If you happened to be heading up Ashley Street in downtown Tampa last night between 7 and 8 p.m., you might have noticed that the usually bland hulk that is Poe Parking Garage was undergoing a transformation. For several minutes, lines of light traced the contours of the building as if someone were projecting a gigantic and highly precise Etch-A-Sketch drawing onto it; at other moments, bursts of brilliant illumination showed aspects of the garage in (literally) a whole new light. Who knew the circular staircase at the corner of the Poe could look like a slice of Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum?
But that's what Lights On Tampa is all about. From its inception in 2006, the biennial one-night public art event has been a transformative experience, changing the way we look at downtown Tampa's visual environment.
This article appears in Feb 17-23, 2011.