This past month, our gallery explored themes of play and mischief. In case you missed it, we are making our online Artist Talks featuring the artists and curator of our Plays Well With Others exhibit available to you to enjoy.

Plays Well with Others is a traveling exhibition featuring local and national artists who create work that engages with play and toys in interactive, mischievous, and subversive ways. The exhibition includes works of all media that entertain while disrupting the status quo; one could easily enjoy it as a collection of nostalgia and delight, but the artists have skillfully transformed the lighthearted theme of “play” into a critical dialogue of contemporary issues.

Jessica Todd Curator Talk • Alexander Martin Artist Talk • Amelia Briggs Artist Talk

Last week, we celebrated National Dictionary Day together. We're still collecting words - we invite you to submit a thought, a prompt, short story or poem so that we can share it back to our Creativity Crate Community.

Drop off: October 26 • We invite our current members to submit one work following the theme of gratitude. This exhibition is aimed at highlighting the little and big things that bring us joy and strength while reflecting on what we are thankful for.

Mondays, October 26 - November 23 • Love Your Rebellion created Poetry for the People to help folks refine their poetry skills and connect with other poets via a digital workshop. Each course will teach a poetic technique, provides exercises to develop that technique, and provides a workshop each class meeting.

Saturday, October 31 • Farmer, professional chef, lifelong natural healer Tatiana Logvinova of Green Paradise Eco Farm will present The Secrets to Good Nutrition: Practical Guidelines and a Meals Demo – and just in time to help balance out the upcoming and inevitable holiday overindulgence! Have fun, learn new things, then sample and shop Tatiana’s booth and the GreenMarket to put your newfound knowledge to work!

Performances November 19 - 29 • Live theatre returns – outdoors and with social distancing – at the Alliance! We’ve been hard at work to create an intimate, open-air venue where our neighbors can safely enjoy live entertainment. And what better backdrop for a performance than the gorgeous Florida sky? Reserve your square for Laundry and Bourbon by James McLure.

he setting for the play is Elizabeth’s porch in Maynard, Texas, on a hot summer – a tiny town plunked down, like so many others of that state, in the middle of a nowhere that seems to consist of burning sun and empty vistas. The action centers on the discontent and hilarious gossip of three small-town wives whose marriages have turned out to be less than was hoped for. Elizabeth is a housewife whose Vietnam veteran husband has been missing for two days. She is visited by her two gossiping pals, Hattie, whose rambunctious children wreak havoc wherever they go, and Amy Lee, born into poverty but now married to money. Drinks are imbibed, and secrets are possibly revealed.

Deadline: November 6 • This new exhibition opportunity, in partnership with The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum, asks artists to dive into water - an essential component of life on our planet, environmentally, culturally and historically. Prizes will be awarded including $1,000 cash for Best In Show, $250 for 2nd place, $100 cash for 3rd place and Juror's Choice Award of $50.

Drop off for Off the Wall: November 30 • For this year’s Small Works: Off the Walls Exhibition, member artists are asked to submit works valued under $200 in any medium or theme. Just as in past years, all sales are “cash and carry,” meaning purchasers will get to take the piece with them when they buy it, instead of waiting until the end of the exhibit.

The Alliance needs your help. Expense reductions and conservative budgeting only get us so far in making sure the Alliance remains a beacon of hope and connection for all in our community. If you're able to do so, please consider making a gift, of any amount, to support the future of the arts in southwest Florida.

the @Alliance for the Arts and use the hashtag #CreativityCrate or encourage your friends to join by opting in to our emails at ArtInLee.org/CreativityCrate.