BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg - ECPv6.15.20//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://mfastpete.org
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/New_York
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20250309T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20251102T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20260308T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20261101T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20270314T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20271107T060000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260517T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260517T150000
DTSTAMP:20260421T153648
CREATED:20251119T020321Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251119T020321Z
UID:10000544-1779026400-1779030000@mfastpete.org
SUMMARY:Language Tour Series | German-Speaking Tour with Anita Birrer
DESCRIPTION:Deutsch: Schließen Sie sich uns jeden dritten Sonntag um 14 Uhr im MFA für unsere neuen Sprachrundgänge an! Jeden Monat wird ein MFA-Museumsführer einen Rundgang in einer anderen Sprache als Englisch leiten und so eine einzigartige Möglichkeit bieten\, die Sammlung des Museums zu erleben. Egal\, ob Sie die Sprache fließend beherrschen\, Ihre Fähigkeiten üben möchten oder eine kunstvolle Möglichkeit suchen\, mit dem Lernen zu beginnen – diese Rundgänge sind eine großartige Gelegenheit\, sich durch Kunst und Kultur mit anderen zu verbinden! \nDiese öffentlichen\, von Museumsführern geleiteten Rundgänge sind im Eintrittspreis inbegriffen\, aber eine vorherige Anmeldung wird empfohlen\, damit die Führer wissen\, wie viele Teilnehmer sie während ihres Rundganges erwarten können. Die Plätze sind begrenzt – melden Sie sich noch heute an! \nKönnen Sie an diesem Datum nicht teilnehmen\, sind aber daran interessiert\, eine von einem Führer geleiteten Rundgang in einer anderen Sprache als Englisch zu buchen? Das MFA bietet derzeit Rundgänge in Russisch\, Spanisch\, Portugiesisch und Deutsch an! Bitte senden Sie uns eine E-Mail an tours@mfastpete.org\, um mehr zu erfahren. \nEnglish: Join us every third Sunday at 2 pm for the MFA’s Language Tour Series! Each month\, an MFA Docent will guide a tour in a language other than English\, offering visitors a fresh and immersive way to explore the museum’s collection. Whether you’re fluent\, practicing your language skills\, or just beginning your journey\, these tours offer a welcoming space to connect through art and culture. \nDocent-led Language Tours are free with museum admission\, but advance registration is recommended so our docents can plan for group size. Space is limited—reserve your spot today! \nInterested in a tour but can’t attend on this date? The MFA also offers docent-led tours in Russian\, Spanish\, Portuguese\, and German by request. Email us at tours@mfastpete.org to learn more. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLanguage Tour Series | German-Speaking Tour with Anita Birrer\nSunday\, May 17\, 2026\n2:00 PM–3:00 PM\nMuseum of Fine Arts\, St. Petersburg\n255 Beach Drive NE\, St. Petersburg FL 33701 \nFREE for MFA Members; Included with the cost of admission for Not-Yet Members\nRegistration required. \nREGISTER \nCheck out the full Language Tour schedule here to find upcoming tours in your preferred language. \nNot yet a member?\nBecome a member today and enjoy all the benefits membership at the MFA offers!  \nMFA Members enjoy free admission for an entire year\, early access to special exhibitions\, discounts at the MFA Shop and Café Clementine\, special member-only exclusive events\, and more. Bring the whole family! \nBECOME A MEMBER \n\nABOUT ANITA BIRRER/ÜBER ANITA BIRRER \n\n\nEnglish: My name is Anita Birrer\, and I successfully graduated from the MFA Docent Training Program on May 7\, 2022. As part of my commitment to the docent program\, I serve as a gallery guide on select Friday afternoons. \nI am a native Swiss\, born and raised in Luzern\, located in the German-speaking region of Switzerland. In everyday life\, we primarily speak Swiss German (Schweizerdeutsch)\, a collection of Alemannic dialects that vary by region. While Swiss German is used in daily conversation\, Standard German (Hochdeutsch) is employed in formal settings such as education\, media\, and written communication. Due to notable differences in pronunciation\, vocabulary\, and grammar\, Swiss German can be difficult for non-native speakers to understand—therefore\, I will be leading the German tours at the MFA in Standard German. \nI am a Swiss Federally Certified Adult Educator and have taught Swiss culture and Standard German to expatriates working for Swiss companies. I am well-traveled and fluent in English as well. \n\n\nDeutsch: Mein Name ist Anita Birrer. Ich bin Schweizerin\, in Luzern geboren und aufgewachsen. Ich spreche Schweizerdeutsch und Hochdeutsch (Muttersprache)\, Englisch und Französisch. Ich bin eidg. diplomierte Ausbilderin und habe in dieser Rolle während über 25 Jahren fremd- und deutschsprachige Menschen in der Schweiz im Umgang mit der Schweizer Kultur und der deutschen Sprache beraten\, ausgebildet und gefördert. \nIm Mai 2022 habe ich die Ausbildung zur MFA-Museumsführerin erfolgreich abgeschlossen. \nIn dieser Rolle interagiere ich jeden Freitagnachmittag mit Museumsbesuchern aller Altersgruppen\, Fähigkeiten und Hintergründe durch lebhafte\, anregende und unterhaltsame Gespräche über unsere ausgestellten Kunstwerke in den Galerien.
