Perfectly Pop-Up Paranormal Museum On Display In St. Pete

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Through Oct. 31, explore artistic renderings of the Tampa Bay area’s supernatural activity at the Perfectly Pop-Up Paranormal Museum on display at the B. Stark Art studio at Art Lofts, 10 5th Street N., St. Petersburg.

The studio is open for Second Saturday Art Walk, Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. and by appointment.

Artist and paranormal expert Brandy Stark, who has 25 years of academic and investigative research, coordinated the event after receiving a grant from the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance and the city of St. Petersburg’s Office of Cultural Affairs.

She was inspired after reading the first book in the “The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum” mystery series. In the book, a woman finds herself running “this quirky, old museum” after the owner died, Stark said. “This woman didn’t want the job and I’m like, 'Are you kidding me?' Oh my god, I’d love to have a paranormal museum.”

She considered opening one in St. Petersburg but realized it might be difficult to find a permanent space for such an endeavor. It was also a niche market, so she wondered if the interest would be there for it year-round, she added.

“But I had my studio,” Stark said. “I’ve been in Art Lofts since 2018. I thought you know what, ‘It’s kind of silly to have your own space and not do anything with it.’”

While she has displayed her own work in the studio, she focused more on getting her art into other spaces. Over the past year or so, though, she’s shifted that focus to drawing more art-lovers to her studio and showcasing works by other artist, as well.

When she initially applied for the grant, she was planning an outdoor exhibit featuring a wire sculpture that would light up with solar-powered lights, “kind of leading the way back to the door,” she said. “I was advised by the city that that might not work.”

That’s when her earlier thoughts of a paranormal museum came back to her.

“It just popped into mind,” Stark said. “I thought, Well, I don’t know if I have a shot at this,’ but I wrote that grant in about 30 minutes.”

The show features a dozen different artists from throughout the region, each one depicting a different haunted Tampa Bay location. The works range from depictions of the St. Pete Pier — rumored to be the site of a UFO landing and alien sightings — to the historic Tampa Theatre to the area’s many haunted hotels, including The Don CeSar, The Vinoy and The Peninsula Inn.

Each piece is accompanied by a QR code that shares videos, articles and artist interviews about the lore and legends.

“So, there’s an educational component to it as well,” Stark said.

The art is for sale and attendees are asked to vote for their favorite piece. Stark’s book, “Supernatural Saint Petersburg and Paranormal Pinellas,” as well as tarot cards from the Tarot Project, featuring 78 works by Florida artists, are also available to purchase.

It’s a busy month for Stark, who has organized several other events, as well, including:

• World’s Largest Ghost Hunt 2022 at the Art Lofts, Saturday, 6 to 9 p.m. The Art Lofts building, which dates back to 1916, is home to an unstable vortex, which allows ghosts to easily travel through it, Stark said. The Spirits of St. Petersburg will lead guests through a paranormal investigation at the building as part of the World’s Largest Ghost Hunt, an international event featuring ghost investigation teams from around the world. Tickets are $30 per person.
• Ghost Tours of downtown St. Petersburg through Paradise Tours by appointment. Stark will take groups of two to seven people on downtown walking tours, while groups of eight to 14 people are taken on a bus tour. All sites on the ghost tour have been investigated by the Spirits of St. Petersburg. Tickets range from $20 to $35 per person.
• Perfectly Pugnacious, Too, at the Art Lofts, Oct. 1-31. This exhibit features pug-themed work on the common walls of the Art Lofts kitchen. Oct. 15 is the National Day of Pugs and Stark is the mother to a pug grumble. One pug, Patroclus, is her current “Paranormal Pug” and attends some investigations with her team. A portion of art sales during this show will be donated to Pug Rescue of Florida and Compassionate Pug Rescue. She’s still accepting submissions for this show.