Water taxi on Hillsborough River

Tampa Public Art - Introduction

Introduction

The following excerpts are taken from the TAMPA Public Art PROGRAM GUIDELINES, prepared by McGregor Consulting with Donna Graves in June, 2000.

In 1998, McGregor Consulting, in association with Donna Graves, began a master plan process with the Tampa Art in Public Places Program (now known as Tampa Public Art, hereinafter referred to as "TPA"). Visits in April and August included many meetings with City officials and members of the cultural community. The repositioning of the program under the Tampa Museum of Art and unrelated staffing changes put the planning process on hold. Work resumed with a visit in April 1999 with focus groups to discuss education, community participation, downtown development, and the transition to the Tampa Museum of Art ("TMA")*.

*NOTE: The Public Art Program currently falls under Art Programs Division Manager, who reports to the Chief of Staff.

From these visits, we concluded that there was a pressing need to develop solid program guidelines that develop connections to other city department and ethical art acquisition practices that are on par with those of those of TMA. The Program Guidelines presented here outline every step in the Public Art process from identifying a project to selecting an artist, and managing a Public Art collection. Many of the changes have already been incorporated into the daily practices of the program, and the major ones are summarized here.

The procedures are designed to stand alone and are divided into sections to address the following areas:

    • Program Organization, Governance and Staffing Responsibilities;
    • Procedures for City sponsored projects from project planning to artist selection to collection management;
    • Procedures that give the TPA Program a guiding role for non-city funded projects such as those Downtown, or other privately supported projects, as well as clear policies for gifts, loans and memorials.

Conclusion

Managing a Public Art collection is a great responsibility that requires consistent teamwork and collaboration. Tampa has made great headway in the past two years toward building an effective and efficient program. This ongoing commitment must be embraced by all participants.