URL:https://mfastpete.org/event/german-speaking-tour-with-anita-birrer-5-17-26/
LOCATION:Museum of Fine Arts\, St. Petersburg\, 255 Beach Drive NE\, St. Petersburg\, FL\, 33701\, United States
CATEGORIES:Adult Program,FREE for MFA Members
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mfastpete.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Speaking-Tour_Anita-.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260528T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260528T190000
DTSTAMP:20260421T153648
CREATED:20260222T022958Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260222T022958Z
UID:10000586-1779991200-1779994800@mfastpete.org
SUMMARY:In Conversation: Sarah Ann Weber and Stefano Di Paola
DESCRIPTION:In Conversation: Sarah Ann Weber and Stefano Di Paola\n\nThe Museum of Fine Arts\, St. Petersburg welcomes contemporary artist Sarah Ann Weber for an intimate conversation with her gallerist\, Stefano Di Paola of Anat Ebgi. \nKnown for her richly layered works on paper\, Weber creates lush\, immersive environments that blur the boundaries between landscape\, memory\, and inner life. Working primarily in watercolor and colored pencil\, her practice explores cycles of growth and decay\, intimacy and transformation\, often drawing on personal experience to create psychologically charged\, dreamlike spaces. \nIn this conversation\, Weber and Di Paola will discuss the evolution of her practice\, the role of material and process in her work\, and the artist–gallerist relationship. Together\, they will reflect on how Weber’s imagery moves between the domestic and the wild\, the personal and the ecological\, offering insight into the ideas shaping her recent exhibitions and ongoing body of work. \n\n\nIn Conversation: Sarah Ann Weber and Stefano Di Paola \nThursday\, May 28\, 2026\n6:00 PM–7:00 PM\nMuseum of Fine Arts\, St. Petersburg\n255 Beach Drive NE\, St. Petersburg FL 33701 \n$15 for MFA Members; $35 for Not-Yet-Members. \nTICKETS \nNot yet a member?\nBecome a member today and enjoy all the benefits membership at the MFA offers!  \nMFA Members enjoy free admission for an entire year\, early access to special exhibitions\, discounts at the MFA Shop and Café Clementine\, special member-only exclusive events\, and more. Bring the whole family! \nBECOME A MEMBER
URL:https://mfastpete.org/event/in-conversation-sarah-ann-weber-stefano-di-paola/
LOCATION:Museum of Fine Arts\, St. Petersburg\, 255 Beach Drive NE\, St. Petersburg\, FL\, 33701\, United States
CATEGORIES:Adult Program,Educational Event,Lecture / Talk
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mfastpete.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/In-Conversation.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260604T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260604T200000
DTSTAMP:20260421T153648
CREATED:20260319T200828Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260320T012015Z
UID:10000602-1780596000-1780603200@mfastpete.org
SUMMARY:Book + Banisadr Book Club | Mythology + History
DESCRIPTION:Book + Banisadr Book Club | Mythology + History\nIn conjunction with Ali Banisadr: The Alchemist\, the MFA is proud to introduce the Book + Banisadr Book Club\, a three-part literary program that invites participants to immerse themselves into the complex\, turbulent worlds of Banisadr’s works through the lens of contemporary fiction that mimic the artist’s practice in both chaos and composure. \nHeld in partnership with Book + Bottle\, a beloved local independent bookstore and wine bar\, each session will focus on a thoughtfully selected book that echoes the figurative illusions rooted in autobiographical narratives\, sonic recollection\, invented stories\, world history\, collective memory\, and mythology embedded in the imagery of Ali Banisadr’s work. Through this one-of-a-kind pairing of literature and art\, historical themes will be reexamined against the dreadful\, real\, and unreal stories we tell ourselves. \nEach session will feature a specially paired wine and will be carefully facilitated