Creative Pinellas Helps Local Arts with Hurricane Relief
“When there’s a hurricane coming, everything just kind of stops. You put all your focus and energy into securing your home and facing that possibility that everything could be lost. When you have to face that possibility, it’s a mental damper on the creative flow.”
Last fall, artist and Old Northeast resident Elizabeth Barenis, a prolific and popular abstract painter, was in the midst of a very good year. On September 24, her successful solo exhibit at the Morean Arts Center, “Tropical Splendor,” came to a close. The same day, a system of thunderstorms in the tropics formed into a named storm that, within 48 hours, would prove historically catastrophic: Helene.
“Hurricane Helene brought all that water into the city, and I’m right on Beach Drive and it was a river,” said Barenis. “Luckily it stopped about 20 feet short of the door, but my neighbors got flooded and it definitely gave me a scare.” Like so many others, she had no time to recover from Helene before Hurricane Milton barreled through – and like so many others, Barenis wasn’t as fortunate the second time.
For Milton, she shuttered and evacuated the house her grandparents built on Beach Drive. She returned to a mess of debris, lost roof shingles, a leak, and a ruined fence. Still, she says, “I’m pleased with the cards I was dealt because I feel very lucky – it could have been much worse.”
Enter the Helpers
Creative Pinellas was established in 2011 as the designated local arts agency for Pinellas County, serving to uplift the arts and artists countywide. In the wake of the storms, they knew something needed to happen to meet the needs of the arts community, and it needed to happen fast.
By combining their December 2024 Arts Annual with a Hurricane Relief Fundraiser, Creative Pinellas was able to raise money they could get into the hands of artists and arts organizations within weeks. “We are truly fortunate to witness the unwavering support and solidarity that our community demonstrates for one another, especially during challenging times,” said Creative Pinellas CEO Margaret Murray. “These grants are a lifeline for our creative community.”
“We understood where everyone was physically, emotionally, and financially and we did not want to create any additional barriers to receiving funding,” said Murray. “We worked really hard to pare down the application process to its most compelling question: ‘How can we support you?’”
The storm impacts were so far-reaching, with every municipality in Pinellas County affected, the initiative was only able to fund 20 percent of the applications they received. Murray knows, “It was a drop in the bucket compared to what is needed.”
She notes, “Cultural organizations were closed on average 28 days, and that’s on top of the personal losses that people had. We’re still feeling the effects of it, and we will be feeling the effects of it for years to come.”
Back to the Future Arts
With lives and creative livelihoods turned upside-down, however, every little bit does help. Ten local arts nonprofits received $1,000 grants to help stabilize operations and support the continuation of their programming. One of those recipients was American Stage, the area’s longest-running professional theatre company. Their season opener, Ring of Fire, lost its opening weekend to Hurricane Helene and a second week of performances to Hurricane Milton. “It was heartbreaking to see the momentum of this beautiful rehearsal process seemingly come to a halt, and to not get to share that story immediately,” says Jana Henson, communications coordinator for American Stage. In addition to the lost revenue of two shuttered weeks, the theatre sustained damage to their actors’ housing. “We’re grateful that we were able to finish out the run with such amazing community support.”
Other nonprofit recipients include Francis Wilson Playhouse in Clearwater, for funding storm damage repair; Girls Rock St. Pete, replacing lost equipment and instruments; Beach Art Center of Indian Rocks Beach, to rent alternative spaces for art classes while the facility undergoes repairs; and REVolutions Dance, to pay dancers for a show that was canceled at the Mahaffey Theater due to storm damage.
The initiative also awarded 20 individual artists $500 each, with the freedom to self-determine their use. Some artists will be replacing lost supplies and repairing damaged studios. Some will look to the future and launch new projects. For Elizabeth Barenis, the funds will go to rebuild her fence, which she is doing herself. “Creative Pinellas is helping me get my home back to where it was, back to normal again, so that I can get back in the studio.”
“Creative Pinellas is here to help the arts community,” says Murray, “and we recognize that how we can support the arts community is changing year over year. We are adapting our resources so that we make sure we are as nimble as possible when people do need us.”
Find info about Creative Pinellas programs and more at creativepinellas.org.
