Book + Banisadr Book Club | Mythology + History

Book + Banisadr Book Club | Mythology + History In conjunction with Ali Banisadr: The Alchemist, the MFA is proud to introduce the Book + Banisadr Book Club, a three-part literary program that invites participants to immerse themselves into the complex, turbulent worlds of Banisadr’s works through the lens of contemporary fiction that mimic the artist’s practice in both chaos and composure. Held in partnership with Book + Bottle, a beloved local independent bookstore and wine bar, each session will focus on a thoughtfully selected book that echoes the figurative illusions rooted in autobiographical narratives, sonic recollection, invented stories, world history, collective memory, and mythology embedded in the imagery of Ali Banisadr’s work. Through this one-of-a-kind pairing of literature and art, historical themes will be reexamined against the dreadful, real, and unreal stories we tell ourselves. Each session will feature a specially paired wine and will be carefully facilitated to bridge the artworks in the exhibition to the relevant and resonant conversations shaping our society today. This month’s selection, Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James, is an award-winning, genre-defying novel that blends myth, fantasy, and African history in an epic quest to find a missing child—exploring truth, power, and the stories we choose to believe. Driving Banisadr’s practice is an encyclopedic knowledge of art history, literature, and philosophy, references of which can be read in each work. His sprawling, light-filled studio is filled with books and research material. Lining floor-to-ceiling bookshelves are tomes on everything from miniature painting to Bruegel and the Renaissance painter Hieronymus Bosch, who has always been a huge influence, as well as Dante Alighieri, Rumi, and Andrei Tarkovsky. “I have a group that I circle around and I always go back to,” Banisadr says. “For example, Dante’s Inferno or Homer’s Odyssey. I could keep reading and rereading these epic poems. To me they are so full of visual things.” Book + Banisadr Book Club | Mythology + History Thursday, June 4, 2026 6:00 PM–8:00 PM Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg 255 Beach Drive NE, St. Petersburg FL 33701 $25 for Members; $35 for Not-Yet-Members TICKETS Tickets include program and 1 glass of wine. Additional wine available for purchase. Not yet a member? Become a member today and enjoy all the benefits membership at the MFA offers! MFA Members enjoy free admission for an entire year, early access to special exhibitions, discounts at the MFA Shop and Café Clementine, special member-only exclusive events, and more. Bring the whole family! BECOME A MEMBER About Book + Bottle Book + Bottle is a bottle shop, an independent bookstore, a coffee café, and a wine bar all rolled into one exquisite little package. They have the most passionate, friendly, and helpful team in town to help you choose a book or a bottle or to take care of you and your friends on your night...