A new approach by the Kriseman administration may benefit everyone.
St. Petersburg, Fl
Back when Bill Foster was Mayor the City as part of the
"arts destination" concept developed a plan to convert the mundane
PSTA bus stops into a "unified artistic vision" Art in Transit.
Funding was about $2.3 million from the City and a series of
grants. That is a lot of money.
City staff began negotiating (no bidding) with Carol Mickett and
Robert Stack House, Mickett/Stackhouse
Studios, world renown artists located in St. Petersburg.
You can get the detail in the Tampa Bay Times article by Charlie Frago Back
to the drawing board for St. Petersburg's Arts in Transit project.
Late in December of 2015,
after almost eighteen months of not much happening Wayne Atherholt, the City's
Cultural Affairs Director, pulled the plug on the Millet/Stackhouse project.
More from Charlie Frago Tampa
Bay Times, Kriseman
says canceled "Arts in Transit" project wasn't orphaned.
Millet and Stackhouse sit at or near the top of the elite of the
St. Petersburg arts community. The project with their names on it would have
garnered national if not international attention.
The stuff "arts destinations" are made of.
So What Happened?
When Rick Kriseman became Mayor, there was a significant shift in
the City's approach to the arts and the arts community. Kriseman wanted to move
from a subsidized arts community to a sustainable arts community.
To understand what is going on here you need to read my series of
Posts with Wayne Atherholt from May of 2015.
Millet and Stackhouse make the point that they did not get enough
help from the City staff on legal, right of way and other non-artistic issues.
That statement is probably true, but unknown is how and when they sought out
help from the City.
My guess is they were hoping to get the public works support free
from the City and hang on to as much of the $2.3 million as possible.
With $2.3 million to develop the project, it would have been wise
to seek out some help from public work's professionals to resolve common issues
in right of way construction.
Turning over what is as much a public works project, building bus
shelters in the right of way, totally to the artists charged with making them
"artful" is not a very good plan.
The problem is revealed in two quotes from the Frago Article first,
regarding Millet/Stackhouse: "They just weren't able to provide what we normally
get from those types of projects," said Atherholt, he added, we didn't get
what we needed. City officials decided that it needs a team that has more
expertise in public works and engineering. Artists aren't usually in charge of
these types of projects."
Most telling is another quote from Atherholt, "The city
remains excited about the project, which may or may not involve multiple
artists."
Look for the City to divide the Art in Transit Project up into a series
of bids or one bid with a project manager requiring multiple artists and make an
opportunity for numerous local artists to share a piece of the $2.3 Million
dollar pie or what is left of it after the City settles with Millet/Stackhouse.
This approach will put needed revenue into the St. Pete arts community,
a primary Kriseman goal, and the public will actually get something in return.
Will Art in Transit be as "artsy" as would have been
with Millet/Stackhouse? Probably not.
However, Millet/Stackhouse could come right back and bid on a
part of the project.
For now, don't pay too much attention to the balling and whining
of the top end of the St. Pete arts community. Kriseman, Atherholt and the city
team are taking the right approach.
E-mail Doc at mail to: dr.gwebb@yahoo.com
or send me a Facebook (Gene Webb) Friend request. Please comment below, and be sure to share
on Facebook. See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay
Post Photos.
Disclosures:
Contributor: Bob Gualtieri for Pinellas County Sheriff
Contributor: Bob Gualtieri for Pinellas County Sheriff
No comments:
Post a Comment