Central – Section 1.1: Surrealism & Studio Glass in St. Petersburg
Visitors explore the iconic Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg, one of Central Florida’s most celebrated cultural landmarks. Photo courtesy of Merge Studios.
Can you be known as a premier family and leisure destination—and as a major hub for the arts? You can when you’re Florida, home to some of the world’s most prized and rare collections of fine art and sculpture—much of which can be found in Central Florida. In fact, the cultural impact of art and culture in Central Florida cannot be overstated…it’s almost surreal, which is what travelers will conclude after visiting The Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, whose collection of masterpieces by the brilliant surrealist Salvador Dali includes 2,400 works from every moment and in every medium of his artistic life.
The dramatic helical staircase inside the Salvador Dalí Museum spirals toward the Enigma, the museum’s striking geodesic glass façade. Photo courtesy of Kevin McGeever / Visit Florida
The museum was designed by architect Yann Weymouth and took the art and architecture world by storm when it debuted in 2011. Since then, the museum has continued to enhance its look, adding an Avant-garden as well as a multisensory art experience encased in a monumental new museum space, The Dali Dome.
Dale Chihuly’s vibrant Macchia Forest, installed in 2017, is a centerpiece of St. Petersburg’s Morean Arts Center.
Visitors to St. Petersburg’s Morean Arts Center will find the stunning works of contemporary and internationally celebrated artist Dale Chihuly—a pioneer of the studio glass movement. These include spectacular large-scale installations, and popular series works like Ikebana, Persians and Tumbleweeds.