Olivia Mansion

Thank you to Maureen McDole, poet and Founder and Executive Director of Keep St. Pete Lit for joining us for Immersive Conversations! “Keep St. Pete Lit grew from wanting more from my community as a reader and writer,” Maureen said, “and you never know where your curiosity may lead.” 

Now, 8 years later, Keep St. Pete Lit celebrates and promotes greater St. Petersburg’s literary community – past, present and future – through arts, education and events with a literary twist. Most recently, Keep St. Pete Lit has moved their headquarters to the Factory in St. Pete, and in collaboration with the Factory has created a brand-new reading garden on the campus!  Along with partnering and providing programming in and for local schools, existing art organizations and literary spaces, KSPL also facilitates their mission with the installation of free book exchanges, titled WORD! Book Boxes and hosts a literary festival called Sunlit every year. 

This year, Keep St. Pete Lit and Fairgrounds St. Pete Immersive Learning together with Tombolo Books have partnered to form the #FLORIDARAMA Book Club! Every other month, we delve into Florida together by reading a sunshine state inspired story. To support our community and stay local, Tombolo books has all the #FLORIDARAMA picks for purchase. 

“It’s been exciting to see art communities all over starting to form book clubs and reading groups, but the #FLORIDARAMA Book Club is especially exciting because it celebrates Florida in all it’s weird and wacky-ness. As a Florida and St. Pete native, it’s been a great way to support and celebrate our community. St. Pete is such a collaborative place to live, it is really cool to be a part of!” Maureen said. 

And the #FLORIDARAMA Book Club isn’t the only collaboration between KSPL and Fairgrounds St. Pete you should have on your radar! “Fairgrounds Immersive Learning is all about creating community through discovery. We are thrilled to be partnering with Keep St. Pete Lit on our #FLORIDARAMA Book Club and more upcoming and in-the-works programs to explore the Sunshine State and Fairgrounds St. Pete space through literature” said Fairgrounds Education Manager, Liv Scully.

A published author herself, Maureen’s third collection of poems entitled Feast will come out early this year from St. Petersburg Press. With her poetry and wiring set in a variety of different ways including film, dance, spoken word, art installations and traditional vocal works, Maureen is no stranger to creating and facilitating immersive art and engaging experiences. Leading workshops and speaking about creativity for over 15 years, Maureen is the perfect fit for the host of our #FLORIDARAMA Book Club. 

Learn More about Maureen, Keep St. Pete Lit, and #FLORIDARAMA Book Club in this Immersive Conversation!

To learn more about Maureen McDole & Keep St. Pete Lit check out: https://keepstpetelit.org/

Are YOU a Florida author and would like to be featured on our #FLORIDARAMA book club?! Get in touch! education@fairgrounds.art

Thank you to Chad Jacobs for joining us for Immersive Conversations!

Chad is unique in that he is both a Fairgrounds St. Pete FLORIDARAMA Artist and our in-house Graphic Designer. Chad was accepted in our inaugural call for artists and then as we got to know him and his practice, he joined our team. 

Chad knew from a young age that he wanted to parlay his drawing and illustration talents into a creative career. His work draws from pop culture and retro cartoons to develop vibrant, relatable characters that leave viewers a little bit happier than when they first set eyes on his work. While his preferred mediums are Prismacolor Markers, watercolors and pen & ink, the Savannah College of Art and Design graduate has used his digital skills to create graphic content for St. Pete arts organizations such as The Florida International Museum, The Dali, American Stage and the St. Petersburg Shakespeare Festival. Unlike many of his fellow FLORIDARAMA artists who had to scale down their work to fit in the confines of the diorama box, this exhibit gave Chad the opportunity to scale up and present his primarily pen & ink practice in a 3D space.

As both a Fairgrounds St. Pete FLORIDARAMA artist and our Graphic Designer he is in the unique position of being able to create a tiny universe with his diorama that lives within Fairgrounds while also contributing to the overarching narrative of the entire 15,000 ft² exhibit. From outdoor signage to in-world pun-filled design elements, Chad is integral to enhancing each guest’s individual Fairgrounds choose-your-own-adventure experience. Leaving Easter eggs throughout the installation for those adventurous enough to explore to find them, he helps magnify the rich storyful experience that is Fairgrounds, elevating the experience from memorable to magical. 

“As a graphic designer and illustrator, I see myself as a visual storyteller. Working with the Fairgrounds St. Pete team has allowed me to take an exploratory look into Fairgrounds’ narrative and visually represent its core themes in ways that will heighten the guest experience,” said Chad. “Getting to work alongside the production and technology team to see some of my 2D creations come to life in a 3D space is really exciting and I can’t wait to see how people are going to interact with them when we open.”

