The Venus 'Ancestor Stimulator'

The Venus’ 19-track debut album was written in 2016 with a lot of psychedelics on hand; that time forced frontman Alexander Charos to face pain that’d been buried deep within him. A new album, Ancestor Simulator, captures the inevitable comedown of that chemical whirlwind, but it’s also a poignant and artfully composed and produced reflection on what it’s like to face America’s demons head on and fight for a more just and equitable world. “I’m more hopeful now for our country than I’ve been in a long time. I hope that we can keep this momentum going and actually change policy and vote out the final old guard of racists and bigots,” Charos told CL.”Don’t stop protesting and don’t stop singing.” thevenus.bandcamp.com —Ray Roa

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St. Pete Postcard Project

When coronavirus sent many of us into self-quarantine this spring, local art teacher Sara Norine came up with a creative way to keep her students making art. Norine sent them blank postcards in the mail, asked them to decorate the front, write a message on the back, and send the cards back to her. While supplies lasted, Norine sent blank postcards to any community member who expressed interest in participating in the project. As the completed postcards rolled in throughout May and June, Norine took photos which she shared on Instagram and Facebook. In mid-July, both the Morean Arts Center and ARTicles Art Gallery hung the cards in their street-facing windows for the passerby to enjoy. The 4-by-6 inch works of art, with their well-wishes and words of encouragement, reminded us that we’re all in this together. @stpetepostcardproject on Instagram —Jennifer Ring

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'Washed Ashore' At Florida Aquarium

I’ve been spending a lot of time at the Florida Aquarium (long story short: I don’t have a babysitter until about 10:30 a.m., and the place is relatively empty when it opens at 9:30 a.m.). Thanks to the air-conditioning and sea critters, the venue is perfect for my nine-month-old and me. But one aspect of each visit—the art made from plastic that’s been collected from the shores of beaches—is both beautiful in its aesthetics and absolutely soul-crushing in its message (long story short: we’re pretty much selfish fucks who can’t be bothered to utilize reusables or even secure our trash). The sculptures in “Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea” include a parrot fish, white shark, whale skeletons and more, but they’re all made of lighters, toilet brushes, flip-flops, bleach bottles and other garbage. Go punish yourself by going to see it (viewing has been extended through October), and then walk out committed to trying to make sure an exhibit just like it can’t ever be made again. flaquarium.org —Ray Roa

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Tampa Museum Of Art

While many white people were complaining about destruction of property and destruction of history during BLM protests, protests in Tampa’s Curtis Hixon Park were more interested in creating things than destroying them. The Tampa Museum of Art set up a protest sign-making station in support of peaceful protests for Black Lives Matter, and people were loving it. You should see the photos. tampamuseum.org —Jennifer Ring

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Cam Bertrand

It's been a weird year for comedy, considering that clubs were shuttered for several months and performers struggled to stay busy. But Bertrand logged plenty of accolades before that (a “Florida's Funniest Comedian” title and plenty of popular headlining gigs) and clips of his DryBar special, “Sophisticated Ignorance,” racked up millions of views online. A spot at the Parking Lot Social event next to Raymond James Stadium in July only proved that the virus didn't slow down his creativity. If his name sounds familiar, it's because you've seen it on a previous Best of the Bay award: Namely, Best Up-and-Coming Comedian a few years back. But with a vibrant stage presence, a slew of pop culture references and plenty of clever self-deprecation, Bertrand's not up and coming anymore. He's here. @camthecomic on Instagram —Michael Murillo

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Steve Miller

Tampa has loved comedian Steve Miller for almost 10 years now, proven by the multiple Best of the Bays he’s won. Miller got to give the love back when he presented an almost 10-minute comedic homage honoring the 813-with smidge of the 727. As part of the Straz’s Tampa’s Total Request Live, the stand-up set was filmed in front of some of Tampa’s great attractions like the Tampa Museum of Art, Amalie Arena, and, of course, 2001 Odyssey. It was a love letter of sorts to our city, talking about why it’s the best ever when it sometimes seems like the worst. He gets in some jabs about the Confederate flag and reminds us what we’re missing while we are in quarantine like “... Not being able to find a place to sit at Armature Works.” So do we Miller, so do we. stevemiller813.com —Stephanie Powers

