Andy Warhol Birthday Party Brings Pop Art, Impersonators To FloridaRAMA

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — When artist Chris Van Vooren was driving down the road and spotted a discarded 40-gallon tomato paste barrel sitting on the curb, he didn’t see trash; he saw pop artist Andy Warhol.

The Clearwater artist, known for creating murals and three-dimensional works from repurposed materials, had recently gotten the call to create a piece for the upcoming Warhol Birthday & Pop Art Party 4.0 when he spotted the barrel. So, he immediately recognized the possibility: a giant soup can with a Florida twist on one of Warhol’s most iconic images.

“I’m driving down the road, and I was like, ‘Whoa! Like, there it is,’” Van Vooren told Patch.

The accidental roadside discovery became the inspiration for his piece in the Warhol show, a free exhibition opening Friday at the FloridaRAMA Impact Gallery, 2606 Fairfield Ave. S., celebrating the life, work and influence of the legendary artist.

But the monthlong exhibition, on display through Aug. 31, is about more than Campbell’s Soup cans and celebrity portraits. It’s an attempt to recreate the inspired, creative chaos and community of Warhol’s famous Factory, where artists, musicians, filmmakers, writers and outsiders gathered to make something new.

And in true St. Pete fashion, the celebration comes complete with artists, performers, costumes and a cast of characters that includes an Andy Warhol impersonator, an Elizabeth Taylor impersonator, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, Valerie Solanas and even Starfleet Academy cosplayers.

Factory-era costumes are encouraged for the Friday night party, which takes place from 7 to 10 p.m.

“It’s the blur, the controversy, the outrageousness, the paradox,” Cassandra Collins, an arts curator and promoter who will portray Taylor during the event, told Patch. “Andy Warhol was a paradox.”

Collins said Warhol’s ability to blur the lines between fine art, celebrity, advertising and everyday life feels especially relevant today.

“He would have been a pioneer in social media,” she said. “This is what happens on social media every day, but Andy was doing this 60 years ago.”

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For Collins, becoming Taylor is not just about recreating Hollywood glamour. It is about honoring a woman whose legacy extended far beyond the glitz and glamour of her life.

“People remember the diamonds, the husbands, the Oscars, but she lived through real horrible illness, grief and addiction,” Collins said. “She’s like the phoenix that rises out of the dust.”

She admires Taylor’s willingness to use her fame and influence to advocate for others, including her longtime work raising awareness and funds for HIV/AIDS research when the subject was still deeply stigmatized.

“She understood that fame wasn’t the point,” Collins said. “It was what you did with it.”

The idea that creativity belongs to everyone is part of what keeps artist Lucky Leroy returning to the event year after year.

The artist has portrayed Warhol since the celebration’s earliest days and has watched it grow from a smaller gathering into a full-blown pop art spectacle.

And for Leroy, the connection to Warhol goes deeper than the silver wig and black turtleneck. They grew up in Pittsburgh, Warhol’s hometown, lived in New York for two decades and later became involved with the Andy Warhol Museum.

Warhol’s story as a gay artist who created a place where outsiders could find community resonates deeply with Leroy.

“If you were a misfit, you could go to Andy Warhol’s Factory and you could find your people there,” they told Patch.

Leroy also credits Warhol’s influence for shaping their own artistic career. Inspired by the artist's early work as a commercial illustrator and his famous blotted-line technique, Leroy began creating collectible celebrity shoes and later developed projects exploring celebrity culture and storytelling.

For Leroy, the fascination isn’t just with famous people; it’s the stories behind them that really speak to him.

“I love stories and I love storytelling and I love collecting,” they said.

That same spirit is reflected in the work of Van Vooren, whose soup can sculpture combines Warhol’s fascination with mass production and celebrity imagery with his own interest in sustainability.

Van Vooren said he began incorporating upcycled materials into his work partly because of cost, but also because he wanted to keep usable materials out of landfills.

“The upcycled thing has been over the past year,” he said. “A lot of it is due to the fact of the cost of things, and not wanting to pump any more garbage into the system.”

He added that themed exhibitions like the Warhol show provide artists with a creative launching point.

“The creative coming up with the idea part — that’s the hard part,” Van Vooren said. “You’ve got to sit down and pull something literally out of your imagination and bring it into the real world.”

The exhibition is curated by St. Petersburg artist Luke Heath, whose own mixed-media work explores pop culture, typography and satire. Heath has organized exhibitions throughout the area, including at The Factory St. Pete, the Morean Arts Center and other local venues.

The show is presented by FloridaRAMA Impact, the nonprofit arm of FloridaRAMA dedicated to expanding access to art through community programs, artist support and cultural events.

For one night, the gallery, notably located at the Factory in St. Pete, will become its own version of Warhol’s Factory — a place where artists, performers, collectors, cosplayers and curious visitors can all participate.

It’s a fitting location for this year’s Warhol show not just because the venues share a name, The Factory, but because of St. Pete’s own close-knit creative community.

“People think Warhol’s Factory was just a party, but it was really a creative laboratory,” Collins said. “Artists, musicians, filmmakers, writers — they all influenced each other. That’s inspiring.”

The event also makes the arts accessible to everyone, she added.

“You don’t have to be a famous artist to be creative,” Collins said. “It’s something you can participate in, whether you’re making art, wearing a costume, starting a conversation, starting an art collection or simply seeing things differently.”

Friday’s opening celebration will feature live music, art installations, a chalk mural, Warhol screen tests, performers and Factory-inspired costumes.

A Super Star Garage Sale featuring exhibition artists selling their work will take place Aug. 22, 2 to 6 p.m.