Next month, the St. Pete Art Alliance and community partners plan to host mayoral candidates Ken Welch and Robert Blackmon for a “Mayors Forum on the Arts” at the Palladium Theater, according to a press release shared by the SPAA last week.
The upcoming arts forum, co-hosted with the Palladium and Institute of Policy Solutions, will be free and open to the public. It’s currently set to be moderated by Executive Director of the Institute for Policy Solutions, Kimberly Jackson, who is also a board member of the SPAA.
Mayors Forum on the Arts
Oct. 5, 6 p.m.-7 p.m.
Palladium Theater, 253 5th Ave. N
Pre-registration is available for the event via stpeteartsalliance.org
According to SPAA’s press release, the forum “is provided for the entire community to ask questions and gain knowledge from both candidates on the views and plans for the arts within the City of St. Petersburg.”
Topics up for discussion during the forum will include, but are not limited to: arts funding, economic development through the arts, affordable housing for artists, tourism, and creative workforce development for the St. Pete community.
Former county commissioner Welch and current City Councilman Blackmon are the two remaining picks for St. Pete’s next mayor, after advancing from the 2021 Municipal Primary Election last month. Both their names will appear on the ballot for the General Election, which takes place Nov. 2 (although mail ballots will be sent out earlier).
St. Pete’s current Mayor Rick Kriseman, a staunch supporter of the arts, is unable to run for a third term in office due to term limits. However, he endorsed Welch, who has deep roots in the community, to replace him as city leader.
Welch sits on the board of the local nonprofit organization Creative Pinellas. He’s long touted the importance of uplifting St. Pete’s art community and plans to continue that work as mayor. “The arts are a vital part of what makes St Petersburg a great community,” Welch shared in a campaign video back in May. “As a [Pinellas] county commissioner and former chair of the Tourism Development Council, I strongly supported funding for the arts, from the Dalí Museum to the soon-to-open Museum of the American Arts and Crafts Movement, to funding even for transportation for the Arts Conservatory for Teens. An investment in the arts is an investment in our future.”
In July, the St. Pete City Council unanimously approved $1.4 million in CARES Act funding to the Office of Cultural Affairs, which was expected to help the city’s largest art and cultural institutions recover from COVID-19 related closures. Cultural affairs director Wayne Atherholt told the Tampa Bay Times after the July meeting that, over the last year, the city has had to make difficult cuts and apply for grants just to stay afloat.
Blackmon, who will also appear at the upcoming arts forum, was absent from the July vote approving the CARES Act allocation. On his campaign website, there’s no mention of his vision for St. Pete’s arts community, nor arts funding.
On social media, however, he recently urged residents to visit the new Arts and Crafts Museum, and told WFLA last year he “loves art” (after sharing his concerns about a mural that he seemed to think showed a mermaid, uh, having sexual contact with a manatee?)
Although the mayor’s race is officially non-partisan, it’s safe to say that Welch, a former-Republican-but-current-Democrat with 20 years on the Pinellas County Commision under his belt, has an advantage in the upcoming election. Both him and Blackmon, a registered Republican, have snagged bipartisan endorsements. Blackmon, however, has been blasted over the course of his campaign for tenant abuses, after nearly evicting three tenants at a property he owns earlier this year, as well as for old social media posts that, in his own words, were “shameful” and that he’s since apologized for.
The upcoming Mayor’s Forum for the Arts, open to the public, will take place at the Palladium Theater, located at 253 5th Ave. N, on Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. For those unable to attend in-person, the forum will also be broadcast live on the SPAA’s Facebook page, and will be available to view on the SPAA YouTube channel after the event.
Doors will open at 5 p.m. for seating. The forum will adhere to CDC COVID-19 safety requirements, including guidance on masks. Those who plan to attend can pre-register and submit questions for the candidates in advance on the SPAA Events Page.
Both candidates also attended a ‘Special Exhibit: My Mayor at the Dali’ event on yesterday at the Salvador Dali Museum. The event can be seen again on YouTube.
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This article appears in Sep 23-29, 2021.