Whether inside a gallery or on the street, Tallahassee offers many places to view different works of art.
Tallahassee has more than 20 art galleries, and they all showcase different forms of fine art by various artists from around the world. Railroad Square Art Park, located near Florida A&Ms campus on Industrial Drive, features more than 50 studios, galleries and small shops.
At the entrance to the art park is the sculpture garden, featuring multiple large steel sculptures. The buildings throughout the park are covered with colorful art, inside and out. Matt Shanaghan, a local artist, has had showings at Renditions Art Gallery in the art park and helped paint several of the murals in the park and others around Tallahassee.
To me, the Railroad Square Art Park is Tallahassees hub for local artists, Shanaghan said. I dont think any other art galleries in town are as supportive of young local artists, and, in my opinion, they always have the best work.
Other than galleries, there are other areas around town to view art outside. Many of the businesses on Gaines Street and Railroad Avenue are decorated in graffiti and murals that have been commissioned by local artists.
At the southwest corner of the Gaines Street and Railroad Avenue intersection is a large mural that was painted as a community art project in 2011. The painting is a collage of singers, dancers and musicians. The city also decorated many of the traffic control boxes on Gaines Street with images from this mural as part of the Gaines Street Revitalization Project.
Many graffiti artists also use the buildings on Gaines Street to showcase their artwork. Behind St. Michaels Pub and the Side Bar Theatre is the designated legal graffiti wall, which are frequently painted over and replaced with new pieces.
According to local graffiti artist Lee Minor, some of the best graffiti in the city can be found in unexpected places.
Some of the best places to look for graffiti are railroad cars, dumpsters, abandoned buildings and underneath bridges and overpasses, Minor said. If you just take time to explore places around Tallahassee, youll find all kinds of graffiti art. There are many secret spots where artists can actually spend time working on a piece, so the art there always looks amazing.
A secret graffiti spot is underneath the bridge going over the railroad tracks on East Park Avenue near North Franklin Boulevard and East Call Street. Heading east on Call Street and pass Franklin Boulevard, one will come to a railroad crossing just before Cadiz Street.
Walking south along the railroad tracks headed to Park Avenue, one would walk underneath the bridge where both sides of the structure are covered in graffiti art.
The Council on Culture & Arts (COCA) put together an outdoor public art directory that serves as a guide for anyone interested in finding artwork around town.
I definitely recommend using the outdoor art map on cocanet.org, said Erica Thaler, marketing director for COCA. Tallahassee has so many wonderful artists, and their work needs to be appreciated. The COCA website is a very good resource for anyone looking for art around Tallahassee or looking to get involved in the local art community.