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Side Splitters

Let's be honest: This year hasn't been easy for any comedy club, and they all deserve a tip of the cap for surviving months with closed doors and no laughter. But Side Splitters was the first one back, and it clearly had a plan in place for its return. That meant installing an air purification system, paper menus and silverware, mask requirements for staff and customers, professional cleaning and all the required social distancing. It even held a special benefit show for their employees who were hurt financially. All the local clubs have done a good job, but Side Splitters deserves special mention for getting things up and running in a professional and positive manner. sidesplitterscomedy.com —Michael Murillo

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Ya La'Ford And Tampa Bay Rowdies

Ya La’ford’s latest community mural is all about teamwork. It’s the perfect theme for a mural at Al Lang Stadium, where the Tampa Bay Rowdies play soccer. La’ford worked with the players to add a layer of footprints to the mural. Afterwards, over 100 St. Pete residents added their handprints to create the finished piece. Teamwork wasn’t exactly 2020’s theme, but it should have been. Sometimes you have to work together to win, and sometimes you have to work together to survive. Either way, this mural is a great tribute to people in Tampa Bay working together for the win. yalaford.com —Jennifer Ring

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Tampa Pro Women's Tourney

Seemed like it was a long time coming—especially since women have skated for free at the Skatepark of Tampa (SPoT) for what feels like forever—but in February, for the first time ever, Tampa Pro included a women’s open tourney with a $5,000 purse on the line. Ladies long should’ve been part of one of the country’s most unique skateboarding tournaments, and it’ll feel even better whenever the tourney actually happens again. skateparkoftampa.com —Ray Roa

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Victoria Jorgenson and Fabiana Lowe

A lot of you started filming with your iPhones at the onset of this pandemic. Not all of you took Victoria Jorgensen and Fabiana Lowe’s iPhone movie workshop at the Dunedin International Film Festival beforehand—I can tell. But that’s okay; we applaud all your home movie-making efforts during these difficult times. But if you ever want to level up, there’s a workshop for that. Lucky for us, this isn’t a one and done scenario. Before the pandemic came around, Jorgensen told me they’re planning more workshops with Creative Pinellas and additional film festivals, you know, once we can have film festivals again. amovieproductions.com —Jennifer Ring

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Jujmo's Drawing Show

In March, with the pandemic in its early stages, Tampa-based artist Jujmo—known for creating colorful murals adorned with fun characters sprinkled throughout Tampa Bay—hosted free, weekly “Jujmo Drawing Show” livestream drawing classes on Instagram. Those who followed along got to flex their creativity while the artist channeled Bob Ross during the instructional class. During self-quarantine, the artist found a new way to connect with the community while getting a little dough through donations since her revenue stream dried up when events got canceled. jujmo.com —Jenna Rimensnyder

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Crab Devil

I love seeing new art collectives pop up around Tampa Bay. As many local art collectives have demonstrated through the years, everything’s better with friends, including making and showing art. Devon Brady and Janine Awai’s Crab Devil plans to put Tampa’s art scene on the map with a novel art attraction called “The Peninsularium.” Although the Crab Devil collective and The Peninsularium project are both new, many Crab Devil artists are familiar members of Tampa’s art scene, like Tempus Projects’ Tracy Midulla. I can’t wait to see what they build together. crabdevil.com —Jennifer Ring

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DFAC’S “One World: I'll Show You Mine, If You Show Me Yours—Daily Photos”

