Pinellas Park Public Art Plan

Pinellas Park, Florida

WHY
As the physical heart of Pinellas County, the City of Pinellas Park has grown into a uniquely open, accessible community. There were great opportunities to enhance the community’s identity with residents and neighbors in the region. A key priority of the public art programming in Pinellas Park was to help create an ecosystem of artists, creatives, performers, and consumers. Past efforts have encouraged artists to locate within the Arts Village, creating opportunities for artists to showcase their art and patrons to enjoy and purchase it. The public art program was needed to help expand the art ecosystem in the city by creating new opportunities for artists and visitors to experience art.

HOW
Focusing on the future was a key perspective of the planning team. The plan was not created just for today but also creates an impactful, sustainable public art program for the future. This program was developed to outlast those involved in this process in order to create solid deliverables for years to come. The community engagement efforts that were undertaken as part of the planning process were key to developing not only the vision and priorities for public art, but also the ideas that will help ensure public art becomes a beacon for residents and visitors in Pinellas Park. Engagement efforts included a large-scale survey, as well as in-person engagement at a number of events.

WHAT
The foundation of the Pinellas Park Public Art Plan rests on four pillars: community engagement, stakeholder feedback, best practices, and a forward focus. Step by step, the City of Pinellas Park will be able to formalize, initiate, and fund a public art program that will have a lasting impact on the city. The program is governed by transparent procedures that ensure it is efficient and effective. A variety of funding mechanisms to ensure program sustainability were also presented.