Lights On Tampa is a public/private partnership between the City of Tampa’s Art Programs Division and Friends of Tampa Public Art, a 501(c)3 organization that began in 2006 with the desire to bring something bold, of high quality and “on the moment” to Tampa. The objective was to literally put the spotlight on Tampa and its regional assets. The Program returned in 2009 when Tampa hosted the NFL’s Super Bowl XLIII.

The program brings free access to artistic excellence that is fun and family friendly, includes a multi-level education program and presents a lasting element to our cityscape. In 2010, the Program was recognized as one of the 50 most significant art programs in the U.S. in the last 50 years (Americans for the Arts).

Take a tour of the installations!

Special Recognition of contributing agencies:

City of Tampa, Sykes, Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, Tampa Downtown Partnership, AVI-SPL, Caspers Company, Tampa Electric Company, Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority, Verizon, Met Life, Bailey Family Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, State of Florida, SWFMD, Brighthouse, Tampa Bay & Co., Tampa Bay Times, UPPERCASE, Inc, Coda Sound, HART

On September 11, 2001, nineteen al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial US jetliners, deliberately crashing two of the planes into the North and South Towers of the World Trade Center and a third plane into the Pentagon. After learning of the other attacks, passengers and crew members on the fourth plane attempted to commandeer control, and the plane was crashed into an empty field in Western Pennsylvania.  Nearly 3,000 people were killed on that day, the single largest loss of life from a foreign attack on American soil.

 The steel in this memorial is an artifact recovered from the World Trade Center after September 11, 2001 courtesy of the Port Authority of NY & NJ, and is displayed in memory of the nearly 3,000 victims including over 400 first responders.

The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey made available artifacts from the World Trade Center to over 1100 municipalities throughout the United States, which included the City of Tampa.  Wilder Architecture’s developed a symbolic design in which to incorporate the artifact from the fallen towers.  The design resulted in a community effort to realize this concept into a memorial that now rests on Bayshore Blvd. The memorial represents the World Trade Center site on an elevated concrete base, matching the orientation and scale of the site in New York City, but at one-one hundredth the scale of the actual site. The steel artifact from the World Trade Center, held above the base within the symbolic north tower, would function as a sundial.  As the shadow of the artifact falls on the ground each year on the morning of September 11th, the lower slab marks the duration of time from the first airplane's impact on the north tower to the subsequent collapse of the tower on September 11, 2001.

Special Recognition of contributing agencies:

City of Tampa, WILDER ARCHITECTURE; Horus Construction Services, Inc; Miller Structural Engineering, Inc.; W.C. Sherill & Company; VoltAir, Inc.; C.E. Systems, Inc.; Sesco Lighting, Desert Snake Offroad, LLC; Tampa Amalgamated Steel, Coastal Construction Products, Inc.; Mineral Life International

Designer:  Wilder Architecture
Title of Project:   9/11 Memorial
Year Completed:  2011
Materials:  Aluminum, concrete, steel
Location: Bayshore Blvd at Bay to Bay, Tampa, Florida

Led by Mayor Buckhorn, Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas, and the Lights On Tampa Committee, Lights On Tampa: Agua Luces Bridge Lighting is an initiative to permanently light nine landmark bridges in downtown Tampa. To-date, five of the nine bridges, have been illuminated by lighting artist, Tracey Dear. The bridges are: Platt Street Bridge, Brorein Street Bridge, Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority overpass, Kennedy Boulevard Bridge, and the CSX Railroad Bridge. The lighting is a permanent addition to the downtown. www.lightsontampa.org

Special Recognition of contributing agencies:

Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas, Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority, City of Tampa

Images by Ben Dickmann

Through the Public Art Alliance, the Westshore Alliance partnered with the City of Tampa’s Art Programs Division to commission a gateway that welcomes motorists arriving to Tampa from West Hillsborough County, Tampa International Airport, and Pinellas County.  The gateway, titled, Kinetic Ring, sits 24’ tall, just southwest of Westshore Plaza. Also on this site is the home to a memorial listing names of Hillsborough County veterans who died in World War I.