to bridge the artworks in the exhibition to the relevant and resonant conversations shaping our society today. This month’s selection\, Black Leopard\, Red Wolf by Marlon James\, is an award-winning\, genre-defying novel that blends myth\, fantasy\, and African history in an epic quest to find a missing child—exploring truth\, power\, and the stories we choose to believe. \n\nDriving Banisadr’s practice is an encyclopedic knowledge of art history\, literature\, and philosophy\, references of which can be read in each work. His sprawling\, light-filled studio is filled with books and research material. Lining floor-to-ceiling bookshelves are tomes on everything from miniature painting to Bruegel and the Renaissance painter Hieronymus Bosch\, who has always been a huge influence\, as well as Dante Alighieri\, Rumi\, and Andrei Tarkovsky. “I have a group that I circle around and I always go back to\,” Banisadr says. “For example\, Dante’s Inferno or Homer’s Odyssey. I could keep reading and rereading these epic poems. To me they are so full of visual things.” \nBook + Banisadr Book Club | Mythology + History \nThursday\, June 4\, 2026\n6:00 PM–8:00 PM\nMuseum of Fine Arts\, St. Petersburg\n255 Beach Drive NE\, St. Petersburg FL 33701 \n$25 for Members; $35 for Not-Yet-Members \nTICKETS \nTickets include program and 1 glass of wine. Additional wine available for purchase. \nNot yet a member?\nBecome a member today and enjoy all the benefits membership at the MFA offers! \nMFA Members enjoy free admission for an entire year\, early access to special exhibitions\, discounts at the MFA Shop and Café Clementine\, special member-only exclusive events\, and more. Bring the whole family! \nBECOME A MEMBER \n\nAbout Book + Bottle\n \nBook + Bottle is a bottle shop\, an independent bookstore\, a coffee café\, and a wine bar all rolled into one exquisite little package. They have the most passionate\, friendly\, and helpful team in town to help you choose a book or a bottle or to take care of you and your friends on your night off. \nThey’re an independent\, woman-owned\, values-driven\, sustainably run\, local-first business that believes little kindnesses can make our community—and the world—a better place. \nAbout Black Leopard\, Red Wolf by Marlon James\n \nOne of TIME’s 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time / Winner of the L.A. Times Ray Bradbury Prize / Finalist for the 2019 National Book Award / The New York Times Bestseller \nNamed a Best Book of 2019 by The Wall Street Journal\, TIME\, NPR\, GQ\, Vogue\, and The Washington Post \n“Gripping\, action-packed….The literary equivalent of a Marvel Comics universe.” –Michiko Kakutani\, The New York Times \nIn the stunning first novel in Marlon James’s Dark Star trilogy\, myth\, fantasy\, and history come together to explore what happens when a mercenary is hired to find a missing child. \nTracker is known far and wide for his skills as a hunter: “He has a nose\,” people say. Engaged to track down a mysterious boy who disappeared three years earlier\, Tracker breaks his own rule of always working alone when he finds himself part of a group that comes together to search for the boy. The band is a hodgepodge\, full of unusual characters with secrets of their own\, including a shape-shifting man-animal known as Leopard. \nAs Tracker follows the boy’s scent–from one ancient city to another; into dense forests and across deep rivers–he and the band are set upon by creatures intent on destroying them. As he struggles to survive\, Tracker starts to wonder: Who\, really\, is this boy? Why has he been missing for so long? Why do so many people want to keep Tracker from finding him? And perhaps the most important questions of all: Who is telling the truth\, and who is lying? \nDrawing from African history and mythology and his own rich imagination\, Marlon James has written a novel unlike anything that’s come before it: a saga of breathtaking adventure that’s also an ambitious\, involving read. Defying categorization and full of unforgettable characters\, Black Leopard\, Red Wolf is both surprising and profound as it explores the fundamentals of truth\, the limits of power\, and our need to understand them both. \nSee ALL Book + Banisadr Book Club Dates and Times: \n\nMay 7\, 2026 @ 6 pm: Book + Banisadr Book Club | War + Apocalypse\nJune 4\, 2026 @ 6 pm: Book + Banisadr Book Club | Mythology + History\nJuly 2\, 2026 @ 6 pm: Book + Banisadr Book Club | Sound + Composition
