Exhibits & Events | 2023

What

African American High School seniors that are residents of St. Petersburg and have a GPA above 3.0 are eligible for a Woodson Warriors Scholarship. Click here to view the application.

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Mindful Movement hosts yoga sessions every Saturday morning in The Woodson’s Legacy Garden.

No registration required.

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Jane began studying art seriously at age ten at the Farnsworth School of Art in North Truro, MA with Helen Sawyer and Jerry Farnsworth, who were students of Charles Hawthorne, himself a student of William Merritt Chase. 

After majoring in Art at Stanford University, she received an MA in Health  Communication, and a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, from Stanford, and took a detour  into a career as a psychologist. She began painting again after she retired, twenty-five  years ago.  

While not currently represented by any gallery, she has been represented by galleries  in New York, Santa Fe, Aspen, Boise, and Cape Cod.  

In 2013, she was given a one-woman show at the New Britain Museum of American Art (Google “Illumination – Jane Bunker”). Bunker also had shows in 2019 and 2020 at the  Woodson African American Museum of Florida, in 2022 a two-woman show at the  Chihuly Museum of St. Petersburg, Florida, and in 2023, a show at Soft Water Gallery,  also in St. Petersburg, FL. 

Over the years, photography has influenced her, particularly the atmospheric Steichen imagery. She is drawn to pastel Degas landscapes, charcoal Seurat drawings,  representational Richters, Mondrian’s early trees, Redon’s flowers, and some more abstract Turners. 

“Seeing beauty in a flower could awaken humans, however briefly, to the beauty that is an essential part of their own innermost being, their true nature.”

–Eckhart Tolle

This is why I paint. When what I see touches my heart, brings me joy, and gives me peace, I paint so that I might share those experiences with another. Painting
is my meditation. Painting is also my service. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of my paintings fund college scholarships for African American youth. This is my way of paying
forward all the gifts that I have been given.

For more information about Jane Bunker’s work, go to janebunkerartist.com 

What

The “Can We Talk?” Book Club will be discussing the book, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee. This book comes in physical, digital, and audio formats.

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The Woodson will resume participation in Second Saturday ArtWalks in April.

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Mindful Movement hosts yoga sessions every Saturday morning in The Woodson’s Legacy Garden.

No registration required.

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The Scotty Wright Quintet returns to The Woodson African American Museum of Florida on February 26th, 2023
at 3 PM for another Black History Month musical celebration:

Jazz in the Garden.

This year’s concert is sponsored by the Al Downing Tampa Bay
Jazz Association features familiar faces creating new grooves
for familiar music – in the familiar, spacious surroundings of
the Woodson garden.
Scotty and his partners will apply various approaches to our
favorites, finding new textures, and discovering new colors in
the music we know so well, as we celebrate both our
uniqueness and our commonality.

Presenting the music of:

Thelonious Monk, Stevie Wonder, Wes Montgomery,
Bill Withers, Sam Cooke, Al Jarreau, and George Benson.

Performed by:
Vincent Sims-guitar
Judi Glover-keyboard
Alejandro Arenas-bass
Rod Alnord-drums
Scotty Wright-voice

What

Join the St Petersburg Branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) and very special guest filmmaker Valerie Scoon for an evening of enlightenment. Valerie Scoon is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker who is currently a professor on staff at the University of Florida. She has worked with such powerhouses as HARPO Studios and Warner Brothers. Ms. Scoon will screen her prize work INVISIBLE HISTORY: MIDDLE FLORIDA’S HIDDEN ROOTS which explores the little-known history of plantations and enslavement in Florida. A Q&A session follows the film.

For more information, go on: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/asalh-celebration-and-dinner-tickets-464738163357

What

The Legends Ball is a celebration of success, commitment and excellence in accordance with our mission to preserve, present, interpret, celebrate and commemorate African American History and the culture.

The Woodson African American Museum of Florida’s 2023 Legends Ball, will honor the lives and legacies of individuals who have made extraordinary strides in our community and beyond, as consummate leaders, and contributors to Black History.

