TPA names short list of artists for new installations

Hillsborough County Aviation Authority Board members on Thursday approved a short list of artists selected to create proposals for public art installations in Airside D and other locations around Tampa International Airport.

The 50 artists who are advancing were selected from among 1,049 portfolio submissions in response to the Airport's Call for Artists that was issued on February 5. As part of the Public Art procurement, TPA will commission installations for six locations in Airside D, which is scheduled to open in 2029, and one each in the new Airside A and E security screening checkpoints.

The Call for Artists was expanded to include two more installations on the Main Terminal's second-floor Ticketing Level, which is scheduled to begin renovations in 2027 to modernize the ticket counters and provide more space for travelers.

Of the artists who submitted portfolios, 13 percent came from outside the United States. Florida was the state with the highest number of respondents, with 189 artist submissions. Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, West Palm Beach, and Miami topped the list of cities in Florida from which artists hailed.

Florida was followed by New York, California, Texas, Colorado, Washington, Illinois and Georgia as the states with the most artists vying for a spot.

The portfolio submissions underwent a review process over several days by an evaluation committee that included Tampa Bay art community leaders and Airport officials. The committee judged the portfolios and then recommended to the Board three primary artists and two alternates for each of the 10 locations.

Following Thursday's Board approval, the primary artists will each develop site-specific proposals for their installations for the Public Art Committee. These examples can be paintings, sculptures, drawings, collages or more to demonstrate the artists' detailed concept.

The artists will present their formal proposals to the Committee at the end of the summer ahead of a final artist selection by the Board in the fall.

The selected artists will be responsible for the development, production, delivery, installation and all travel costs associated with their work.

For more information about the process and the approved short list with both primary and alternate artists, including the location they invited to work on and how their artwork will be displayed, please visit the schedule on our Call for Artists web page here.

Photo: Janaina Tschape's On memory and plants, in the Red Express Curbsides addition that opened last year, is an example from TPA's Public Art Collection.