- David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts
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Plan Ahead with our Digital Visitors Guide!
With our 2013 digital travel planner, viewers are exposed to a brief introduction to Tampa, how to get around, where to stay, things to do, dining and nightlife, and even area services.
Additionally, an interactive regional map helps visitors navigate the Tampa Bay area.
Tampa Arts & Culture
Arts and Culture are a vital component of Tampa's vibrant community. Theater groups, orchestras, world-class performance halls, museums, galleries and much more provide enriching performances, inspirational youth education programs, and exhibits that showcase the world's most talented artists, actors and musicians. Tampa cherishes arts and history and keeps it a unique and powerful tool to showcase the area's heritage and diverse culture.
It's no wonder that Tampa, FL, was recently awarded the distinction "Top Arts Destination” by American Style Magazine. With independent and foreign film, critically acclaimed opera and orchestra, a stellar Broadway series and an eclectic collage of museums featuring everything the surreal masterworks of Salvador Dali to traveling exhibitions from the Smithsonian - the Tampa area is fast becoming the cultural core of Florida’s Gulf Coast.
In Tampa, art is everywhere. Even when visitors arrive at the Tampa International Airport they will immediately recognize the city’s ardor for the arts. Travelers will enjoy flights of imagination while moving through the airport thanks to a multitude of sculptures, tapestries, acrylic and oil paintings created by local and international artists that are on display in high-traffic areas.
Many of Tampa’s cultural centers are clustered downtown along the Hillsborough River in Downtown Tampa. Amidst high-rise office buildings and fine hotels, the David A Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts, Tampa Museum of Art, Henry B. Plant Museum, Tampa Bay History Center and many displays of public art can be found to peak one’s cultural curiosity.
Tampa also hosts an array of arts and cultural events year round. Make sure to check out our calendar of events and cultural calendar for updated arts and culture event information.
The cigar industry, originally brought to Tampa in the late 1800s by Don Vicente Martinez Ybor, created a 12,000-strong immigrant workforce that churned out 700 million cigars a year.
It also created a vivacious Latin community, a "cultural collage," where Spaniards, Italians, Cubans, Germans and Romanian Jews worked and lived side by side. Today, Tampa is as much a multi-cultural city as ever with a thriving and powerful Hispanic population that represents all different Latin American countries.
In all, approximately 10% of Tampa's population are Latino and one recent study reported that one out of every three people in Tampa bears a Hispanic surname.
Tampa is such a multi-cultural hotbed that the city was has made Hispanic Magazine's list of "Top Cities for Hispanics" three years running, topping the list in 2000. Most recently, the Tampa area was named one of the top five most diverse, integrated urban areas in the country by the U.S. Census Bureau. View our multicultural guide for a sample list of things to do.
Discover the rich arts and culture of Tampa and the many wonders that await you!
Featured Listings
Tampa Bay History Center
- 801 Old Water St.
- Tampa, FL 33602
- Phone: (813) 228-0097
- Region: Downtown
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Visit Website
Journey through 12,000 years of powerful stories. Stroll through a 1920s cigar store. Row up the Hillsborough River. Ride along with a cattle drive. Discover the stories of our early inhabitants. With an eclectic Museum Store and the Columbia Café, we offer an enjoyable experience for the whole family. More
MOSI - Museum of Science & Industry
- 4801 E Fowler Ave.
- Tampa, FL 33617
- Phone: (813) 987-6000
- Region: North Tampa
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Visit Website
Having fun while learning is a breeze at Tampa’s Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI), the largest science center in the Southeast. MOSI offers a comprehensive overview of science and technology with more than 450 interactive science exhibits and visual displays on natural disasters, physics, astronomy and more. MOSI makes a great daytime excursion ... More
American Victory Ship Mariners Museum
- 705 Channelside Dr.
- Tampa, FL 33602
- Phone: (813) 679-0330
- Region: Downtown
The American Victory Ship is one of only four operational World War ll ships in the U.S. As a national historic landmark, the mariners museum ship is a prize attraction offering More
Armed Forces History Museum
- 2050 34th Way N
- Largo, FL 33771
- Phone: (727) 539-8371
- Region: Clearwater/North Pinellas
The Armed Forces History Museum is dedicated to preserving our military history and educating our current and future generations as to the sacrifices made by so many to preserve More
Cracker Country
- Florida State Fairgrounds
- P.O. Box 11766
- Tampa, FL 33680
- Phone: (813) 627-4225
- Region: East Hillsborough
Discover Cracker Country, a rural Florida outdoor living history museum, and experience how the daily lives of early Florida settlers revolved around chores, seasons, family, and More
Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, Inc.
- 400 N Ashley Dr.
- Tampa, FL 33602
- Phone: (813) 221-2222
- Region: Downtown
The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts is dedicated to exhibiting important photographic art as central to contemporary life and culture. FMoPA collects, preserves, and exhibits More
Glazer Children's Museum
- 110 W Gasparilla Plaza
- Tampa, FL 33602
- Phone: (813) 443-3861
- Region: Downtown
Designed to inspire children and families by creating learning opportunities around innovative play and discovery, the new 53,000 square foot Glazer Children's Museum will have a More
Henry B. Plant Museum
- 401 W Kennedy Blvd.
- Tampa, FL 33606
- Phone: (813) 254-1891
- Region: Downtown
With it's magnificent Moorish architecture, opulent furnishings, and tropical gardens, a visit to the restored rooms of the former Tampa Bay Hotel, will transport you to Victorian More
J.C. Newman Cigar Company
- 2701 N 16th St.
- Tampa, FL 33605
- Phone: (813) 248-2124
- Region: Ybor City
J.C. Newman is America's oldest family owned cigar company and the last operating cigar factory in Cigar City with brands including Diamond Crown, MAXIMUS, Cuesta Rey, Brick House More
The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art
- 5401 Bay Shore Rd.
- Sarasota, FL 34243
- Phone: (941) 359-5700
- Region: Regional
Located on the beautiful Sarasota Bay, visit the Art galleries, Ca d'Zan Mansion, Circus Museum including The Wisconsin Rail Car and the Howard Bros. Circus miniature, Historic More
Tampa Firefighters Museum
- 720 Zack St.
- Tampa, FL 33602
- Phone: (813) 964-6862
- Region: Downtown
The Tampa Firefighters Museum has officially opened its doors. Museum visitors can enjoy “hands-on” exhibits, education programs, rental space for events, a gift shop, donation or More
Tampa Museum of Art
- 120 W Gasparilla Plaza
- Tampa, FL 33602
- Phone: (813) 274-8130
- Region: Downtown
The new Tampa Museum of Art provides the region with world-class traveling exhibitions, a growing collection of contemporary and classical art, expanded educational programs More
Tampa Police Museum
- 411 N Franklin St.
- Tampa, FL 33602
- Phone: (813) 276-3258
- Region: Downtown
The Tampa Police Museum honors officers killed in the line of duty, preserves historically important records, books and police equipment, and urges the teaching of police science More
The Dali Museum
- One Dali Blvd.
- St. Petersburg, FL 33701
- Phone: (727) 823-3767
- Region: St. Petersburg/Beaches
Experience the new Dali: The largest and most comprehensive collection of Dali's work in America. Rotating exhibits, programs for all ages, daily tours, films, lectures, music More
University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum
- 4202 E Fowler Ave.
- CAM101
- Tampa, FL 33620
- Phone: (813) 974-4133
- Region: North Tampa
USF CAM brings vital, investigative and scholarly exhibitions of contemporary art to the University and the Tampa Bay community. To complement our exhibitions program, USF CAM More
