OPPOSITES ATTRACT AT JAG GALLERY
Duval Square’s Jag Gallery announces the opening of its newest exhibit, OPPOSITES ATTRACT, featuring all new works from B. Lucy Stevens and Sarah Benham, opening on Friday,  April 14th.
Stevens, recently seen at The Studios of Key West with ANYWHERE BUT IN MY HEAD, a compilation of 30 years of self-reflective doodles, returns to Jag with  paintings and drawings in mixed media on canvas and papers.  Painting intuitively in a vibrant and expressionistic style, Lucy snapshots daily life, often with a fanciful twist and an unbridled, yet alluring energy and chorus of color.
Benham, last seen in Jag’s SMALL WORKS show , too, observes elements of daily life with a softer, less complicated, narrative style in oil, all on canvas.  You long to be part of the chatter in her social gathering paintings or to get in the head of the seemingly stubborn girl in the blue bathing suit.
Join us for a preview reception, which is free and open to the public from 5-7 on Friday the 14th.
OPPOSITES ATTRACT  continues through May 2nd and will be available online at  www.gallery.art/shopthe gallery
Considered one of Key West’s finest destinations for contemporary art, Jag Gallery is located at the Simonton Street entrance to Duval Square, 1075 Duval Street with ample, free parking.  Gallery hours are Tuesday -Sunday noon to 5, and always by appointment.   For additional information call 305.407.6202 or email jaggallerykw@gmail.com and follow us on Facebook and  Instagram.

“two for two” OPENING AT JAG
Jag Gallery welcomes the return of two of Key West’s most popular and celebrated artists, John Martini and Carol Munder for “two for two”, an exhibit featuring new works in steel and on paper opening on Thursday, March 23rd.
The internationally recognized John Martini arrives with a collection of his signature polychrome and steel sculptures along with new monoprints, accomplished during his annual, month’s long migration to his home and studio at Veuxhaulles-Sur-Aube, France.
Carol Munder, who has been seen in solo and group exhibitions throughout the US and in Europe, shares a new series of photogravures, painstakingly printed using traditional process on a gravure press purchased decades ago, at the Emma Street studio she shares with Martini.  Of this 19th Century technique, Munder says, “I find personal satisfaction working in this traditional way and chose this process knowing that it will add another layer of ambiguity to an already mysterious image”
John and Carol are both featured in an upcoming installment of the South Florida PBS produced, Emmy Award-winning series ART LOFT, showcasing the best of South Florida’s art scene airing  March 21st at 7: 30 PM on WPBT2
Meet the artists and learn more about their inspired new works at a gallery reception on Thursday, March, 23rd from 5-8 which is free and open to the public.  The exhibit continues through April 11th.
Considered one of the Island’s finest destinations for outstanding, contemporary art featuring prominent artists from Key West and beyond, Jag Gallery is located at the Simonton Street entrance to Duval Square, 1075 Duval Street with ample, free parking.
Gallery hours are Sunday - Thursday, noon to 5, Friday and Saturday, noon to 8 and always by appointment. For additional information call 305.407.6202 or email jaggallerykw@gmail.com and follow us on Facebook and  Instagram.

Key West Art & Historical Society and Great Events Catering will team up to present the annual Conch Revival Picnic, an informal Conch heritage dinner from 5 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 1, at the Lighthouse, 938 Whitehead St. For information and tickets, visit https://www.kwahs.org/upcoming-events/picnic

Join us on Sunday, February 12, 2023 at the crack o'noon at Higgs Beach for the annual Polar Bear Plunge to benefit Samuel's House programs.
It is through the support and generosity of businesses that we are able to continue to provide services to homeless women, women and men with children, and intact families in the Florida Keys.
Samuel's House looks forward to welcoming you as a sponsor and a participant of the Annual Conch Republic Polar Plunge and hope to see you at the event.
For more information on sponsorship or to register for the plunge, call 305-296-0240 or email tara.salinas@samuelshouse.org.