URL:https://mfastpete.org/event/book-banisadr-book-club-2/
LOCATION:Museum of Fine Arts\, St. Petersburg\, 255 Beach Drive NE\, St. Petersburg\, FL\, 33701\, United States
CATEGORIES:Adult Program,Educational Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mfastpete.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Ali-Banisadr-Book-Club.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260620T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260620T120000
DTSTAMP:20260421T153648
CREATED:20260414T025816Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260414T030053Z
UID:10000614-1781953200-1781956800@mfastpete.org
SUMMARY:Curator Talk | Art Historical Influences and Echoes in Ali Banisadr's Work with Dr. Stanton Thomas
DESCRIPTION:Curator Talk | Art Historical Influences and Echoes in Ali Banisadr’s Work with Dr. Stanton Thomas\n\nDiscover the rich visual lineage behind Ali Banisadr: The Alchemist in this lecture with the MFA’s Hazel and William Hough Chief Curator\, Dr. Stanton Thomas. \nTracing a wide arc across centuries and cultures\, this talk explores the artists\, movements\, and traditions that inform Banisadr’s dynamic compositions – from the fantastical\, densely populated worlds of Hieronymous Bosch to the expressive force of Abstract and German Expressionism\, and from Medieval and Renaissance painting to Persian miniatures\, alchemical imagery\, and Mesopotamian antiquities. Dr. Thomas will illuminate how Banisadr draws on these diverse influences to construct his own complex visual language that balances chaos and composure while weaving together history\, mythology\, and contemporary experience. \nCurator Talk | Art Historical Influences and Echoes in Ali Banisadr’s Work with Dr. Stanton Thomas \nSaturday\, June 20\, 2026\n11:00 AM–12:00 PM\nMuseum of Fine Arts\, St. Petersburg\n255 Beach Drive NE\, St. Petersburg FL 33701 \n$15 for MFA Members; $35 for Not-Yet-Members. \nTICKETS \nNot yet a member?\nBecome a member today and enjoy all the benefits membership at the MFA offers!  \nMFA Members enjoy free admission for an entire year\, early access to special exhibitions\, discounts at the MFA Shop and Café Clementine\, special member-only exclusive events\, and more. Bring the whole family! \nBECOME A MEMBER
URL:https://mfastpete.org/event/banisadr-curator-talk/
LOCATION:Museum of Fine Arts\, St. Petersburg\, 255 Beach Drive NE\, St. Petersburg\, FL\, 33701\, United States
CATEGORIES:Adult Program,Educational Event,Lecture / Talk
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mfastpete.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Curator-Talk_The-Alchemist.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260621T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260621T150000
DTSTAMP:20260421T153648
CREATED:20260401T021346Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260401T021542Z
UID:10000604-1782050400-1782054000@mfastpete.org
SUMMARY:Language Tour Series | Russian-Speaking Tour with Natalie Velez featuring Ali Banisadr: The Alchemist 
