Arts Council of Manatee
Location: 926 12th St. W.
Phone: (941) 746-2223
Website: www.manateearts.org
The mission of the Arts Council of Manatee is “to promote and enhance cultural awareness in Manatee County by providing educational opportunities, presenting events, and providing information and referrals to artist and arts organizations.”
It strives to accomplish this through dozens of arts programs and partnerships, such as Enhancing Education through the ARTS for At-Risk Youth, art in business places, Riders for Readers, Healthy Start Coalition & Project Light, grants, scholarships and more.
Headquartered in the Village of the Arts just south of downtown, the council is recognized as the lead arts agency in Manatee County and serves as a valuable information source for all the county’s arts and culture organizations. The council is a past winner of the Winner of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce "Partner in Excellence Award"
ArtCenter Manatee
Location: 209 9th St. W.
Phone: (941) 746-2862
Website: www.artcentermanatee.org
Click here for ArtCenter events
The mission of the 71-year-old ArtCenter Manatee is to provide a welcoming, professional environment, educate novice and experienced artists of all ages, provide galleries to exhibit and market original artwork and enhance the visual arts in Manatee County through special events and outreach programs.
The 10,000-square-foot ArtCenter building includes three large galleries, five art studios with a pottery studio and jewelry design studio, a library with more than 3,000 art volumes and an Artists’ Market. Its various programs include a wide range of art-themed events and exhibits at the center and in other locations across Manatee County.
The ArtCenter also has a satellite gallery at the ComCenter in Lakewood Ranch and teaches classes at the Manatee Community College Center for Innovation and Technology in Lakewood Ranch. The center also collaborates with various nonprofit organizations across the county to provide art classes and experiences for underprivileged youths.
Village of the Arts
Location: Between Tamiami Trail and Ninth Street West, and Martin Luther King, Jr., Avenue and 17th Avenue West.
Website: www.villageofthearts.com
Click here for events in the Village
The Artists Guild of Manatee Inc. was formed in 1999 to establish the Village of the Arts in a neighborhood just south of downtown Bradenton. Once plagued by crime and dilapidated housing, this area has transformed itself into the largest artists’ colony on the Gulf coast and has become a national model for neighborhood revitalization.
The village earned Bradenton recognition in 2008 by Art Calendar magazine as one of the country’s Top 10 cities for working artists because of its special zoning laws allowing artists and other craftspeople to live and operate small businesses, like art galleries, from their homes. It was also recognized in AAA’s Going Places traveler’s guide as “one of the state’s most vibrant artists’ communities.”
The neighborhood of about 250 homes now has nearly 50 galleries, studios and other small businesses. The village hosts a monthly ArtWalk on the first Friday night and Saturday afternoon of the month where shop owners open their businesses and invite the public to browse and shop.
South Florida Museum
Location: 201 10th St. W.
Phone: (941) 746-4131
Website: www.southfloridamuseum.org
Click here for the museum calendar
The South Florida Museum is actually three museums in one: the exhibits section, Parker Manatee Aquarium and Bishop Planetarium.
The exhibits focus on the history of Southwest Florida from the Pleistocene era to the present with life-size dioramas and exhibits of early man and the creatures that once roamed Manatee County. Established in 1947, it was recently referred to by a visiting member of the Smithsonian Institution as one of the best small museums in the country.
The Bishop Planetarium is a multipurpose, state-of-the-art domed theater with one of the most advanced, all-digital projection systems in the world, capable of allowing visitors to explore the universe while relaxing in stadium-styled seating and enjoying a Dolby 5.1 surround system. Various programs include everything from educational star shows to nighttime laser shows set to rock music.
The Parker Manatee Aquarium is home to Manatee County’s most famous resident, Snooty the manatee, who turned 60 years old in July 2008. Snooty is the oldest living manatee born in captivity, and lives in a 60,000-gallon tank where visitors can watch him swim about and learn about manatee anatomy, physiology and habitat. The aquarium also is a second-stage rehabilitation facility, and has provided a temporary home to more than a dozen other manatees working their way back to the wild.
Manatee Village Historical Park
Location: 1404 Manatee Ave. E.
Phone: (941) 741-4075
Website: www.manateeclerk.com/ClerkServices/HisVill/mchvillage.htm
Click here for Manatee Heritage Day events in Bradenton
The Manatee County Historical Commission strives to preserve the county's historic treasures at the Manatee Village Historical Park, a national historic site open to the public free of charge. Through the creation of the park and programs on site and throughout the county, the commission has helped tell the story of early Manatee County.
Among the many pieces of history at the park are the Wiggins Store, built in 1903 as a general store and gathering place for residents on the first floor and a second floor for customers who traveled long distance and needed a place to sleep; Manatee Burying Ground, the final resting place for many of the county’s pioneers; First Courthouse, built in 1860, it is the oldest remaining building built as a courthouse in the entire state; Old Meeting House, which opened in 1889 as the first Christian congregation south of Tampa on the Florida mainland; and many more.
One of the most beloved icons of Manatee County calls the park home: Old Cabbage Head, a train engine built by Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia in 1913 and used for hauling timber by a lumber company. It arrived in Manatee County in 1948 at the Manatee Noccatee Crate Mill Co. until 1952, when the mill went out of business and Old Cabbage Head nearly ended up in the scrap heap until residents raised money to preserve it.
Manatee Players Riverfront Theatre
Location: 102 Old Main St.
Phone: (941) 748-0111
Website: www.manateeplayers.com
Click here for upcoming performances and events at the theatre
Roughly 90,000 people have attended shows at the award-winning Manatee Players Riverfront Theatre during the past three years. This nationally-recognized theater also offers both traditional classroom instruction and performance-based classes.
A cornerstone of downtown for decades, the theater operates with the mission to “represent, enrich, influence and stimulate people through the art of live theater by providing entertainment, education and an artistic outlet. The Manatee Players serve as a resource for the community and strive to create a positive experience."
Construction on a new theater is underway in downtown. The new Manatee Players Performing Arts Center will be a state-of-the-art facility, not only to perform in or attend a show, but to house the many performing arts classes currently limited by lack of space.