Nature lovers!  Enjoy an exhibition and sale of rare plants, explore the unique Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden, and discover fine arts and crafts during the 20th Annual GardenFest, on March 4th, 2023, 10am-4pm.  The Garden is located at 5210 College Road on Stock Island.  Admission is free.

View and purchase tropical and native plants from plant vendors and the Garden's own Native Plant Nursery. Activities include: Docent guided tours, a Children’s science corner, all-day Music, adult beverages, food vendors, local arts & craft vendors, a silent auction and 50/50 raffle, eco-friendly products and services and exhibits by conservation-oriented non-profit organizations.

ATTENTION VENDORS: Registration ends Feb. 17. You can download a vendor registration form on our website at https://www.keywest.garden/

The Friends of the Key West Library’s speaker series will present Carl Hiaasen on Monday February 13 at 6 pm. Hiaasen’s talk will be outdoors in the Palm Garden at the Library at 700 Fleming Street. As in past years lectures are free and open to all, but you must register to receive a ticket at https://www.friendsofthekeywestlibrary.org/2023-speaker-series/2023/hiaasen  At press time, only a few seats are available.  Please come to the Fleming Street gate to join the standby line if you do not already have a guaranteed seat.
The author of twenty-four bestselling novels for adults, six for young readers, and several works of non-fiction, the London Observer has called Hiaasen “America’s finest satirical novelist.” Apple TV’s upcoming series Bad Monkey, filmed in the Keys and Miami and starring Vince Vaughn, is based on his novel of the same name. Hiaasen will be interviewed by Key West author Lucy Burdette.
Following the talk, there will be a gala fundraising reception for Hiaasen at Williams Hall. Paid ticketholders to the gala benefit are guaranteed admission to the conversation at the Palm Garden. Gala tickets are currently SOLD OUT. We are offering a waitlist.
For more information, please visit friendsofthekeywestlibrary.org.

A LINCOLN PERRY RETROSPECTIVE TO OPEN AT JAG GALLERY
Gallery Reception Saturday February 11th 4-6
Jag Gallery announces the opening of LINCOLN PERRY :  A RETROSPECTIVE  highlighting the decades long career of this acclaimed, contemporary artist, no stranger to the Key West art community.  First acquainted after hitch-hiking here from California to crew with a boat sailing to New York , Perry returned to Key West with his novelist wife, Anne Beattie in 1993 discovering that the once rough and tumble Navy town he’d remembered had been retransformed to a tourists’ paradise.  Perry was, too, transformed by the light, the endless paintable motifs, and the warmth of both the climate and the people, all inspiration for and subjects of his painting for many years.
As a painter and sculptor, Perry has been featured in group and solo exhibitions at prestigious galleries and museums  from Maine to Manhattan to Key West.  As a muralist, his installations include important and commanding commissions found at The Met Life Building in St. Louis, One Penn Plaza and 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue in DC, and The Federal Courthouse in Tallahassee among others.  As an academic, Lincoln has held faculty positions at The University of Virginia, University of New Hampshire, Queens College and other institutions.
LINCOLN PERRY : A RETROSPECTIVE opens on Friday, February 10th with a reception to meet the artist, which is free and open to the public from 4-6 on Saturday the 11th.  The exhibit continues through February 27th.
Considered one of Key West’s finest destinations for contemporary art, Jag Gallery is located at the Simonton Street entrance to Duval Square, 1075 Duval Street with ample, free parking.  Gallery hours are Sunday-Thursday noon to 5, Friday and Saturday noon-8 and always by appointment.   For additional information call 305.407.6202 or email jaggallerykw@gmail.com and follow us on Facebook and  Instagram.

On Sunday, February 26, 2023 from 3:00 to 5:30 the public is invited to join the Key West Wildlife Center which will host its annual “It’s For The Birds” Benefit at West Martello Tower, 1100 Atlantic Blvd.

