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Panel Seek Ideas For Palm Harbor Library Artwork

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By Mark  Schantz | The Suncoast News

Published: February 9, 2008

PALM HARBOR, Fla. - PALM HARBOR, Fla. - The search is on for an artwork to adorn the Palm Harbor Library building.

The Pinellas County Cultural Affairs Department and its Public Art and Design Committee are calling for local artists to submit proposals. The panel is looking for an outdoor artwork to be affixed to the library building once remodeling is completed, said Mark Flickinger, public art and design program manager.

Cultural Affairs will pay a $50,000 commission for a creation that can be attached to the facade of the building and would be visible at night from the street.

The committee does not want to restrict the creativity of the artists submitting proposals, so it isn't, for the most part, dictating the sort of work of art to be proposed, Flickinger said.

The panel has, however, ruled out a free-standing sculpture. The sort of statue a $50,000 commission is likely to attract would be so small it would be little more than a "nice lawn ornament" that wouldn't be visible to passing motorists, Flickinger explained.

Although the call for proposals will be nationally advertised, the panel is primarily interested in hearing from area artists, Flickinger acknowledged.

Local artists will have a better idea of the sort of work that would appeal to the community's taste, he said.

In addition, the artist would have to pay the shipping cost to get his or her work here. This also argues in favor of selecting a local artist, Flickinger said.

Artists interested in the Palm Harbor Library commission should submit resumes and proposals by Thursday, Feb. 21. A selection committee will then choose the semi-finalists, who will be asked to submit more detailed renderings.

The artwork will be paid for from a 1 percent set-aside from the construction costs of the library expansion, according to Flickinger. The library is being remodeled using Penny for Pinellas sales tax revenue.

It would be nice to have the artwork up by the time the library remodeling is completed, next January, he said.

Flickinger said the county is also calling for artists, both teams and individuals, willing to be prequalified for park-related public art projects countywide. For example, the Cultural Affairs Department could someday place a sculpture at Wall Springs Park.

The budgets for these public art projects will vary from $25,000 to $150,000, he said.

Teams that are pre-qualified would then have to demonstrate a level of expertise commensurate with the project's scope and budget to win one of these commissions, Flickinger said.

The deadline to register for prequalification is Friday, Feb. 29. Each call-for-artists will have a different selection committee, he said.

For more information call Flickinger at 727-453-7869, or e-mailhim.

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