Check Out WADA’s New Arts & Culture Map
It’s Saturday night. Dozens of things are vying for your attention, your leisure time, and your money. But you want to cut through the noise – get beyond the influencers and the biggest advertising budgets – to find the most up-to-date offerings that align with you: your vibes, your companions, and your budget. Where can you access all this for an arts and culture scene as dense as St. Pete’s?
The Warehouse Arts District Association (WADA), led by Executive Director Markus Gottschlich, is launching a vanguard technological solution: an interactive map and unified events calendar. This free-to-use, community-oriented guide is accessible and always live – aimed to help residents and visitors alike explore places they may not know about.
“We’ve been dabbling in creating a community map for the last couple of years,” Gottschlich tells me. “Now we’re able to take it to the next level based on the community reception.”
The digital platform, accessible on the WADA website under “Visit > Explore the District,” currently features the major arts business and organization within the WADA boundaries: 16th to 31st Street, between 1st Avenue N and 10th Avenue S.
WADA’s flagship ArtsXchange is the campus which serves as the central hub for the association. But the district is expansive, home to established institutions (Duncan McClellan Glass, Morean Center for Clay, Creative Clay), exciting new destinations (FloridaRAMA, Coastal Creative, The Werk Gallery & Object Lab), and hundreds of businesses with direct ties to the arts. “You need to support the supporters,” Gottschlich adds, “because the arts organizations are the ones that keep everything going.”
The Warehouse Arts District was little more than an idea in 2012. In just 13 years, it has grown exponentially in prominence and efficacy, emerging as a leading force uplifting the St. Pete arts community. The initial launch of the interactive map is serving as a proof of concept, with a goal to expand the map citywide in 2026.
“We have worked very hard to put ourselves in a position to offer things that are just free of charge, that are straight community oriented,” says Gottschlich. “It’s the right thing to do, and we’re fortunate to be in a position to do it.”
The WADA team is working closely with developers Vibemap to make the experience even more interactive in the future. It’s designed to keep up with the times and technological advancements, utilizing AI to automate listings, craft personalized itineraries, and support next level engagement like badges and participation rewards.
Promotional support is one of the benefits WADA promises its members, and the interactive map delivers on that promise. Gottschlich says, “The call from the arts community many times has been: How do we get more visibility? It’s not enough to have Facebook ads, it’s not enough to post on Instagram all the time, it’s not enough to have a TikTok channel. You can’t afford to leave any stone unturned.”
It’s Saturday night. You and your friends want a meaningful experience. Something local, authentic, vibrant, and inclusive. With a couple of clicks, WADA can point you in the right direction.
Warehouse Arts District Association is a member-supported 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to creating and sustaining a vibrant arts community. Learn about memberships, as well the November 20 “Tango Under the Stars” fundraiser, at wadastpete.org/events.