A local favorite, the Benefit will feature fabulous food and drinks from a variety of local restaurants, resorts and businesses. Activities will include live music, an amazing silent auction, a “wine wall”, raffles, a Super Silent Auction and informational displays about the Center’s work with native wildlife.

Additionally, a very special Island Escape Raffle is being offered. Donate $50 and have a chance to win a two-night stay at Little Palm Island Resort and Spa. Tickets are available now at www.keywestwildlifecenter.com and will be available at the event, pending availability. The winning ticket will be drawn at the event, the winner need not be present to win.
Advance tickets for “It’s For The Birds” are $40 and available online at www.keywestwildlifecenter.com. Tickets at the door are $45.

All proceeds from this event directly offset the cost of rescues, care and medical support of our native wildlife.

Key West Wildlife Center
1801 White Street
Key West FL 33040
305-292-1008

Florida Keys Women Artists Celebrated in Juried Exhibition at the Key West Museum of Art & History Key West Art & Historical Society welcomes the public to a special reception on February 24 from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. to celebrate the work of 43 Florida Keys female artists featured in the “From a Woman’s Hand” exhibit at the Key West Museum of Art & History, 281 Front Street.
The biannual exhibit juried by arts community leaders Jane Grannis, Martha Resk, Lois Songer, and Cori Convertito, Ph.D. illuminates the remarkable achievements of women artists who have been marginalized for centuries.  Gender bias is less obvious today, but contemporary women artists still face many barriers and disparities, as well as continual underrepresentation in museum collections and exhibitions worldwide.
“Our mission is to promote and elevate the humanities and arts of the Florida Keys, including emphasis on the role of women in our society,” says Society Curator Cori Convertito.  “This exhibit features strong, thought-provoking pieces created by female artists in our community.  The breadth and depth of the artists’ originality and imagination is astonishing.”
Among them are Lauren McAloon displaying her newest ceramic and brass sculpture in her Vessel Series entitled Rock-a Bye, American Watercolor Society signature member Sandy Mezinis exhibiting a new watercolor piece entitled Emmy, and Lower Keys photographer Lynne Bentley-Kemp with her photograph entitled Vincent Catches the Sun.  Museum visitors will also discover fresh artwork and mediums by artists whose works are rarely exhibited in Florida Keys.
“It is brilliant to work with all of the artists represented in the exhibit; they offer a dynamic view of everything that surrounds us – nature, people, experiences and materials,” says Convertito. “The quality and diversity of the artwork continually excites me.”
“From a Woman’s Hand” runs until April 16 and is sponsored by the Florida Department of State, Division of Arts & Culture and The Helmerich Trust.  For more information, call Cori Convertito, Ph.D. at 305-295-6616 x 507 or cconvertito@kwahs.org.  Your Museums.  Your Community.  It Takes an Island.

