Art and Poetry Find Perfect Blend on Sanibel

Sanibel is tropical barrier Island that is a world class vacation destination because of its shells and wild life. But those who know the Island at all, realize that art is big component of what makes Sanibel tick. And the out of box artistic expressions are the heart of the art on the Island.



ARTPoems began five years ago when Lorraine Vail and another island poet, Joe Pacheco, decided to go to the Sanibel Public Library and seek inspiration — via ekphrasis a Greek word that is somewhat undefinable — by viewing the Sanibel-Captiva Art League’s annual display.



What followed was a flurry of creative collaboration between a handful of island poets and artists and the result was the first ever ARTPoems.



“We had the opportunity to present at Phillips Gallery and we had no idea how it was going to go. We didn’t rehearse, and we ended up having such an amazing collaboration. Both the artists and the poets were thrilled that their art was interpreted in a new way. I call it shaking the muse loose — getting to write in a different way. It’s a challenge because you’re writing based on something visual and interpreting that piece.”



In the ARTPoems selection process, artists and poets are paired up randomly through a raffle, and then each one presents five poems or five pieces of artwork. The poet selects one piece and then writes a poem inspired by it, the artist selects a poem and makes a piece inspired by it.



Then, both artist and poet — or musician, as music is now a large part of ARTPoems — share their new works at a special presentation at BIG ARTS and the Alliance for the Arts, thanks to Pam Brodersen, who puts all the images and poems together to be projected on a screen for the actual show.



But the key word when it comes to ARTPoems is “inspiration.”



ArtPoems will present multimedia on Stage on February 24 at Schein Hall in Big Arts. Tickets for the 7:30 performance are $10. There is a reception at 6:45 preceding the performance.