A Portrait In Contrasts
Published: March 15, 2008
TAMPA - Consider it a tale of two cities, culturally speaking.
Tampa and St. Petersburg may be part of the larger Tampa Bay area family, but they often diverge when it comes to the arts, and the energy needed to keep artists and organizations active in their centers.
Even an untrained eye can see differences. Downtown Tampa brims with business and commerce, but many say that, with a few notable exceptions, its cultural vigor doesn't reflect the city's demographic. Across the water, St. Petersburg prides itself on a palpable arts identity and the residents who rally around it.
"St. Petersburg has issued a challenge to us," said Art Keeble, director of the Arts Council of Tampa-Hillsborough County. "St. Petersburg has a longer history of cultural development downtown and more active heavy hitters who step up to the plate. But people here in Tampa are beginning to realize that, and are catching up."
An example of St. Petersburg's cultural savvy is expansion of the Museum of Fine Arts, which next week celebrates a public opening of the new $21 million Hazel Hough Wing. The space more than doubles the museum's size. It also was completed on time, under budget and with mostly private dollars.
The Tampa Museum of Art, on the other hand, has struggled with false starts, bickering between its board and the mayor, one ill-conceived design plan and questions about its future location. It also has had to deal with the red tape of city funding.
"What has propelled St. Pete has been the very active, generous donors who stepped up - the private community," said Paul Wilborn, executive director of the Palladium Theatre in St. Petersburg. "In some ways, the public arrangement with the Tampa Museum has held it back."
But persistence will pay off, Tampa residents hope, with the planned opening of the new $33 million Tampa Museum of Art late next year. It will be flanked by two other cultural points of interest, the proposed Tampa History Center and Tampa Children's Museum.
Does The Big Picture Include Art?
The art museum project in some ways reflects Tampa's dirgelike pace in developing cultural character. While St. Petersburg benefits from a clear vision about the arts, Tampa's perspective tends to be opaque, said former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman.
"The St. Petersburg community as a whole has decided art is one of the things it wants to have, and until it's part of Tampa's community vision, it won't come about," she said. "Tampa has said it about sports. But the community as a whole has never come together and gotten behind the arts."
Tampa's moniker as a "city of the arts" has been slow to materialize, experts say, and could stall further with a projected $17 million shortfall in city revenue this fiscal year. The city still has plans to invest $400 million in capital projects during the next two years, including the Tampa Museum and Curtis Hixon Park.
But Tampa is hardly a cultural ghost town. Along with the historic Tampa Theatre on Franklin Street, the focal point of downtown's arts scene has been the $57 million Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, which last year attracted 620,000 people to more than 3,500 events. Many subscribe to the popular Broadway series and the center's own Opera Tampa, now in its 12th season.
The center's size, attendance and $35 million annual budget make it Florida's largest cultural organization and the biggest arts facility south of Washington. It also is a major player in the county's $325 million annual impact from cultural groups, compared with the $160 million impact of the arts in Pinellas County.
In St. Petersburg, much of that impact comes from a short list that would include the Dali Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, the newly renovated Mahaffey Theater, the Florida International Museum, the Florida Holocaust Museum, the historic Palladium, American Stage Theatre, Florida Craftsmen, Studio 620 and dozens of small but highly active arts groups.
What ties these groups together? They surfaced through a grassroots desire by the people who live there, said Judith Powers, director of the Pinellas County Cultural Affairs Department.
"It's been a natural evolution that hasn't been forced," she said. "It's been based on need and strong, visionary leadership within the city."
College Taps Into Arts Scene
A big boost has come from the education sector - St. Petersburg College - which owns the Palladium, and recently ventured into a partnership with American Stage on a 40-year lease for a new theater space.
"It's very symbiotic," said Andy Orrell, a spokesman for American Stage. "It's nice to have a partner taking care of the building, and they enjoy an association with a theater company."
The college also lured the Bay area's largest performing arts group to downtown St. Petersburg. Last month, The Florida Orchestra moved its administrative offices to a college-owned building, ending its 40-year association with Tampa.
"It was a dream deal, a real win-win situation," said Henry Adams, a spokesman for the orchestra, who added that it makes sense to be based in a city with more cultural energy.
"I remember coming out after work to downtown Tampa and it was like an abandoned movie set," he said. "St. Petersburg has art galleries and restaurants, and it's so much more vibrant and organically integrated. And there are people really living here."
Sprawl Might Be A Hindrance
Most everyone who works in Tampa lives outside of downtown. But Hillsborough County also is 1,266 square miles - nearly twice the size of Pinellas County - and with a far more sprawling population. This creates a challenge for a centralized arts community, said Hazel Hough, an arts philanthropist and 57-year resident of St. Petersburg.
"Tampa has lots of land and people can spread out all over Hillsborough, while we are just a little peninsula," she said. "So, we have to huddle together, and that's been to our advantage to some extent."
Keeble agrees: "St. Pete has critical mass. If we concentrated those people downtown, we could have the same cultural environment as St. Pete."
That soon may change. Downtown Tampa, the Channel District and Harbour Island are seeing a flurry of growth in the condo market. Downtown's population is expected to jump from about 1,000 today to 5,000 by the end of the year and 7,500 by 2010, according to the Tampa Downtown Partnership and the commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.
"It will come," Judith Lisi, president of the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, says of Tampa's cultural momentum. "The nail on the head is residential."
Reporter Kurt Loft can be reached at (813) 259-7570 or kloft@tampatrib.com.