“SS GEORGE LAW and Key West: Ship of Gold” to be next Distinguished Speaker Series talk
On Thursday, February 16, join author Dr. Brian Magrane as he considers the notable shipwreck of the SS GEORGE LAW as part of the Key West Art & Historical Society’s Distinguished Speaker Series.  His talk entitled, “SS George Law & Key West: Ship of Gold” takes place from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Tropic Cinema, 416 Eaton Street.
Gold fever was erupting across the United States in the mid-nineteenth century.  The California Gold Rush had enticed hordes of miners hoping to strike it rich.  During this boom, America’s economy quickly became reliant on the continuous flow of this new capital and the popular mode of transportation for the precious cargo was the steamship.  The side-wheel steamer S.S. GEORGE LAW was built to move gold in continuous service on the Atlantic leg of the Panama Route.  In 1856, yellow fever was raging in Havana and the ship was diverted to Key West—its one and only visit—for coal refueling.  Not long after her Key West stop, he ship sank in a hurricane off the South Carolina coast.  The ship was carrying over $2 million in California Gold.
“This illuminating talk discusses several historic milestone of the 1850s including the gold rush, but also more regional topics including Florida Keys wrecking, early lighthouses, the opening of the Panama Railroad and Key West as a coaling station,” says Cori Convertito, curator for the Society.  “Magrane’s talk will drive home the geographic and practical value of Key West along the well-traveled Florida Straits.”
The presenter, Dr. Brian Magrane, is an Islamorada-based physician, author of “Tortugas Deep-Sea: The Story of a Merchant Ship,” and an avid shipwreck coin collector.  He became fascinated in Florida’s sunken treasures and has been involved in maritime heritage projects and shipwreck treasure research.
To reserve your spot at the lecture; visit kwahs.org/upcoming-events - $12 for KWAHS members, $15 for non-members.  This program 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.  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
IMAGE: The wreck of the SS George Law (renamed SS Central America), the California Gold Rush and Key West will be the subject for the Key West Art & Historical Society’s upcoming Distinguished Speakers Series talk, “SS GEORGE LAW and Key West: Ship of Gold” with author and physician Brian Magrane on February 16.  (Photo Credit: National Maritime Museum UK)

On Saturday, February 11, launching at 9:00 a.m., noted professor of photography and humanities Lynne Bentley-Kemp will lead the next in a series of monthly historically informative two-hour seafaring excursions presented by Key West Art & Historical Society in partnership with S/V Argo Navis.
Passengers aboard the luxury catamaran Argo Navis will enjoy bloody marys, mimosas or non-alcoholic beverages and light breakfast fare while Bentley-Kemp shares the illuminating back-story on the day’s topic, “History of the Key West Garden Club at the West Martello Tower.”  Bentley-Kemp, a longtime Florida Keys resident, taught at the Rochester Institute of Technology, Florida Atlantic University and the College of the Florida Keys.  She is a dedicated gardener and joined the Key West Garden Club twenty-five years ago.  A Board member for the past eight years, she curates the Club’s social media pages and is currently creating a history room at the Martello.  She takes a great deal of pleasure in seeing a fort evolve into a beautiful garden.
Construction on Fort West Martello began during the Civil War and was abandoned after 1866.  In 1949, Monroe County Commissioner Joe Allen and the Key West Garden Club entered into an agreement to make the tower the Garden Club’s permanent home.  The West Martello Tower is listed as a National Historic Site by the State of Florida and is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Historic Seaport Sails are limited to 50 attendees; reserve your spot now at kwahs.org/upcoming-events - $75 for KWAHS members, $90 for non-members.  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 and S/V Argo Navis.
For more information, contact Cori Convertito at 305-295-6616 x112 or cconvertito@kwahs.org.  Your Museums.  Your Community.  It takes an Island.

Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are now available for Habitat for Humanity of Key West and Lower Florida Keys’ annual gala at the Truman Little White House on March 31.
The “Keys to the Keys: A Tropical Gala” will be from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and feature a tropical evening of dinner, drinks, dancing, games, auctions and chances to win prizes. is the non-profit group’s major fundraising event of the year and all proceeds support our program of building affordable housing for essential workers to purchase and making critical home repairs for local seniors.
Call the Habitat at 305-294-9006, Ext. 5, or email kwelburn@habitatlowerkeys.org to make a reservation.

A celebration of the Parrothead lifestyle will be held from 2 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 9, at the Farmers Market at the Truman Waterfront, prior to the Jimmy Buffett concert.
Participants are encouraged to make it awesome with pop-up tents, lawn chairs and blankets, decorations, games and costumes. Awards and prizes will be given for the best setups.
Just a few park rules pertain: no staking, no driving in the grass and no grills and, due to space constraints, no ‘tailgating’ from vehicles and no RVs are permitted in the city parking lots. Guests will not be able to hear the concert from the park and the event lawn and Farmers Market will close at 7 p.m.