The exhibition will also contain a sampling of accompanying jewelry, shoes, portraits, and global coverage of the annual event. The Society welcomes the public to a special reception on May 31 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Key West Museum of Art & History, 281 Front Street, to mark the exhibit opening and to help kick off Pride Month.
For a quarter of a century, Sushi starred in the Bourbon Street Pub’s New Year’s Eve festivities—a warm weather takeoff on New York City’s Times Square ball drop—that is styled the Red Shoe Drop. Each December 31, wearing an extravagant self-designed and hand-sewn gown, Sushi balanced in a woman’s sparkly red heeled shoe constructed of fiberglass and glitter high above Duval Street, exciting the thousands of partygoers below. Seconds before midnight, the red shoe containing Sushi was lowered from Bourbon Street’s second-story balcony as the clock neared midnight. The New Year’s Eve Red Shoe Drop became so well-known that it has been featured numerous times on national and international New Year’s Eve television programs such as CNN. “The shoe drop started twenty-five years ago. OMG, it’s been a wild ride,” says Marion. “Joey Schroeder approached me and said, ‘I am building a red high heel shoe and I want you to sit in it!’ At the time he asked, I was the janitor at the Bourbon Street Complex cleaning toilets seven days a week. I also did a drag show there once a week. I said, ‘Of course, darling, sounds fabulous.’ I never knew that it would become as iconic as it did.” Each year, the extravagant dress worn by Marion was kept secret until he maneuvered into the red shoe high above the crowd. Eager to astonish the crowd, Marion spent months leading up to the drop poring through fashion magazines to find inspiration for each elaborate dress. No two are alike. They range in color, style, material, and accessories. Once the drop concluded, Marion placed the dresses, wigs, and jewelry into storage. This exhibition will bring together several of the original gowns along with short narratives about the dresses’ origins and material source. “Sushi in the Shoe: Celebrating 25 Years of the New Year’s Eve Drop” runs until July 2, 2023, in the Bryan Gallery and is sponsored by the Florida Department of State, Division of Arts & Culture and The Helmerich Trust. For more information, call Cori Convertito at 305-295-6616 x 507 or cconvertito@kwahs.org. Your Museums. Your Community. It Takes an Island. |
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