To view more of Chad’s work, check out:

chadjacobsart.com/

chad-jacobs-art.square.site/

instagram.com/chaddjacobs/

Thank you Olivia Mansion for switching roles and being interviewed for Immersive Conversations!

As you know, Olivia is our Director of Communications and Artist Relations. She is being interviewed by Liz Dimmitt, Fairgrounds CEO/Co-founder.

Olivia directs and manages marketing, social media and communications with artists and the community. She works on telling the story and mission of Fairgrounds St. Pete, as well as communicating and articulating their goals to artists. She is a higher education professional, entrepreneur, and co-founder of OK! Transmit, an art and technology group in South St. Pete, FL. She has worked and consulted with a range of nonprofit and for-profit organizations to develop operations and communications, STEAM and entrepreneurial educational programming. She is passionate about entrepreneurship, artrepreneurship and the wellness industry. When she isn’t working on Fairgrounds St. Pete, you can find her running, meditating, or doing breathwork. Olivia has a Masters in Entrepreneurship from The University of Tampa, and a Masters in Education, English Linguistics and Cross-Cultural Studies from Brown University. Olivia was born in Venezuela and calls South St. Pete home.

“It’s so exciting being part of the Fairgrounds St. Pete founding team. We’re the first experience of its kind in Tampa Bay and guests will be surprised at the thrilling experiences we have in store! In my role, I have the pleasure of supporting our artists in bringing their artwork to life, telling the story of Fairgrounds St. Pete, and working with our founders to shape the direction of the company” Olivia said.

“On a personal level, I’m passionate about entrepreneurship, growth mindset, and cultivating healthy relationships and my role allows me to incorporate all of those every day. I’m grateful to have a supportive team that allows me to play into my strengths and interests. I say it often, and I mean it, we really do have a dream team.”

“I first met Olivia through Mikhail in 2019. We’ve been working together for a little over 2 years. In that time it’s been an honor to watch Olivia grow into her senior leadership role. Working with artists was new to her and she has taken to it. Our Fairgrounds’ artists love working with her and she is a great supporter, collaborator  and cheerleader for them and our team as a whole. I am grateful to have her as a partner in Fairgrounds St. Pete” reports Liz Dimmitt.

Thank you to Stephanie Adamo and Liv Scully for joining us for Immersive Conversations!

Stephanie and Liv are key members of our Fairgrounds St. Pete team. They help us spread the word about Fairgrounds, create enticing programming and share our magic with the public!

Just prior to joining Fairgrounds St. Pete, Stephanie was the Global Public Relations Manager for Disney On Ice overseeing the communications campaigns for nine touring productions across six continents. Her time there included developing national TV appearances on Good Morning America, The View and Dancing on Ice in the UK along with refining the brand’s content strategy to be more rooted in storytelling. Having cut her teeth in independent and punk rock shows, Stephanie combines the grassroots know-how of her concert days with the polish and panache of working with world-class brands to tell Fairground St. Pete’s unique story. 

“Fairgrounds St. Pete is unlike any entertainment experience I have ever had the pleasure of working on!” said Stephanie. “Growing up just outside New York City, I would go to museums and all these cultural touchpoints and always fantasize about what it would be like to step into a work of art. Fairgrounds gives you that experience! When you come to Fairgrounds St. Pete, it’s like you are being plucked from the audience and put right into the middle of the action.”

Local artist and educator, Liv Scully, is Fairgrounds St. Pete’s Immersive Education Manager! Identifying as a socially engaged artist, Liv’s art practice extends outside her studio by facilitating and creating interactive engagements and environments for her community. On top of working with Fairgrounds, Liv is also a Teaching Artist and Educator with NOMAD Art Bus and SPACEcraft where she actively shares hands-on, transformative art experiences with the people of Pinellas County. Before coming to Fairgrounds, she worked building art programs and writing curriculum as the Art Educator Lead at Great Explorations Children’s Museum and installed and oversaw exhibitions with 50+ artists as a Gallery Manager at Creative Pinellas. 

“At Fairgrounds Immersive Learning, education is about opening up a world of possibilities“ said Liv. “With interactive storytelling and immersive experiences as our foundation, and art and technology as key tools, our programs are ever-evolving and expanding. We want to inspire all students to expand their horizons, spark curiosity and have fun along the way.”

Learn more about Stephanie and Liv here:
http://fairgrounds.art/about/