Yesterday, Neil Gobioff announced the formation of the Tampa Arts Alliance, which is big news for Tampa’s creative community. In the four years I’ve been covering visual art for Creative Loafing Tampa, I’ve lost count of projects stamped with the Gobioff name.
A press release says the Gobioff Foundation funded nearly 50 Tampa Bay art, music and film projects between 2011-2014. That’s over 10 art projects a year.
In 2018, when the state drastically cut funding to the arts, the Gobioffs established the Tampa Bay Arts Bridge Fund with an initial $100,000 donation matched by the Vinik Family Foundation.
The Gobioffs throw around the term “creative placemaking” around a lot, and it’s important. They’re trying to develop and define Tampa as a creative place—a cultural destination. But that sort of thing doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a lot of time, money, and collaboration, and few people know that more than the Gobioffs, who’ve been enriching Tampa’s art scene for over a decade.
“Without the arts we cannot tell our story,” Neil Gobioff wrote. “Tampa is not just a city trying to be like somewhere else. We want to raise up the profile of our arts and culture to show off what makes Tampa unique. There is a lot to love here.”
The Gobioffs established the Tampa Arts Alliance along with Tucker/Hall PR to increase arts awareness in Tampa, attract more funding for the arts, connect artists with local arts organizations, and create a clearer vision for the arts in Tampa.
If you look at what the St. Pete Arts Alliance has done for St. Pete, creating a Tampa Arts Alliance was the next logical step in putting Tampa’s arts community on the map.
“This is an organization Tampa is ready for,” Gobioff added. “Several arts leaders were gathering separately to discuss how to increase support for the arts as Tampa grows.”
Now, thanks to the nascent Tampa Arts Alliance, they’re discussing these things together, and I can’t wait to see the results.
See the alliance’s board members below.
- Bill Carlson President of Tucker Hall and Tampa City Council Member
- Gary Sasso President and CEO of Carlton Fields
- Sara Richter Arts Leader
- Frank J. “Sandy” Rief, III Shareholder at Allen Dell and The Duckwall Foundation
- Jennifer R. Malin Community Foundation of Tampa Bay
- Lauren Brigman Board Chair, Stageworks Theatre
- Henry Gonzalez, III Tampa Bay Market President of Beach Community Bank
- Jeff Gibson Shareholder at Macfarlane Ferguson & McMullen
- Michele Smith The Resiliency School, is acting as Executive Director
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This article appears in Jun 24-30, 2021.