Artist Catherine Woods and MGA Sculpture Studio designed Kinetic Ring to reflect the vibe of Westshore: colorful, lively and active.  The 24’ sculpture features four C-shaped glass panels that form a windmill, mounted on a powder coated steel frame designed and fabricated to MGA Sculpture Studio.  The shape of the glass suggests a kinetic appearance, and is designed for a drive-by experience. The glass is painted and etched with photographic images taken from the area.

Special Recognition of Contributing Agencies
City of Tampa, Public Art Program, Westshore Alliance, Westshore Residential Neighborhood Improvement fund    

Location:  Intersection of Kennedy Blvd and Memorial Highway

Photos by Mike Rixon

This sculpture by George Sugarman was originally commissioned in 1985 by NationsBank and installed at the corner of Ashley Drive and Kennedy Boulevard. America’s Capital Partners donated the sculpture to the City of Tampa in 2011.  Several local businesses donated services to the City of Tampa to relocate, restore, and install this 36 foot sculpture from downtown to the Channel district, which now serves as a gateway to Tampa at the port, visitors to Ybor City and residents.

“George Sugarman (1912-1999), was a prolific, controversial, and forward-thinking American artist. His sculptures, drawings, and paintings defy a definitive style. As an innovator in pedestal-free sculpture and vividly painted metal sculptures, Sugarman was continually expanding on the metamorphoses of his prodigious creativity.” – George Sugarman Foundation

Special recognition of private sector:
Aaron Hendry, Allen C. deOlazarra, America’s Capital Partners,
David Hale, Tampa Tank, Florida Structural Steel, Stantec-WilsonMiller,
Ironworkers Local 397, Batson-Cook, Morrow Steel, Gulf Marine

Photos by George Cott

"An American Journey"

The public/private Ybor City mural project was designed and produced under the artistic direction of muralist Michael Parker, supported by community volunteers and art students from Hillsborough Community College Ybor Campus.  The mural covers 12,000 square feet of surface area, the largest outdoor original artwork in the state of Florida.  
The design incorporates three integrating themes and six individual messages reflecting the experience of the Ybor National Historic Landmark District, past and present.  The integrating themes are: the Journey through Life, Conflict between Tradition and Progress, and The American Experience.  For additional information on the project, please visit  www.yborartproject.com

Special Recognition:  
Dave Scott, Mike Parker, Kevin Schweikhart, City of Tampa, Art Programs Division, Hillsborough Community College, Ybor City Rotary Club, Columbia Restaurant,  Kimmins Construction, Vykin Corp, Actsoft Corp, Brandon School of Dance Arts, Cabs Plus, Chinthe Consulting, Fabricated Products, Salem Enterprise Solutions, Radiant Oil, SAFWAY Scaffolding and Access Solns (scaffolding), Andy Steinmann – Corrosion Specialties, Inc. (surface prep), Marc Benigno – The Sherwin Williams Company (paint), Jason Braun – Ring Power/The CAT Rental Store (high lift equipment), Rick Sendker – Glendale Painting Corp., Mark Wilson – Empire Paint (brushes and painting materials), Labor Finders
Hoffman Porges Gallery, Bad Monkey Ybor, Ybor Round Table, Ybor City Development Corporation, Special Forces Motorcycle Club, Rolling Thunder, Scott Neil, Brian Keeth, Gene Siudut, Ashley “Thunder” Lowe, Danny Tomlinson, Charlie Gifford, Basil Castrovince, Fabricated Products, Hoffman Porges Gallery

The City of Tampa, Arts Programs division released a national call to artists to create an artwork for Trio at ENCORE!, a new building in downtown Tampa. Three blank concrete walls, each 20’ long and 12’ high have been designed into the façade of a 200’ brick wall that runs around the perimeter of the Trio apartment homes. This lends an opportunity for a public art installation which will face the newly renovated Perry Harvey Park. The area will serve as a gathering place and will feature a stage to be used for local musicians, outdoor cinema, and other entertainment purposes.