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/mar/15/na-a-portrait-in-contrasts/
Published: March 15, 2008
TAMPA - Consider it a tale of two cities, culturally speaking.
Tampa and St. Petersburg may be part of the larger Tampa Bay area family, but they often diverge when it comes to the arts, and the energy needed to keep artists and organizations active in their centers.
Even an untrained eye can see differences. Downtown Tampa brims with business and commerce, but many say that, with a few notable exceptions, its cultural vigor doesn't reflect the city's demographic. Across the water, St. Petersburg prides itself on a palpable arts identity and the residents who rally around it.
"St. Petersburg has issued a challenge to us," said Art Keeble, director of the Arts Council of Tampa-Hillsborough County. "St. Petersburg has a longer history of cultural development downtown and more active heavy hitters who step up to the plate. But people here in Tampa are beginning to realize that, and are catching up."
An example of St. Petersburg's cultural savvy is expansion of the Museum of Fine Arts, which next week celebrates a public opening of the new $21 million Hazel Hough Wing. The space more than doubles the museum's size. It also was completed on time, under budget and with mostly private dollars.
The Tampa Museum of Art, on the other hand, has struggled with false starts, bickering between its board and the mayor, one ill-conceived design plan and questions about its future location. It also has had to deal with the red tape of city funding.
"What has propelled St. Pete has been the very active, generous donors who stepped up - the private community," said Paul Wilborn, executive director of the Palladium Theatre in St. Petersburg. "In some ways, the public arrangement with the Tampa Museum has held it back."
But persistence will pay off, Tampa residents hope, with the planned opening of the new $33 million Tampa Museum of Art late next year. It will be flanked by two other cultural points of interest, the proposed Tampa History Center and Tampa Children's Museum.
Does The Big Picture Include Art?
The art museum project in some ways reflects Tampa's dirgelike pace in developing cultural character. While St. Petersburg benefits from a clear vision about the arts, Tampa's perspective tends to be opaque, said former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman.
"The St. Petersburg community as a whole has decided art is one of the things it wants to have, and until it's part of Tampa's community vision, it won't come about," she said. "Tampa has said it about sports. But the community as a whole has never come together and gotten behind the arts."
Tampa's moniker as a "city of the arts" has been slow to materialize, experts say, and could stall further with a projected $17 million shortfall in city revenue this fiscal year. The city still has plans to invest $400 million in capital projects during the next two years, including the Tampa Museum and Curtis Hixon Park.
But Tampa is hardly a cultural ghost town. Along with the historic Tampa Theatre on Franklin Street, the focal point of downtown's arts scene has been the $57 million Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, which last year attracted 620,000 people to more than 3,500 events. Many subscribe to the popular Broadway series and the center's own Opera Tampa, now in its 12th season.
The center's size, attendance and $35 million annual budget make it Florida's largest cultural organization and the biggest arts facility south of Washington. It also is a major player in the county's $325 million annual impact from cultural groups, compared with the $160 million impact of the arts in Pinellas County.
In St. Petersburg, much of that impact comes from a short list that would include the Dali Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, the newly renovated Mahaffey Theater, the Florida International Museum, the Florida Holocaust Museum, the historic Palladium, American Stage Theatre, Florida Craftsmen, Studio 620 and dozens of small but highly active arts groups.
What ties these groups together? They surfaced through a grassroots desire by the people who live there, said Judith Powers, director of the Pinellas County Cultural Affairs Department.
"It's been a natural evolution that hasn't been forced," she said. "It's been based on need and strong, visionary leadership within the city."
College Taps Into Arts Scene
A big boost has come from the education sector - St. Petersburg College - which owns the Palladium, and recently ventured into a partnership with American Stage on a 40-year lease for a new theater space.
"It's very symbiotic," said Andy Orrell, a spokesman for American Stage. "It's nice to have a partner taking care of the building, and they enjoy an association with a theater company."
The college also lured the Bay area's largest performing arts group to downtown St. Petersburg. Last month, The Florida Orchestra moved its administrative offices to a college-owned building, ending its 40-year association with Tampa.
"It was a dream deal, a real win-win situation," said Henry Adams, a spokesman for the orchestra, who added that it makes sense to be based in a city with more cultural energy.
"I remember coming out after work to downtown Tampa and it was like an abandoned movie set," he said. "St. Petersburg has art galleries and restaurants, and it's so much more vibrant and organically integrated. And there are people really living here."
Sprawl Might Be A Hindrance
Most everyone who works in Tampa lives outside of downtown. But Hillsborough County also is 1,266 square miles - nearly twice the size of Pinellas County - and with a far more sprawling population. This creates a challenge for a centralized arts community, said Hazel Hough, an arts philanthropist and 57-year resident of St. Petersburg.
"Tampa has lots of land and people can spread out all over Hillsborough, while we are just a little peninsula," she said. "So, we have to huddle together, and that's been to our advantage to some extent."
Keeble agrees: "St. Pete has critical mass. If we concentrated those people downtown, we could have the same cultural environment as St. Pete."
That soon may change. Downtown Tampa, the Channel District and Harbour Island are seeing a flurry of growth in the condo market. Downtown's population is expected to jump from about 1,000 today to 5,000 by the end of the year and 7,500 by 2010, according to the Tampa Downtown Partnership and the commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield.
"It will come," Judith Lisi, president of the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, says of Tampa's cultural momentum. "The nail on the head is residential."
Reporter Kurt Loft can be reached at (813) 259-7570 or kloft@tampatrib.com.
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/mar/15/na-a-portrait-in-contrasts/