Fort Lauderdale's 9th Annual Art Explosion

Presented by the arts group ArtsUnited, the ArtExplosion 2009 is one of the largest GLBT arts festivals in the country with two weeks of art and performances by GLBT talent throughout South Florida.

Celebrating its ninth season, the festival opened on 7 February with an Opening Night Reception of the Visual Arts Exhibit at ArtServe, the largest glbt juried art exhibit in the Southeast with almost 100 works of art, a one-night erotic art exhibit, music, performance art, video art, food, drinks and a DJ.

The Visual Arts Exhibit at ArtServe will be on display through 27 February 2009 at the Broward County Library / Fort Lauderdale Branch at 1350 East Sunrise Boulevard, Suite 100.

Performace arts events will come to a close on 21 February in a Finale at the Broward Center, with an unforgettable night of comedy and music featuring Lea Delaria, along with comedian Scott Ryan and musician Levi Kreis.

In between there will be over two weeks of art, film, music, theatre, literature, comedy and cabaret programs. With over 30 programs of art and culture, there is something for everyone.

Performances include comedy legend Lily Tomlin at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, the Florida Premiere of “Say You Love Satan” a new play by Roberto Aguirre-Sacassa at Rising Action Theatre, the Florida Premiere of the new Casper Andreas film “Between Love and Goodbye” at Cinema Paradiso, and an appearance by distinguished lesbian romance author K.G. MacGregor at Stonewall Library & Archives. Local talent will also be in abundance, like artists Alex Heria, singer/songwriter Richard Cortez and performance artist Matthew Glass.

This year ArtExplosion will highlight the country of Cuba, with programming by and about Gay and Lesbian Cuban-American artists, poets and authors. The highlight will be an appearance by 2008 Songwriter Hall of Fame inductee Desmond Child, who penned over 70 top-40 hits for such diverse names as Ricky Martin, Bon Jovi, and Cher. Visit the Stonewall Library & Archives website for details.

Here is the ArtExplosion 2009 Event Calendar.

And while I have many more photos to upload as well as a video compilation which I may not complete until my return to DC click the image above to view my 2009 Art Explosion Visual Arts Exhibit album.

The 2009 Art Explosion Visual Arts Exhibit will be on display until 27 February 2009 at ArtServe Gallery, at Suite 100, in the Fort Lauderdale Branch of the Broward County Library at 1300 - 50 East Sunrise Boulevard in the Victoria Park neighborhood of Fort Lauderdale.