If there ever was a time to create a new Facebook group, it was when COVID-19 struck. The groups gave us the opportunity to put our favorite community gathering places online. Whether it’s your church, that dive bar where everybody knows your name, your LGBT community center, or your writing group, we all had people and places that we missed. I missed the community art centers where people gather to be creative. Thanks to the Dunedin Fine Art Center’s efforts early in this pandemic, I never felt too disconnected from our creative community. The Dunedin Fine Art Center’s “Daily Photos” Facebook Group did more than just document our quarantine experiences—it brought us together like the Dunedin Fine Art Center does in real life. DFAC’s “Daily Photos” wasn’t the only Facebook group dedicated to staying creative in Tampa Bay, but with over 400 members, it was certainly one of the most active. facebook.com/dunedinfineartcenter —Jennifer Ring

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Tampa's Booty Drop

Remember when getting together and partying in huge crowds was cool? Jane Castor couldn’t have picked a worse time to be Mayor of Tampa. But it was fun for those first few months, wasn’t it? Like when the City of Tampa decided to ring in New Year’s Eve with a “Booty Drop.” Although… now that I see how 2020 is turning out, I wonder if that Booty Drop was bad luck? Should I be giving this an award? I don’t know. Trying to find something fun to celebrate in 2020 is like grasping at straws. —Jennifer Ring

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Paint It Forward

Derek Donnelly started Paint it Forward in 2018 to elevate the Tampa Bay arts scene. The idea was to share photos and videos of artwork made in Tampa Bay on social media via hashtag #PaintItForward. When COVID struck in March and the galleries closed, Donnelly’s online marketing efforts became more important than ever. Suddenly, the internet was the only place where artists could get their work in front of collectors, and Donnelly already had the resources and the perfect hashtag for it. Through his nonprofit Public Art Project, Donnelly provided $150-$300 stipends to artists in exchange for online content, sharing their work with the world. The stipends gave several Tampa Bay artists the break they needed to revamp their online marketing strategies so they could survive this pandemic. And that’s how you paint it forward. saintpaintarts@gmail.com —Jennifer Ring

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Florida Craft Art For Inside The World Of Public Art

I’ve always enjoyed the selection of crafts at Florida Craft Art, but typically, crafts just don’t wow me. That was until I found out how many installation artists got their start crafting, like Elayna Toby Singer, who transitioned from making jewelry into making mobile-like sculptures in public parks and gardens. Florida Craft Art’s “Inside the World of Public Art” featured work from several artists who made the transition from craft studio work to large-scale public installations. This exhibit was special for many reasons: it introduced Tampa Bay to the artists behind their favorite public art, it gave us a behind-the-scenes look into how gigantic sculptures are made, it showcased public art designs for the new St. Pete Pier, and it taught our local artists how to transition from studio work to public art through a series of lectures. Also, I love the pamphlet they made on where and how to see public art in Tampa Bay—it’s still available online via floridacraftart.org —Jennifer Ring

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The Cantons And Their Goats

Rob and Debbie Canton established Grady Goat Farm to raise money for causes close to their heart. One such cause is the fight against human trafficking, which hits closer to Tampa Bay than you may realize (not the Qanon brand of human trafficking, either). This year, the Cantons commissioned Scott Moore to create 55 identical goat sculptures for artists to paint and/or decorate. The goal was to raise awareness and get some money in the hands of organizations fighting human trafficking. Fifty of the goat sculptures made their debut at the 50th Anniversary Gasparilla Festival of the Arts in Julian B. Lane Riverfront Park, where they attracted quite the crowd. gradygoat.org —Jennifer Ring

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JJ Curry

Comedian JJ Curry has the charm and the talent to make it big. The mama’s boy and former U.S. airman gets crowds to fall in love with him with stories about growing up in Georgia, his not-so-great dad and hot takes on current issues. Curry’s a staple at Side Splitters, where he won last year’s “Last Comic Stranded” competition, but he’s been getting gigs all over the South as of late. If you ever need a date for, say, the Golden Globes, I’ll be sure my calendar is open. facebook.com/jjcurrycomedypage —Stephanie Powers

