Upcoming Exhibitions and Events

EXHIBITION TITLE	Opening Reception: Open Doors to History by Mario Perez
LOCATION	The Valencia Foyer at Hotel Haya in Ybor City
EXHIBITION SCHEDULE	Thursday, September 4, 6:00–8:00 p.m.
EXHIBITION DESCRIPTION	Join HCC Art Galleries in Hotel Haya’s Valencia Foyer for the opening of Mario Javier Pérez Salabarría’s exhibition, Open Doors to History. This free community event offers a chance to meet the artist, savor hors d’oeuvres, and experience an evening that celebrates art, heritage and cultural identity. Pérez’s striking series of urban landscapes pays tribute to the immigrants who built the “Cigar Capital of the World” and to the architecture that holds the city’s memory. Created with mixed media on unique surfaces, including salvaged doors from homes impacted by the 2024 hurricane, his work invites viewers to step through a symbolic gateway of resilience, history and cultural restoration. Mario Javier Pérez Salabarría is a Cuban-born artist and writer who came to the United States in 2004. With a background in architecture and art teaching in Cuba, and later a master’s in guidance counseling in the U.S., Pérez has built a career that bridges art, education, and community. Currently serving as an Assistant Dean at Hillsborough Community College while pursuing his doctorate in education at USF, he continues to create works that honor heritage and history while inspiring cultural connection.

EXHIBITION TITLE	Opening Reception and Panel Discussion for Theo Wujcik: Tempo, Tampa
LOCATION	Gallery221@HCC Dale Mabry
EXHIBITION SCHEDULE	Thursday, September 18, 5-8 p.m.; panel discussion begins at 6 p.m.
EXHIBITION DESCRIPTION	Join us at Gallery221@HCC Dale Mabry for a special panel discussion reflecting on the life and legacy of one of Tampa’s most influential artists, Theo Wujcik. Theo Wujcik was a Detroit-born artist, educator, master printer and painter known for his innovative techniques. He moved to Tampa in 1970 to become shop director of Graphicstudio at USF, where he taught for three decades while creating artwork in rhythm with Tampa’s early underground music scene and Ybor City’s alternative dance clubs. Collected and exhibited both nationally and internationally, he remained a vital force in the Tampa Bay art scene until his death in 2014. Featuring: -Tracy Midulla, founder of Tampa art organization Tempus Projects -Joanna Robotham, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Tampa Museum of Art -Wally Wilson, retired Director of the School of Art and Art History at USF -Susan Johnson, widow of Theo Wujcik -Amanda Poss, HCC Arts Director