A sculpture perched outside a new midtown apartment building is the first fruit of an effort by Platform Art to work with developers to increase public art in Lakeland.
The sculpture, titled “Standpipe,” has been placed outside Midtown Lofts, an affordable housing project at Parker Street and Lake Avenue that was developed by Miami-based Green Mills Groups; a grand-opening ceremony is planned for Monday morning.
Created by Matthew Mosher, an art professor from the University of Central Florida, the piece was chosen to complement the physical aspects of the housing project, Platform Art Executive Director Cynthia Haffey said: “They wanted something really modern because their architecture is modern and slightly industrial.”
The nonprofit arts organization includes support of creation of public art in its mission, and Haffey is working to encourage other businesses to include local art in their development plans.
“We’ve been focusing on public art now for 10 years,” said Haffey, who has headed Platform Art since 2011.
Haffey has reached out to several developers, encouraging them to include art in their plans. She said that if a group is interested in having art, they will sit down together to discuss various aspects, such as site and style.
From there, she calls artists or puts out calls through arts networks. Haffey usually includes photos of the site, the budget and information regarding the developer’s vision on those open calls.
The organization has other plans in motion, including work with Tampa-based developer Framework Group, who built the new Mirrorton Apartments in downtown Lakeland.
Haffey worked with the Frameworks team to find local artists that suited their needs. Local artists Victoria Lowe, Gabriella Jaxon, Josh “Bump” Galleta and Quanel Davis were selected for the project.
“Framework Group takes pride in crafting a community to reflect its city and residents,” said Sherry Bruce, creative director. “Framework Group recognizes incorporating art elevates and enhances the way the community’s brand resonates. We curate each community’s art collection to contain a mix of originals, limited editions and open prints or licensed reprints, that are created by a variety of established and emerging artists from around the world, the U.S. and Florida.”
She continued: “During art selection for a community’s collection, a number of factors are considered in the search. Art that speaks the community’s brand language, art that engages in unexpected ways, art that compliments the community clubhouse’s interior design, art that is attainable, art that sets the property apart from the ordinary.”
Mirrorton Apartments are already in operation and accepting applications. Platform Art’s annual “casual gala-ish” event “Artful Bowl” is also scheduled to be held there on June 26.
The city of Lakeland has had a public art ordinance since 2006, but it resulted in little implementation. The ordinance was revisited and amended during the last year. It suggests that developers add public art to their projects but includes no requirements.
Under the ordinance, city of Lakeland construction projects would set aside 1% of budgets for a public arts fund capped at $100,000 per year. The fund would be overseen by the Parks and Recreation Department under the advice of the Mayor’s Council on the Arts.
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