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Jaquavious Curry

Feel free to call him JJ. That's what his friends call him, and after you see his set you'll feel like one, too. His calm, confident demeanor would normally be found in older performers, but Curry has been building veteran-style momentum since moving to Tampa Bay a few years ago. He's now headlining shows throughout the Southeast and making a name for himself in the comedy community. Whether that name is Jaquavious or JJ doesn't really matter; you'll be hearing more of it in the future. facebook.com/jjcurrycomedypage —Michael Murillo

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'Brick By Brick' at Tampa History Center

People like to bust their nuts over singular historic events like Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream speech” or the Apollo 11 moon landing, but those milestones were preceded by smaller events, which stacked up, brick by brick, so that history could eventually be made in a big way. Last fall, Tampa Bay History Center invited kids and adults alike to think about that when it hosted “Brick History” featuring key figures and events constructed entirely out of LEGOs by a team led by artist Warren Elsmore. That’s one way to piece history together. tampabayhistorycenter.org —Ray Roa

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Creative Pinellas

Creative Pinellas was doing great stuff long before COVID-19 came along, but the pandemic really brought out the best in the collecting. It was clear from the beginning that Creative Pinellas was going to do everything it could to help artists survive this crisis. It kept an updated list of places to enjoy art online. It raised pay for its Arts Coast Journal contributors when other publications couldn’t afford to pay their writers at all. It even established the area’s first arts relief fund in collaboration with the St. Petersburg Art Alliance and the Pinellas Community Foundation. Then on April 16, Creative Pinellas introduced 2020’s crop of emerging artists in Zoom conversations shared via Facebook Live, becoming the first arts organization in the Tampa Bay area to host artist talks and opening receptions online. Tampa’s college galleries followed suit a month later, starting with Gallery 221. creativepinellas.org —Jennifer Ring

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Tampa Theatre 

When I asked local filmmakers what they love most about Tampa’s film scene for this year’s Gasparilla Arts Month preview, Tampa Theatre kept coming up. The 1920s movie palace is one of Tampa Bay’s best attractions outside of our beaches. It is the best place to watch a classic movie or an independent film in the area; no matter which part of the Tampa Bay area you hail from, it’s worth the drive. Unless you’re living in the middle of a deadly pandemic. When film distributors made the transition from in-person to streaming cinema in March, Tampa Theatre was quick to offer a series of arthouse films through different streaming platforms. Thanks to Virtual Cinema, we could safely watch new movies in our living rooms while supporting Tampa Theatre at the same time. I was so excited, I made my entire family watch “Fantastic Fungi,” an 80-minute documentary about mushrooms. It was good, too—and that’s not the mushrooms talking. tampatheatre.org—Jennifer Ring

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Wordier Than Thou

Don’t tell Wordier than Thou founder Tiffany Razzano that writers are solitary creatures. She’s spent years developing a community of writers in Tampa Bay who regularly get together for various literature-themed events. And when the pandemic put a damper on in-person get-togethers, Razzano rapidly found fun and exciting ways to socialize with her fellow writers online via Zoom and Facebook Live. While others suffered from a temporarily-paralyzing pandemic-induced lack of motivation, Razzano launched “Quarantine Storytime,” “Personal Library Tours,” and “Tell Us About Your Quarantine.” Her commitment to Tampa Bay’s community of writers during these difficult times was inspiring. wordierthanthou.com —Jennifer Ring

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TTRL By The Straz Center

It didn’t take long for co-workers Zachary Hines and Roxanne Gallo to come up with the idea for their Wednesday night online talent show that is the Straz’s Tampa Total Request Live. They quickly switched gears from their roles as Senior Manager of Institutional Marketing and Program Specialists to co-hosts and co-producers with the first episode on April 10. They have now produced over a dozen episodes, each one with a different theme and different performers. It’s a welcome respite to the crushing depression 2020 has brought. strazcenter.org —Stephanie Powers

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