Out of the many candidates, Artist Natalie Blake was selected to create the artwork. The subject for Blake’s series is the historic African American business district, known as Central Avenue, and its surrounding neighborhoods.  Natalie worked with the committee, researched photographic archives, and sought community input. This gave her the foundation to create The Gift of Gathering Remembrances, a three-panel ceramic mural.

“The Gift of Gathering Remembrances” tells a story of the formation, change and growth of a historically rich Tampa neighborhood: Central Avenue. In each panel, the artist uses the sun as its origin to identify the era that is being depicted. The panels are made up of 40 smaller tiles, each 18” squares and hand carved. The tiles are made by smoothing a slab of clay over handmade forms to give them undulation. Designs are then carved in each tile using the ancient technique of "sgraffito" meaning "to scratch".  Next, the tiles are grouted in place where the hand-carved details of each tile lend themselves to viewing from a distance or up close.  

The mural dates from 1820-1967. The first panel, which is titled, Dawning Sun Building the Bedrock of the Future Central Avenue, focuses on the dates of 1820-1920. It features the sun peaking up over the horizon, creating a sense of the time the African American community began to flourish in the Tampa region. The second panel is titled Noonday Sun: Central Ave in its Heyday, which focuses on the dates of 1920-1967. This mural depicts the noon sun at center-left of the mural. Radiating outwards are many of the accomplishments, inspirations, trends created, and people in service of their community during this time. The third panel, which touches on the dates 1967-future, is titled Future Sun: Dissolution into Solution. The panel depicts the sun rising in the sky with a group of hands encircling it. This represents energy transfer to, and among the community. The imagery celebrates the diversity that has made up the community after desegregation and into this century.

Special Recognition of Contributing Agencies: 
Bank of America Community Development Corporation, Tampa Housing Authority, Trio at Encore, LP, City of Tampa, Art Programs Division. Public/Private partnership with City Of Tampa and the Tampa Housing Authority & BOA City of Tampa Arts Programs Division contributed 25% of the budget.   

Location: 1101 Ray Charles Blvd. TRIO is located on the Encore! Campus. The artwork is located on the west facing wall overlooking historic Central Avenue

The City of Tampa Art Programs, Tampa Downtown Partnership, and the Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority called on local artist Tim Boatright to create an artwork to display along the Selmon Expressway on ramp. The location of the ramp wall on South Franklin Street is a high pedestrian traffic area for residents and visitors walking between downtown hotels and the Tampa Convention Center. The three organizations recognized this and saw it as an opportunity for a public art project that would enhance the area. Due to their collaboration, residents and visitors no longer walk past a large, blank concrete wall. They now walk past “Frames on Franklin,” a series of framed artwork which showcases six of Tampa’s historic landmarks. The poster style images will also be featured on traffic signal boxes throughout downtown Tampa.

Tampa native Tim Boatright was carefully selected by the three organizations as the artist for the Frames on Franklin project. Tim’s goal was to capture and celebrate Tampa’s history as well as its future. In order to do this he chose six city icons to produce in a graphic style inspired by travel posters, cigar art, and fruit crate labels, all important parts of Tampa’s rich history. The six icons he chose were the Tampa Theatre, the Port of Tampa, Tampa City Hall, the Tampa Riverwalk, the University of Tampa and the Floridian Hotel. It took Tim around 30 hours to create each graphic image, which start from hand drawings and photographic references.

“Frames on Franklin” is one of many projects that came about as a result of the Downtown Partnership Beautification program. The graphic style images not only add vibrant colors along South Franklin Street and to traffic signal boxes, but also give visitors a peek into Tampa’s iconic landmarks. 

Special Recognition of Contributing Agencies: City of Tampa Art Programs Division, Tampa Downtown Partnership, Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority, Aramark the Tampa Convention Center concession contractor also donated funds for the project

Location:South Franklin Street. The artwork is located across from the USF Health Center Building