2023 Honorees

• The Honorable Darryl Rouson (State Senator)
• The Honorable Kenneth T. Welch (Mayor)
• Mr. Anthony Holloway (St. Petersburg Police Chief)
• Dr. Frederic J. Guerrier (Local and international physician and Humanitarian)
• Reverend Watson L. Haynes II  President and CEO Pinellas County  Urban League (Posthumously)
• (Ray Arsenault Lifetime Achievement Awardee)
• Jon Wilson, Journalist and Author

Sponsorship & Table Options

$25,000 Title Sponsor – SOLD

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$15,000 Program Sponsor – SOLD

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$10,000 Signature Sponsor – SOLD

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$5,000 Patron Sponsor – SOLD

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$3,000 Table Sponsor – SOLD

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$1,000 Table of 8 -SOLD

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$250 Congratulatory Remarks – SOLD

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$125 Individual Ticket – SOLD

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I cannot attend, but I wish to contribute to the Legends Ball:

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The Woodson African American Museum of Florida is grateful for the generosity and support of Legends Awards Gala.

What

This meeting of “Can We Talk?” will be starting the discussion of our new book, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee. This book comes in physical, digital, and audio format.

If you need help getting the book, please contact woodsonmuseum@gmail.com

What

The Woodson will be open during ArtWalk from 5-8 PM for Dr. Gary L. Lemons’ exhibition, Touch in the Spirit of Love.

Light Refreshments will be served.

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In the honor of the Black History Month, The Woodson’s flag will be raised at City Hall.

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Classic Black will be tributing black excellence in classical music. Join us for Classic Black, a concert that honor black excellence in classical music. The concert will consist of All African American Classical performers, that have recognition in our community, country, and globally.

This concert will feature performances by:

Jeremiah Abiah 

Nia Drummond 

Taylor Honor

John Lamb  

Gregory Sheppard 

Maiya Stevenson 

Carlos Walker 

Yohance Wicks

Latoya McCormick

Presented by The Woodson African American Museum of Florida, in partnership with St. Petersburg Opera Company and St. Petersburg Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

What

Join us for the opening reception for Dr. Gary L. Lemons’ exhibition, Touch in the Spirit of Love. Touch in the Spirit of Love is a series of paintings that graphically illustrate the value of love for all humanity. Rooted in Afrocentric colors and patterns, his art that features hands in different colors touching each other in this painting series artistically demonstrates the power of love rooted in freedom for all people who have been historically oppressed.

Dr. Lemons will be on-site to chat about his work.

Light refreshments will be provided.

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The first book club meeting of the year will be an inclusive orientation and introduction to our upcoming book.

Books do not need to be purchased for this meeting.

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Join us for this kick-off to Radical Self Tenderness month with a workshop hosted by The Woodson and The Well.

This workshop is based on Christie Hardwick’s new book, Radical Self Tenderness. Explore your own barriers to nurturing your soul and emerge with a greater commitment to being radically tender.

Christie is an award-winning leader and leadership coach with over 40 years of experience in the corporate and nonprofit sectors. Now, she is a fellow traveler on the path to the best version of herself.

What

Dr. Gary L. Lemons is a professor of African American literature and Biblical studies at the University of South Florida, Tampa campus. He has a B.S.E. degree in Studio Art, M.A. and Ph.D. in English, and an Advanced Certificate in Museum Studies from New York University. Over the years, he has been awarded three postdoctoral fellowships—two from the National Endowment for the Humanities and one from the Rockefeller Foundation. He is also an ordained minister. His book publications include—Black Male Outsider, a Memoir: Teaching as a Pro-Feminist Man (2008); Womanist Forefathers, Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. Du Bois (2009); Feminist Solidarity at the Crossroads: Intersectional Women’s Studies for Transracial Alliance (2012); Caught Up in the Spirit! Teaching for Womanist Liberation (2017); Hooked on the Art of Love: bell hooks and My Calling for Soul Work (2018); Let Love Lead on a Course to Freedom (2019); Building Womanist Coalitions: Writing and Teaching in the Spirit of Love (2019); Liberation for the Oppressed: Community Healing through Activist Transformation, A Call to CHAT (2022); The Power and Freedom of Black Feminist and Womanist Pedagogy: Still Woke (2022).

“I am a Black abstract painter. Conceptually, my paintings are rooted in Africentric colors and patterns. I believe art should inspire all people to connect to the liberating power of communal love. Touch in the Spirit of Love is a series of paintings that graphically illustrate the value of love for all humanity. In an imaginary, spiritually enriched context—this series calls all people together to see each other reaching out to one another through the touching of their hands. The hands in my paintings connect people together to express hope for the life-saving power of love committed to community-building. As envisioned by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., hope for a “beloved community” can be realized when people actively join together to show love for social justice. Overall, the paintings in this series visually challenge people to see the need for loving wholeness in mind, body, heart, and soul. Hands of different colors touching each other in this painting series artistically demonstrate the power of love rooted in freedom for all people who have been historically oppressed.”