Video: The Tampa Museum of Art Has Pride!

The Tampa Museum of Art will host the fifth annual Pride & Passion event on Friday, May 21, 2010 from 8 p.m. to midnight. The event, an unofficial "kick-off" to the Bay area's June Gay Pride Month, is designed to engage current and new members with the museum and raise funds for museum exhibitions.

Pride & Passion 2010 will take place in the new 66,000-square-foot Cornelia Corbett Center, the museum's new home located in downtown Tampa's Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park. The new facility opened on February 6, 2010 and features over 26,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space.

The museum will showcase several special exhibitions during Pride & Passion 2010 including Jesper Just: Romantic Delusions (May 8-September 5, 2010); Life Captured: Garry Winogrand's Women are Beautiful (through July 18, 2010); Taking Shape: Works from the Bank of America Collection (through August 1, 2010), The Hidden City: Selections from the Martin Z. Margulies Foundation (through

December 5, 2010) and From Life to Death in the Ancient World: Selections from the Permanent Collection (through January 30, 2011).

Admission to Pride & Passion 2010 is $75 for an individual ticket. Admission includes a one-year, individual level membership to the Tampa Museum of Art, as well as hors d'oeuvres and beverages, and live entertainment throughout the evening. Tickets can be purchased by calling 813-421-8370.

Pride & Passion 2010 is produced by a volunteer steering committee in partnership with the Tampa Museum of Art. Committee members are Chair Scott Moore, owner, Urban Body Men's Clothing Studios; Vice Chair Rob Iles, managing director, Schwartz Consulting Partners, Inc.; Cynthia Agliano, marketing consultant, A Business Printing & Promotions; Tracy Copes, owner and creative director, Daft Generation; Patti Marsters, co-owner, See Jayne Play Productions + Travel, Inc.; Ty Maxey, principal planner, Engelhardt, Hammer & Associates, Inc.; Mark Nash, Consultant/Community Organizer; Robin Sharp, regional corporate account director, Southeast, Cordis Corporation and Lorrie White, owner, Go Figure It, Inc. Scott Taylor, owner of The Taylor Company, a public relations consultancy, is this year's Honorary Chair. A Host Committee is in formation.

Pride & Passion is sponsored by Raymond James. Additional support received from Tim and Gloria Higham, Bern's Steak House, Sidebern's restaurant, conceptBAIT, Inc., Go Figure It, Roi Harper, Ben Hood and Todd D. Smith, Neiman-Marcus, Rob Iles and Mike Paonessa, myQmunity.com, Out & Equal Tampa Bay, Robin Sharp, Urban Body Men's Clothing Studios, and Watermark Media.

Sponsorship opportunities for Pride & Passion 2010 are available. For more information, contact Molly James, director of development at 813-421-8368 or molly.james@tampamuseum.org; or Ann Marie Moulin, special events and membership manager at 813-421-8370 or annmarie.moulin@tampamuseum.org.

About Pride & Passion

Pride & Passion was conceived in 2005 when then interim executive director Ken Rollins approached Scott Taylor to develop an outreach event that would engage new audiences with the museum. Taylor produced the event, which was envisioned as part of a larger effort to reach new, diverse audiences throughout the region, including Tampa Bay's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. The first Pride & Passion, held in June 2006, was the largest one-time membership event ever held at the museum. Since then, the event has generated over 500 new members with over 1,500 people attending the events.

About the Tampa Museum of Art

The new Tampa Museum of Art is located in downtown Tampa's Curtis Hixon Park. Its spectacular 66,000-square-foot Cornelia Corbett Center building opened on February 6, 2010. The museum will provide the region with a variety of world-class traveling exhibitions, a growing collection of contemporary and classical art, expanded educational programs and access to scenic outdoor events along Tampa's Riverwalk. For more information, call 813-274-8130 or visit www.TampaMuseum.org.