How to Succeed with Public Art in Your Community
3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Everglades BC
Art can inspire emotions, and CRAs are inspired by (great) minds. The joining of the two can result in the “wow factor” for any area in any community. We will review and discuss three case studies of cities that use murals and other art to revitalize an area and attract economic investment. Come see what can be done with artists to create stunning art to rebuild an area. We will share the “how” of what happened, and we invite you to join in the conversation!
Presenters: Russell Etling, Cultural A airs Manager, City of Gainesville; the Honorable Debra Ann Worley, Council- member, Town of Lake Placid; and Barbara Anderson Hill, Hill Fine Art Consulting, Inc. and Emeritus Board Member, Florida Association of Public Art Professionals
Barbara Anderson Hill served as public art manager for Tampa, and consultant to Naples and Fort Myers’ public art programs. A founder of Florida Association of Public Art Professionals in 1997, Hill now serves as emeritus board member.
Since 2005, Hill Fine Art Consulting provides curatorial, collection management and writing services to cultural institutions as well as advisor to artists in advancing their artistic practice. Hill chairs the Mound House advisory board, Fort Myers Beach; is member of Lee County’s Alliance for the Arts board of directors, and advisory board member for the Institute of Research in Art at the University of South Florida, Tampa.
Hill received her M.F.A. from U.S.F. in 1987 and after brief stints as college adjunct professor and gallery director, she held leadership positions in prestigious institutions such as exhibition curator/collections manager for the Florida Gulf Coast Art Center, Belleair; grants/major gifts manager for John and Mabel Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota; inaugural executive director/curator for von Liebig Art Center, Naples, and executive director of Edison-Ford Winter Estates Foundation, Fort Myers.
Robin Nigh is a leader in the field of contemporary public art. With over thirty years of experience in the field, she has developed nationally recognized programs that were also firsts in the field, including the Photographer Laureate Program and Lights On Tampa. As the Manager of the Art Programs Division for the City of Tampa, Nigh oversees bringing artwork to public spaces while leveraging assets with the city, site stakeholders and the community. Prior to her position with the City of Tampa, she served as a project administrator for Florida’s Art in State Buildings Program at Florida State University, and as Director of Sculpture Chicago from 1987 to 1990. Robin is trained as an art historian, having taught art history at Florida State University, Florida International University, and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She received her M.A. in Art Theory and Criticism from the School of The Art Institute of Chicago and has completed postgraduate studies at FSU. She has served as president of the Florida Association of Public Art Administrators, and was elected to serve on the Americans for the Arts Public Art Network (or PAN) Council, the only national organization for public art. Nigh has lectured and consulted about public art across the country. She is currently working on several initiatives including Lights On Tampa 2020 (the city’s 7th Lights On Tampa) and developing cultural programs that integrate placemaking into key city initiatives.
Debra Ann Worley became a Councilmember in 2002. Debra has been a real estate broker since 1976, worked as a paralegal, and owned a construction/development company during her working life. In 2002 Debra began working to obtain a CRA designation for the Town of Lake Placid and finally succeeded in approval by her Town Council. They are just completing their 1styear as a CRA. Eva Cooper-Hapman, Town Clerk, and Rachel Osborn, Chief Financial Officer, will be joining Debra to answer questions about the challenges of designating an area, setting up, and the first year of a CRA.