The immersive Et Cultura festival returns to St. Pete for its second year November 15 through 19 with a rich buffet of film, music, art shows, and conversations aimed at fostering dialogue between the community and contributing artists.
Interactive Calendar
Not sure where to start digging in? Co-creator Lea Umberger suggests looking at conversation topics in the festival’s Interactive calendar.
“Find the thing that is your favorite branch—whether that’s plant-based diets, radical schools, or future cities,” Umberger said. “We’re hoping to create these through lines, so that if you’re interested in an Interactive topic you can find a movie that coordinates with it.”
During the Interactive portion, recognized national thought leaders such as Geoffrey Canada—a pioneer and passionate advocate for education reform—will sit on panels with local leaders to explore and bring attention to St. Petersburg’s growth. The goal is to create an environment for shared learning, with both free and paid content.
“It’s definitely a lot to take in,” Umberger said. “We’re hoping the biggest thing that happens is that people discover something they didn’t know before.”
Et Cultura is a business partnership on a mission to inspire and collaborate by spotlighting innovative culture. Art exhibitions, markets, and some concerts are free during the festival, while a $75 five-day pass gets visitors into all of the ticketed music, interactive, and film events. Discounted passes are available for $50 for students, teachers, and veterans.
Local Experience
Free events during the festival—like the New Granada record label showcase, or the concert featuring homegrown acts such as Pleasures and Sonic Graffiti—encourage guests to experience Et Cultura on a local level, Umberger said. Area venues such as The Gallery, Iberian Rooster, the Dali Museum, Black Crow Coffee Co., and Sundial are partnering with the festival to host the many events, discussions, and documentary films that are scheduled.
Mark Stevens, an artist known locally as Aurailieus, is organizing Et Cultura’s Locally Sourced art show Nov. 16 at the Morean Center for Clay, centered on our relationship to nature. Expect to see “a lot of upcycled art from sustainable sources,” Stevens said.
Sculpture, installations, and even music instruments created from discarded electronics and other repurposed materials will be on display at Locally Sourced. The exhibit will remain open during Et Cultura’s SEEDS event, a talk about urban agriculture, renewable energy, and sustainability.
“It’s a social commentary on environmental issues,” Stevens said. “We’ll be featuring a lot of new artists.”
St. Pete-based photographer and designer Todd Bates adds his popular Carousel slideshow to the roster on Nov. 19, presenting highlights from One Day Tampa Bay, a 24-hour community photo project documenting the lives and light of St. Petersburg, Tampa, Clearwater, and spaces in between.
Organizers hope you’ll walk away with a greater appreciation for St. Petersburg, and the encouragement to explore new avenues for innovative thinking.
“St. Pete is this creative hotbed—so how do you really take that to the next level?” Umberger asked. “How do you keep growing from where we are now? Exploring moonshot ideas can inspire people to dream about what’s next.”
For more information, visit EtCultura.com.
