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Hillsborough Should Think Bigger, Not Smaller, With Public-Art Fund

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 20, 2008

It's easy to think of public art as a luxury in tough financial times, but to create a community with a sense of place, investing in public art is a necessity.

Consider the icons of great regions - famous statues, glorious fountains and majestic archways.

Now picture Hillsborough's best-known public art - downtown's exploding chicken, Bayshore's giant slinky and County Center's green-bronze Lady Justice statue. While each has its charm, none reflects the spirit and ambitions of this dynamic county.

We can do better.

So Hillsborough County commissioners should tread cautiously with a proposal to cut the county's public-arts program, which is funded by a 1 percent set-aside on the cost of new government buildings, with a cap of $200,000.

Mike Kelly, director of the county's real estate department, suggests ending the set-aside for three years and foregoing the $700,000 not yet allocated. He also proposes that the county reduce the set-aside to 0.5 percent of a project's budget, with a maximum of $150,000, leaving about $850,000 over three years for new arts projects and the maintenance of existing ones.

Kelly's eagerness to slash the public-art program is shortsighted.

If Hillsborough wants to shake off its economic doldrums, investing in public art makes sense.

The arts not only add value to our landscape, the arts are a magnet for creative industries, cultural tourists, schoolchildren and the workforce of tomorrow.

Yet with tax revenues headed south, officials with a bureaucratic mindset and an unappreciative palate consider the arts a frivolous expense. Someone should remind them of the research conducted for the Arts Council of Hillsborough County two years ago that found the arts have a $323 million annual impact on our economy.

Instead of considering public art a drain, commissioners should focus on maximizing its impact. Europe's great cities didn't become centers of arts and culture by commissioning ticky-tack sculptures and modest expressions of creativity. Even the nation's great Midwestern cities - such as Cincinnati, St. Louis and Kansas City - are famous for their fountains.

Instead of returning the $700,000 to the general fund, commissioners should make a statement with the money.

Here's our suggestion: Fund a challenge grant to build a glorious fountain in downtown Tampa's Curtis Hixon Park - a signature icon that reflects the best of our county. Such an investment in the county's economic heart would inspire hearts and minds for generations to come.

The city of Tampa, which also sets aside 1 percent of the cost of municipal buildings for public art, should quickly match such a challenge grant. The city, which also requires developers in the central business district to install public art or contribute to the city's fund, also hasn't maximized its investment in a signature piece.

Hillsborough is a great county and deserves a vibrant, visual landscape.

Instead of cutting back on public art, commissioners would serve us well by getting a bigger bang for the buck.

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