Creative Pinellas, the county’s umbrella arts support organization, has curated a new exhibit at the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport. The exhibit, titled ‘Juicy: A Slice of Florida Life,’ debuted on Tuesday at the Sightline Gallery, inside the terminal.
Citrus Industry Celebration
The exhibit is a celebration of Florida’s citrus industry, a key step on the state’s historical timeline. It features a series of stunning, colorful illustrations used on West Central Florida citrus shipping crates in the 20th century. The 36×36 inch canvases are painstakingly painted reproductions of the original labels, all of which are in the collection of Heritage Village, the county-run history center and 21-acre park.
Heritage Village, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2026, partnered with Creative Pinellas and the airport to define, refine, and focus the citrus exhibition. As the idea of a collaboration expanded, they decided to bring in a sculptural element. St. Petersburg glass artist Duncan McClellan introduced the parties to Tucson, Arizona’s Steve Hagen, who creates intricate blown glass fruit slices.
Collaborations and Installations
Hagen contributed several glass sculptures and fruit-themed, hand-made glass jewelry. Through a grant from Creative Pinellas, bay area artist Kirk Ke Wang has created an installation celebrating legendary Chinese horticulturist Lue Gim Gong, whose work with cross-breeding different hardy strains of oranges is credited with saving the citrus industry. The piece, which is being installed on the Heritage Village campus, will be formally unveiled on July 11, during the Heritage Village All-American 50 at 250 Bash.
Airport director Mark Sprague credited Creative Pinellas with providing visitors with glimpses of the real Pinellas County. ‘When people think of Pinellas County,’ Sprague said, ‘they think ‘Oh, there’s beaches, there’s resorts, there are all these great restaurants,’ but then they see something like this. And THIS is what Pinellas County is also.’
Original reporting: St. Pete Catalyst — read the source article.