DESCRIPTION:Русский: Приглашаем вас в Музей Изобразительных Искусств (MFA) на новую серию экскурсий на иностранных языках! Каждое третье воскресенье месяца в 14:00 экскурсовод музея проводит обзорную экскурсию на языке\, отличном от английского. Эти экскурсии — прекрасная возможность: ближе познакомиться с коллекцией музея\, встретить единомышленников\, улучшить знание изучаемого вами языка. \nУчастие в экскурсии включено в стоимость входного билета\, но предварительная регистрация обязательна\, так как количество мест ограничено. \nЗаинтересованы в экскурсии\, но не можете прийти в эту дату? Музей изобразительных искусств (MFA) также предлагает экскурсии на русском\, испанском\, португальском и немецком языках по запросу. По всем вопросам и для записи пишите нам на: tours@mfastpete.org. \nEnglish: Join us every third Sunday at 2 pm for the MFA’s Language Tour Series! Each month\, an MFA Docent will guide a tour in a language other than English\, offering visitors a fresh and immersive way to explore the museum’s collection. Whether you’re fluent\, practicing your language skills\, or just beginning your journey\, these tours offer a welcoming space to connect through art and culture. \nDocent-led Language Tours are free with museum admission\, but advance registration is recommended so our docents can plan for group size. Space is limited—reserve your spot today! \nInterested in a tour but can’t attend on this date? The MFA also offers docent-led tours in Russian\, Spanish\, Portuguese\, and German by request. Email us at tours@mfastpete.org to learn more. \nLanguage Tour Series | Russian-Speaking Tour with Natalie Velez featuring Ali Banisadr: The Alchemist \nSunday\, June 21\, 2026\n2:00 PM–3:00 PM\nMuseum of Fine Arts\, St. Petersburg\n255 Beach Drive NE\, St. Petersburg FL 33701 \nFREE for MFA Members; Included with the cost of admission for Not-Yet Members\nRegistration required. \nREGISTER \nCheck out the full Language Tour schedule here to find upcoming tours in your preferred language. \nNot yet a member?\nBecome a member today and enjoy all the benefits membership at the MFA offers!  \nMFA Members enjoy free admission for an entire year\, early access to special exhibitions\, discounts at the MFA Shop and Café Clementine\, special member-only exclusive events\, and more. Bring the whole family! \nBECOME A MEMBER \n  \n \nImage: \nAli Banisadr (b. 1976)\, The Waste Land (detail)\, 2006\, oil on panel\, 9 x 12 in. Collection of the Artist. Photography by Jeffrey Sturges. © Ali Banisadr \n\nABOUT NATALIE VELEZ/О НАТАЛИ ВЕЛЕЗ \n\n\nEnglish: In 2009\, Natalie Velez moved from St. Petersburg\, Russia to St. Petersburg\, Florida. Natalie credits her  relocation for opening a new world for her: that of American contemporary art and how it can alter the ways in  which we visualize and conceptualize the world.  \nNatalie earned her B.A. and M.A. degrees from the State University for Culture and Arts in St. Petersburg\,  Russia. She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in philosophy and aesthetics in visual art from the Institute for  Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts\, headquartered in Maine (IDSVA). In her research\, she explores the  intersection of politics and cross-cultural art collaborations.  \nNatalie’s professional experience includes working as an international education and business consultant\,  art gallery owner\, and educator of arts and philosophy. She presented her work on the relations of arts\,  aesthetics\, and philosophy during her residences in Mexico and Italy\, as well as at institutions such as the  University of Tampa\, Eckerd College\, and the Museum of Fine Arts.   \n\n  \n\nРусский: Натали Велез переехала в Санкт-Петербург\, Флорида\, из Санкт-Петербурга\, Россия\, в 2009 году. Она получила степени бакалавра и магистра в Санкт-Петербургском государственном институте культуры. \nВ настоящее время Натали работает над кандидатской диссертацией по философии и эстетике изобразительного искусства в Институте докторских исследований в области визуальных искусств (IDSVA)\, расположенном в штате Мэн. Её исследование сосредоточено на пересечении политики и межкультурных художественных коллабораций. \nНатали является консультантом по международному образованию и бизнесу\, владеет галереей и активно занимается образовательной деятельностью в области искусства и философии. Она представляла свои работы\, посвящённые связям между искусством\, эстетикой и философией\, во время своих резиденций в Мексике и Италии\, а также в таких образовательных и культурных учреждениях\, как Университет Тампы\, Колледж Эккерд и Музей Изобразительных Искусств (MFA).
