Our Mission
Saying yes to bringing creativity, innovation and diversity to our community.
- To provide a place where people can experience artistic and educational programs in innovative ways.
- To bring people from diverse cultural backgrounds and experiences together as artists, audiences and volunteers.
- To work collaboratively with artistic, educational, and cultural organizations in and beyond our community.
- To develop artistic and educational programs that integrate a variety of art forms in order to encourage new cultural experiences both for the audience and the artists.
Our History
The [email protected] is the brainchild of Artistic Directors David Ellis and Bob Devin Jones, along with a host of hard-working board members, volunteers, patrons, and visionaries. The idea grew out of a core belief that art and diversity play a crucial role in the lives of individuals and communities.
“When you pass through the doors of The Studio, look to be entertained, educated, and challenged by art, heritage, history, song, literature, theater, moving pictures, and moving bodies through space.”
Bob Devin Jones, Founder
The Beginning of The [email protected]
In 2004, the official ribbon cutting ceremony was held to celebrate the birth of a new venue in historic downtown St. Petersburg.
The [email protected]’s first program was called “Grand Ma’s Hands: One Hundred Years of African American Quilting.” The program’s opening night was part of the City of St. Petersburg “First Night” Celebration on Friday, December 31 and ran through February.
A wide variety of events were soon making their way to The [email protected] during the first year, including “Say What,” a spoken word celebration; “Film Noir,” a film festival; “Outside it was Hot,” by Neverne Covington; and “The Florida Highwaymen – Further Down The Road,” an exhibition of paintings.
The [email protected] Today
Since then, we’ve continued to put our mission into practice by saying YES to numerous emerging artist exhibitions, social justice round-table discussions, book launches, and staged readings of new theatrical productions.
The Studio has been a home for several long-running original events and series, including the ever-popular Radio Theatre Project (13+ seasons), Through Our Eyes: Midtown and Beyond (15+ seasons), and The Holizaar: Handmade Holiday Arts Bazaar (12+ seasons). More recent regular series include Poetry Open Mic (4+ seasons) and Shakespeare in the City (2+ seasons).
The [email protected] has also served as a launching pad and incubator for numerous other creative ventures in our area. Some partners that The Studio worked with to get their start include:
- FreeFall Theatre Company
- Your Real Stories Productions
- Sunscreen Film Festival
- “Waiting On Mary” original film
- Keep St. Pete Lit
- Wordier Than Thou
- Tombolo Books
- Black Horse Theatre