Over the past few years, the Tampa Bay area has seen an explosion of outdoor art, from murals to sculptures to statues. As the weather begins to cool off and we continue to look for new socially distanced activities, there’s never been a better time to get out and explore. On the following pages, we’ve put together a mini tour of open-air public art in cities around Bay. Decide to check out any of these pieces this fall? Share your snaps with us on Instagram @tampamagazine.
TAMPA
Our city’s new hot spot for murals is Tampa Heights. Over the past two years, the Tampa Bay Fresh Fest has brought dozens of new pieces to the walls of industrial buildings around North Franklin Street, Florida Avenue and Nebraska Avenue (between I-275 to the south and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the north). One of the area’s newest additions, by Juan-Pablo and Vanessa Parra of CAPco Art, welcomes motorists to the neighborhood with a mural that pops off the side of the Garagiste Meadery with Florida false sunflowers, pink lotuses and a Florida scrub jay (all native to the area). To extend your tour up to Seminole Heights, check out the map put together by the nonprofit organization Art Up. They pair artists with businesses and other organizations looking to add artwork to their walls and outdoor spaces, resulting in projects like the Heights Unites mural at Brew Bus Brewing.
ARTIST >CAPco ART
1506 N. Florida Ave.
Tampa, FL 33602
capcoart.com
ST. PETERSBURG
Artists from around the country have flocked to the walls of Downtown St. Petersburg over the past decade, making the streets around the Central Arts District some of the most colorful in the area. The centerpiece of St. Pete’s street art scene is SHINE, the annual mural festival that returns this year from November 7 to 14. Ten artists will paint new murals around the city in partnership with “Sea Walls: Artists for Oceans,” an initiative from the ocean conservation nonprofit the PangeaSeed Foundation. Throughout the week, visitors can (from a safe distance) watch artists complete their murals, all of which will have an environmental theme. St. Pete-based artists the Vitale Brothers helped launch the partnership with their 2019 SHINE mural, Bait & Switch. Inspired by classic pop art, the mural features species like red snapper and sea turtles that are native to our area alongside cartoon-like characters that allude to humans’ romantic view of the ocean — even when they don’t always take care of it. One more cool addition: Download the PixelStix app before checking out St. Pete’s murals. As you walk or drive around, turn on your location settings to be directed to all the artwork near you on an interactive map, which features photos, videos and even narration about each mural.
ARTIST > THE VITALE BROTHERS
301 20th St. S.
vitalebrothers.com
(727) 520-0969
ALSO CHECK OUT:
Bending Arc
By Janet Echelman
St. Pete Pier
600 2nd Ave. N.E.
stpetepier.org
SARASOTA
The pandemic has spurred a new crop of art to blossom around Sarasota, beginning with Karen Chandler’s tribute to the city’s healthcare workers, Sarasota Heroes. After seeing the small bit of hope and relief it provided the community, the city of Sarasota partnered with the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County to launch “Paint Sarasota with Love,” a new program funding the creation of half a dozen new murals by the end of September. One of the first to be completed is a soon-to-be-titled mural by Kayla Corbert on the side of the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe building celebrating legendary Black musicians like Aretha Franklin, James Brown and Marvin Gaye. Across town, a team of artists, led by Tim Jaeger, just wrapped up a series of postcardstyle murals recalling Sarasota’s beaches in their heyday at the newly renovated Lido Beach Pavilion.
ARTIST > KAREN CHANDLER
1717 2nd St.
Sarasota, FL, 34236
karenchandlerfineart.com
ALSO CHECK OUT:
Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe Mural
By Kayla Corbert
1012 N. Orange Ave.
Sarasota, FL 34236
DUNEDIN
This town is going to the dogs — or its art is, at least. One of Dunedin’s most famous murals is Welcome to Dogedin on the side of Skip’s Bar & Grill. Artist Anna Fields has painted more than 400 dogs in the mural, all for a good cause. Through her nonprofit Murals for Mutts, Fields paints dog owners’ beloved pooch into the mural in exchange for a donation to the animal welfare charity of the owners’ choosing. About a block away, you’ll find the so-called “Walls of Wonder,” a cluster of colorful, geometric murals at Stirling Commons, on the southwest corner of Broadway and Main streets. Finally, Weaver Park along the Main Street waterfront is home to a collection of vintage postcard murals that make the perfect backdrop for a quintessentially Floridian holiday card.
ARTIST > ANNA FIELDS
Skip’s Bar & Grill
371 Main St.
Dunedin, FL 34698
muralsformutts.com
ALSO CHECK OUT:
Walls of Wonder
730 Broadway
Dunedin, FL 34698
Postcard Murals
Weaver Park
1258 Bayshore Blvd.
Dunedin, FL 34698
CLEARWATER
Downtown Clearwater’s Cleveland Street is the center of the city’s public art focus, with even necessary objects like storm drains and electrical boxes being turned into canvases for murals and illustrations. One of its biggest and most notable pieces is Elysian Days by Argentinian-born and Tampa Bay-based Cecilia Lueza. She was inspired by the vibrant hues and free-flowing shapes of the rainforest when designing this piece, one of the highlights of Clearwater’s public art tour. The city’s Community Redevelopment Agency has created an interactive map with details on all the artwork found throughout downtown, so you can create your own tour over the course of a morning or afternoon.
ARTIST > CECILIA LUEZA
512 Cleveland St.
Clearwater, FL 33755
lueza.com
LAKELAND
Through the end of 2020, Downtown Lakeland will play host to the Florida Outdoor Sculpture Competition. More than 70 sculptures were submitted for consideration, and 11 finalists were chosen for display along Lemon Street by a jury made up of city of Lakeland staff, Polk Museum of Art representatives and members of the local art community. Materials range from bronze to found objects, and the pieces tell stories about literary history, the natural world and technology. Roughly half of this year’s nominated artists hail from Florida, including Lakeland’s own Keith Williams, whose sculpture Seasons of Life is up for consideration. While public voting concluded in August, the pieces will be on display through December beside Lakeland’s iconic Lake Mirror.
ARTIST > KEITH WILLIAMS
Lemon Street, between South Florida Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue
Lakeland, FL 33801
4thdimensionfab.com
