When Will Tampa's Arts Community Get REAL ?

Let's start this out with the clear statement that I and TAMPAGOLD.COM are supporters of the Arts. Especially anything that allows for the public at large to have exposure to the arts. We are stating this up front because we know the overzealous arts junkies are going to give us grief for the rest of this posting. Lights on Tampa is a good start in reaching to the Tampa community. See our coverage of the event here.

The old expression of the "squeaking wheel gets the grease" is clearly applicable in Tampa's so called "arts community." There are many really talented local artists that work their rear ends off creating some really unique works and then working at almost the same intensity trying to find locations to show their works that aren't squeezing them for every dollar along the way. But it is frequenly the "squeaking" monied crowd that gets heard. Tampa is fortunate to have the likes of Kama Gallery in North Ybor, Covivant Gallery in Seminole Heights, and many others that work tirelessly to provide exposure to this ever growing group of local artists. They have little to show for it and receive virtually no city recognition.

It is the big guys that are the problem. We have heard so many complaints about the recently concluded Georgia O'Keefe exhibit at the Tampa Museum of Art that is has really gotten our attention.

What is wrong with Georgia O'Keefe ? Nothing. Her works are great. WE LIKE GEORGIA O'KEEFE. BUT from October 2 to January 8th, this highly promoted show stayed pretty scarce of Georgia O'Keefe works. If you went to the museum expecting to really enjoy O'Keefe's works, guess again. You could have counted them all using fingers, no need for any toes in this arithmetic.

The Museum touted their record attendance during that three month show at 24,685. If you figure they could maintain that pace for a year, (which they can't) that would put their annual attendance at about 100,000. Gasparilla will attract many times that many in one day. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers has had a sell out crowd at every game since 1998, with 65,657 seats. Maybe we should scrap the arts and stick with Pirates, Booze, and Football. Will Tampa support the arts and at what cost ? And should they ?

The City currently plans to provide annual funding to the Tampa Museum of Art of $1,000,000 per year to fund a new museum, that means a supplement of at least $10 for every attendee plus an up to $8 admission fee. And do not forget all the corporate and individual sponsors and fundraising events, etc.

The Museum supporters have not been getting along with Mayor Iorio since she tried to be a fiscally responsible elected official and hold them accountable for the financing on the now defunct museum design last year.

Mayor Iorio says "the arts bring people together". As discussion continues on a possible new Tampa Museum of Art, more support for local artists needs to be part of the City's arts agenda. And we don't mean some lame effort that Arts Ybor has become.

We call on the City of Tampa to aggressively provide support to local artists by taking the following steps:
1. allocate the proposed funding for the Tampa Museum of Art to our next five steps until the new museum is completed, then maintain local artists support at $500,000 per year, even if it means reducing support to the Museum by that amount;
2. provide a complete directory of area galleries and artists that is used as a key marketing tool for the City of Tampa. While the Hillsborough County Arts Council does this to some degree, many artists feel excluded by the process. You can visit their site here.
3. provide specific assistance encouraging outdoor arts events at virtually all of Tampa's over 100 city parks, bringing art to the neighborhoods and helping to emphasize the beautiful assets we have in our neighborhood parks. (How about some live outdoor theatre ? St. Pete sure made this work.)
4. assist in the funding and promotion of shows at the various private galleries and theatres throughout the City that emphasizes local artists.
5. whether it be through the Museum or otherwise, encourage more local participation with sponsored juried shows for local artists and with more hands on involvement with beginning artists, including the performing arts.
6. create an artists exhibit at the Tampa Airport to highlight our local artistic community and offerings to visitors and to travelling Tampa residents.

You never know, we might have someone in our midst that could become as famous as Georgia O'Keefe. What value would that have to the City of Tampa ? Let's invest in our local artistic talent with neighborhood based outdoor shows and gallery events. It is money well spent. What do you think ?