It was a productive morning, highlighted by a gorgeous blue sky and a warm breeze. I woke up early, refreshed and eager; managing to run some errands, vote, and make it to my new job with time to spare. Newly married, life seemed incredibly beautiful at 8 a.m.

All this I remember in stark contrast to the rest of that nightmarish day seven years ago. One plane hit, then the second; the towers burned and fell. The formerly picturesque views from my office and home windows became front-row seats to the horror.

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Usually when Floridians think about arts and culture as a vacation destination, cities like New York, Chicago, Washington, San Francisco and Boston come instantly to mind. All these cities have been, time and again, at the top of American Style Art magazine’s Top 25 Arts Destinations. Orlando, on the other hand, in spite of its many outstanding art venues and museums, has never even been close to qualifying for a spot as one of the best art cities in America, but that’s about to change with the materialization of the new Dr. P. Phillips Orlando Performing Arts Center.

The center is an independent non-profit 501©3 corporation devoted to developing, building and operating the new performing arts center in downtown Orlando. Ground-breaking is expected to take place in 2009, with its official inauguration scheduled for 2012. With the price tag currently in excess of $135 million, many believe this will be the project to put Orlando on the map of artful destinations.

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Through time, art has consistently been a key way of documenting, responding, revealing and improving our lives. There is a clear symbiotic relationship between the artist and the environment. The artist feeds on the environmental experiences and stimuli, and by virtue of his creation, he influences the environment around him. There will always be a difference of opinion as to what exactly constitutes art, but beyond that, do we truly know how important a role cultivating one’s creativity and imagination has?

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One might not think of puppets as the type of thing that would empower children to stay healthy and safe, and yet that’s just what one local non-profit puppet theater states as their mission. Since 1985, MicheLee Puppets has provided issue-based, educational puppetry arts programs to more than 1.5 million Florida children and youth. 

“Through our programs on such issues as divorce, abuse and healthy lifestyles, young people learn respect; personal responsibility; and how to make positive life choices,” says communications manager Denise Valenzuela Lucich.

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One of the best kept secrets at the University of Central Florida is its art gallery, located in the Visual Arts Building. The gallery is a 3,700 square foot space to showcase some of the school’s brightest students and faculty members, in addition to special exhibitions featuring art from around the region and around the world. Best of all, the gallery is entirely free to attend for the entire community.

Each show is designed to illustrate a particular concept students are studying. “We always think of the gallery as a classroom,” says Janet Kilbride, assistant director of The UCF Art Gallery. “It’s why we want to bring in something to expand knowledge of our students and guests.”

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