The Tampa Museum of Art is dusting off its finest sequins and dealing out playing cards for its fourth annual Art & Aces gala, set for Friday, October 2, from 7:30 to 11 p.m. This year's theme swaps out casino glitz for full Art Deco glamour, with classic casino games and live entertainment filling the museum's galleries for one night only.
Every ticket to the event comes with heavy hors d'oeuvres, an open bar and valet parking, according to the Tampa Museum of Art. Sponsorship packages for the evening start at $1,000, and the gala is being led by co-chairs Gabrie Giammarco and Giavana Hanna. WFLA's Bloom Tampa Bay, in a piece by Lara Benario, describes Art & Aces as the museum's annual signature event, one that blends glitz and glamour with giving and opportunity for Tampa Bay teens.
A Fundraiser Built Around Student Creativity
Unlike a typical gala, every dollar raised at Art & Aces is earmarked for a specific purpose: funding Teen programs and initiatives curated and executed by the museum's Youth Council for the 2026–2027 school year, per the museum's event listing. Giammarco, who serves as co-chair of Art & Aces 2026, was interviewed by Bloom Tampa Bay host Amber Freeman about the event's mission. In earlier comments about the fundraiser, Giammarco said that every dollar raised helps support and impact the Youth Council and Teen Programs, according to Tampa Bay Metro.
That outlet also describes Art & Aces as a signature fundraising event for the museum that directly supports youth and teen arts education. The reach of that support extends well beyond Tampa's city limits: the Youth Council includes students from Howard W. Blake, Freedom, Strawberry Crest, Brandon, Indian Rocks, and Wiregrass Ranch High Schools, spanning Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas counties, the museum notes.
What the Money Has Funded Before
Past proceeds from the gala have gone toward teen workshops, student art exhibitions, and even a youth directors' film festival, according to That's So Tampa. Those programs illustrate what organizers mean when they describe the Youth Council as a hands-on pipeline for young creatives to build real skills and showcase their work, rather than a one-off scholarship fund.
Last year's edition, held September 19, transformed the museum into a Macau-style casino, complete with a red-and-gold Macau Cocktail dress code, per That's So Tampa's report. Tickets for that 2025 gala were listed at $200 for Art+ members and $250 for nonmembers. For 2026, tickets are $200 for Art+ members and $250 for not-yet members, with a Vintage Glamour Cocktail dress code.
Stepping Into the Art Deco Era
This year's theme trades Macau's red-and-gold aesthetic for the glamour and sophistication of the Art Deco era, inviting guests to step back into a bygone age of vintage grandeur while playing classic casino games under the museum's roof. Whatever the visual theme, the mission stays consistent year to year: turning one glitzy night into ongoing opportunity for young creatives across the Tampa Bay area.
