Stephen Oliver's

Artist Stephen Oliver with his sculpture
"Best Kept Secret"  

"Best Kept Secret" Sculpture 
to be dedicated in Gulfport, Florida, Saturday, April 18, 2015

Gulfport, Florida will dedicate Stephen Oliver's sculpture, "Best Kept Secret," during the city's Saturday Artwalk on April 18th, 2015, at 6:30 pm.  

“Best Kept Secret" was commissioned by the Gulfport Merchants Association(GMA) and installed last year (see the blog entry 7/18/14).

Artist/sculptor Stephen Oliver will join Gulfport officials and the public for the dedication. The Gulfport Artwalk begins at 6pm with artists and craft vendors lining the walkway through the bustling, village of galleries, shops and restaurants with background music from acoustic musicians. The city's route through the village and down to the beach front is Beach Boulevard, also winding past Gulfport's park where visitors can view an installation of sculptures by fine artists.

Stephen Oliver’s "Best Kept Secret" has been installed at the city's waterfront national landmark, the Gulfport Casino, not a gambling establishment, but a community events building that spans several historical eras including the years of segregation and intolerance in the South. Today, Gulfport is an artful, progressive, welcoming town, known for all of those attributes and the diversity that makes it dynamic. "Best Kept Secret" was inspired by the people and the journey of Gulfport. The artist cut this original poem into the burnished metal sides of the sculptural boat:

All hands together joined to Row

     Make rainbows of gauntlets as they go. 

Check the Gulfport Facebook page for more information

Stephen Oliver is the designer and creator of  the  "Make it Right" logo that encourages peace as an action by every person. He prints his design on t-shirts for infants to 4x adult. affinityarts.info