Artists plan intervention for Pinellas County

SAFETY HARBOR, Fla. – On Tuesday, Safety Harbor Art and Music Center announced their latest project “Public Art Intervention”, which aims to beautify buildings across Pinellas County through a series of murals, painted by local artists.

Organizers from SHAMc, the Safety Harbor Art and Music Center, hope the initiative will bring about a greater sense of pride and lead to more diversity, tolerance and freedom of expression.

So far, there are three major property commitments in line for completion in the coming months and they are set to grace the walls of local businesses, homes and government buildings and needs the communities to rally together to help fund these projects.

These include, the Harbor Bar in Safety Harbor, Bellaire Bluff’s City Hall, and a private residence in Clearwater. The projects range in cost from $1,000 and go up from there depending on size and the level of detail, which includes artist fees and various supplies.

“Every piece of art will reflect the community of Pinellas County, and, of course, the immediate towns surrounding each project,” says Heather Richardson, board member of Safety Harbor Arts and Music Center. “In addition to being beautiful and thought provoking, these works will benefit the areas tremendously, from economic growth to psychological benefits as well.”

To fund these projects, Richardson is hoping the communities benefiting from the murals will find a way to contribute to their composition through private donation or via crowdfunding.

The intervention hopes to spread the benefits of public art felt around the world to Pinellas County through community engagement, use of local artists, local businesses donating wall space and the final display of each artwork.

“I am most excited to see how these communities and community members benefit socially from these projects. Art is all about bringing people together in a positive environment. By providing those spaces, these projects can help neighbors become friends,” said Richardson. “Donations are the essence of projects like these. We keep the public in mind in hopes they will do the same for us and help us keep Pinellas beautiful,” Heather says.

In addition to the crowdfunding page hosted by Richardson, local Pinellas businesses are lending their hand in the fundraising efforts, like the Harbor Bar’s Whiffle Ball Tournament to be held on July 24 in their parking lot in Safety Harbor, Florida.

The Public Art Intervention is accepting donations through their crowdfunding campaign, private donations and local fundraising events around Pinellas County.

For more information, please visit http://www.safetyharborartandmusiccenter.com/

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