URL:https://mfastpete.org/event/russian-speaking-tour-with-natalie-velez-the-alchemist/
LOCATION:Museum of Fine Arts\, St. Petersburg\, 255 Beach Drive NE\, St. Petersburg\, FL\, 33701\, United States
CATEGORIES:Adult Program,FREE for MFA Members
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mfastpete.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Russian-Tour-Ali-Banisadr.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260702T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260702T200000
DTSTAMP:20260421T153648
CREATED:20260319T200848Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260320T012157Z
UID:10000603-1783015200-1783022400@mfastpete.org
SUMMARY:Book + Banisadr Book Club | Sound + Composition
DESCRIPTION:Book + Banisadr Book Club | Sound + Composition\nIn conjunction with Ali Banisadr: The Alchemist\, the MFA is proud to introduce the Book + Banisadr Book Club\, a three-part literary program that invites participants to immerse themselves into the complex\, turbulent worlds of Banisadr’s works through the lens of contemporary fiction that mimic the artist’s practice in both chaos and composure. \nHeld in partnership with Book + Bottle\, a beloved local independent bookstore and wine bar\, each session will focus on a thoughtfully selected book that echoes the figurative illusions rooted in autobiographical narratives\, sonic recollection\, invented stories\, world history\, collective memory\, and mythology embedded in the imagery of Ali Banisadr’s work. Through this one-of-a-kind pairing of literature and art\, historical themes will be reexamined against the dreadful\, real\, and unreal stories we tell ourselves. \nEach session will feature a specially paired wine and will be carefully facilitated to bridge the artworks in the exhibition to the relevant and resonant conversations shaping our society today. This month’s selection\, A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan\, is an award-winning\, genre-bending novel that follows interconnected lives across time\, exploring music\, memory\, and the deeply human pursuit of meaning\, redemption\, and connection. \n\nAli Banisadr is gifted with synesthesia; otherwise separate senses are linked – in this case color and sound. This ability translates into abstract landscapes rendered in vibrant colors\, a trait that links him to the art of Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944)\, who also experienced synesthesia. The restless surfaces of Banisadr’s paintings juxtapose competing sensibilities\, setting areas of orderly\, precise brushwork against energetic\, gestural ones. As indicated in the title of the exhibition\, the artist sees his paintings as an attempt to understand the innate chaos of the world. They do not reflect any specific conflict but rather express universal turmoil. \nBook + Banisadr Book Club | Sound + Composition \nThursday\, July 2\, 2026\n6:00 PM–8:00 PM\nMuseum of Fine Arts\, St. Petersburg\n255 Beach Drive NE\, St. Petersburg FL 33701 \n$25 for Members; $35 for Not-Yet-Members \nTICKETS \nTickets include program and 1 glass of wine. Additional wine available for purchase. \nNot yet a member?\nBecome a member today and enjoy all the benefits membership at the MFA offers! \nMFA Members enjoy free admission for an entire year\, early access to special exhibitions\, discounts at the MFA Shop and Café Clementine\, special member-only exclusive events\, and more. Bring the whole family! \nBECOME A MEMBER \n\nAbout Book + Bottle\n \nBook + Bottle is a bottle shop\, an independent bookstore\, a coffee café\, and a wine bar all rolled into one exquisite little package. They have the most passionate\, friendly\, and helpful team in town to help you choose a book or a bottle or to take care of you and your friends on your night off. \nThey’re an independent\, woman-owned\, values-driven\, sustainably run\, local-first business that believes little kindnesses can make our community—and the world—a better place. \nAbout A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan\n \nNATIONAL BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE WINNER • With music pulsing on every page\, this startling\, exhilarating novel of self-destruction and redemption “features characters about whom you come to care deeply as you watch them doing things they shouldn’t\, acting gloriously\, infuriatingly human” (The Chicago Tribune). \nOne of the New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century • One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years • A Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction Book of the Century • A Los Angeles Times Best Fiction Book of the Last 30 Years \nBennie is an aging former punk rocker and record executive. Sasha is the passionate\, troubled young woman he employs. Here Jennifer Egan brilliantly reveals their pasts\, along with the inner lives of a host of other characters whose paths intersect with theirs. \n“Pitch perfect . . . Darkly\, rippingly funny . . . Egan possesses a satirist’s eye and a romance novelist’s heart.”—The New York Times Book Review \nSee ALL Book + Banisadr Book Club Dates and Times: \n\nMay 7\, 2026 @ 6 pm: Book + Banisadr Book Club | War + Apocalypse\nJune 4\, 2026 @ 6 pm: Book + Banisadr Book Club | Mythology + History\nJuly 2\, 2026 @ 6 pm: Book + Banisadr Book Club | Sound + Composition
URL:https://mfastpete.org/event/book-banisadr-book-club-3/
LOCATION:Museum of Fine Arts\, St. Petersburg\, 255 Beach Drive NE\, St. Petersburg\, FL\, 33701\, United States
CATEGORIES:Adult Program,Educational Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://mfastpete.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Ali-Banisadr-Book-Club.jpg
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR