St. Petersburg is calling on artists to design a public art display for Historic Roser Park on the outskirts of downtown next to Bayfront Medical Center. The Historic Roser Park Neighborhood Association is one of the most active in the city and is seeking art creatively related to either the neighborhood’s unique geography, architecture or history.
Roser Park was the city’s first locally designated historic district. It was developed in the early 1900s amid a very different Florida landscape. The area’s main feature consists of a large ravine carved out by water in the otherwise flat Pinellas County peninsula. Remnants of that water still exist today in Booker Creek, which flows through the bottom of Roser Park.
The neighborhood still includes its historic stone retaining walls along the main road and its narrow, red-brick roads. The sidewalks are still paved with hexagon paving stones.
The city is looking for an artist who will design something that fits with the neighborhood’s “story,” character or the park setting next to Booker Creek. The art project does not have to be any particular style, but materials should be durable in Florida’s environment.
The art should be easily seen and enjoyed by people walking or biking along the creek or in the park. The city prefers an art installment next to the cluster of trees and sign delineating the park, but is open to other ideas.
If art is placed in that location artists can make use of the already existing brick wall and bench. The city can also redesign the area by removing or replacing the wall, adding seating or redesigning the existing sign. Those changes would not eat into the project’s budget unless the project included seating or a wall.
The $65,000 budget includes design, engineering, fabrication and installation. Finalists chosen for the project will be paid $750 as well as expenses to travel to St. Pete to present their proposals.
Artists must have at least one successfully completed project similar in scope and in an outdoor setting. They must have “advanced art education or comparable training, apprenticeship or employment experience.”
Proposals are due to the city by April 15. More information on how to apply is on the city’s website.
