Best Wheels (Still) Go Round And Round: NOMAD Arts Bus

For its work that brings art opportunities to underserved groups and communities, NOMADstudio was just one of three recipients in Florida (out of 4,000 applicants) to receive the coveted $100,000 ArtsHERE grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. But, mid-2025, following federal guidelines, this promised funding was taken back creating a growing shortfall for the nonprofit. “This is important work, and it’s being threatened by these shifts in funding,” said NOMADstudio founder and executive director Carrie Boucher. Interested in helping out? Meet the NOMAD team and find out about more ways to volunteer and support by visiting nomadstudio.org/how-to-help. @nomadstudio_org on Instagram—Annalise Mabe

Arts & Entertainment

Best Actor (non-gender specific): Corin Nemec

Winner: Corin Nemec
Finalists: Patrick Wilson, Arianna Williams

Best Art Gallery (non-museum): Dunedin Fine Art Center

Winner: Dunedin Fine Art Center
Finalists: Morean Arts Center, FloridaRAMA Gallery

Best Art Party: Trashy Treasures at Dunedin Fine Art Center

Winner: Trashy Treasures at Dunedin Fine Art Center
Finalists: Pride and Passion at Tampa Museum of Art, Suenos at The Dalí Museum

Best Artistic Twinning: Keesha and Miesha Brunbridge

Keesha and Miesha Brundridge are twin poets, fashion designers, and community-builders from St. Pete. Keesha is also a Dream Defender, and Miesha is a teacher. Recently, the duo hosted a poetry and fashion night with Sierra Clark about love and death in St. Pete, as an act of remembrance for the people who have passed away before their time in South St. Pete. Both twins are amazing poets with powerful lines and messages to share with their community, as well as knowledge and a fashionista vision. @house_of_poetrystpete on Instagram—S.G. de León y León

Best Arts Appointment: Helen French at St. Pete Arts Alliance

Who woulda thunk? A working professional artist at the head of an arts alliance! For its new executive director, the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance couldn’t have made a better choice than Helen French. An exquisite dancer, she had already proven her leadership bona fides as co-founder of the annual Beacon dance series at Palladium Theater and as the Alliance board chair. Now she brings her artistic vision, her experience in the nonprofit trenches, and her glowing charisma to the heart of St. Pete’s busy but oft-beleaguered arts scene. Brava! stpeteartsalliance.org—David Warner

Best Arts Organization: Gasparilla Festival of the Arts

Winner: Gasparilla Festival of the Arts
Finalists: Straz Center for the Performing Arts, Creative Pinellas

Best ‘Make Us Hear a Classic Anew’ Performance: Matthew McGee’s ‘Some People’ from ‘Gypsy,’ freeFall Theatre

Few performers can take a Broadway warhorse and make it sound brand new, but Matthew McGee does just that with “Some People” from "Gypsy." Where Merman belted, Lansbury crackled, and McDonald soared, McGee refracts the anthem through his own prism—funny, furious, and defiantly alive. He strips away decades of diva baggage and lets us hear the song as freshly as if Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim had written it yesterday. It’s a thrilling reminder that the Bay Area’s most beloved chameleon doesn’t just perform—he reinvents. freefalltheatre.com—Jon Palmer Claridge

Best Band (non-cover band/originals only): MiniM

Winner: MiniM
Finalists: The Wandering Hours, Whale Feral

Best Bluegrass Band: Crossfire Creek

Winner: Crossfire Creek
Finalists: The Wandering Hours, The Applebutter Express