The Story of FMoPA, as told by the window images on the Cube

The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts is now in its new home, the Cube at Rivergate Plaza.   The museum occupies the 2nd and 3rd floors in the architecturally significant Cube – the soaring, six-story atrium recognized as one of the most impressive interior spaces in Tampa. The museum opened its first exhibition in the building in March 2012 with the Black, White & Brilliant Gala that was attended by over 300 people. This highly visible location puts the museum in the core of the Downtown Tampa Arts District.

The Florida Museum of Photographic Arts, founded in 2001, is a not-for-profit museum dedicated to exhibiting important photographic art.   It currently has over 800 members and is widely supported by the community.  The museum collects, preserves and exhibits historic and contemporary works by nationally and internationally known artists.  To date, the museum has mounted 53 major photographic exhibitions.

Let’s take a look at the images on the building . . . .

Representing our Permanent Collection, Past Exhibitions and the FMoPA Annual Members’ Show:

Natural Fashion: Photography by Hans Silvester.  This exhilarating exhibition introduced us two tribes from southern Ethiopia who apply extensive face and body paints and natural adornments as a daily practice for the sake of beauty.  These incredible images filled our galleries with vibrant colors and engaging portraits of people very different from ourselves but linked by an innate and common appreciation for beauty.

Photo: Hans Silvester, Natural Fashion No. 67, 2006 –2007, Courtesy of the Artist & Marlborough Gallery, Inc., NYC

Bud Lee’s America, is a fun-filled look at celebrities and everyday people through the eyes of Bud Lee, a talented photo journalist and creative soul who has contributed to the Tampa Bay Arts scene for many years.  It is an honor for the museum to accept the work on display into the FMoPA permanent collection.

Photo:  Clint Eastwood takes a break in a University Studios back lot, 1971. (c) Bud Lee. Courtesy of the artist.

Andy Warhol & Friends, takes us on a trip to the 60’s and 70’s to meet Andy Warhol and his circle of friends and acquaintances’ that include the famous and infamous of the era.  The premier exhibition in our new home drew a diverse audience to FMoPA.

Photo:  Cowboys and Indians: John Wayne, 1986 © 2012 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

With our exhibition space doubling in our new home, the museum will have the opportunity to consistently show works from our permanent collection of over 250 pieces.  Artists represented in the FMoPA collection are Dorothea Lange, Len Prince, Bruce Dale, Clyde Butcher, Hans Silvester, Ruth Bernhard, Dr. Harold Edgerton and many more.

Photo:  Shooting the Apple, 1964 © Harold & Esther Edgerton Foundation, 2012, courtesy of Palm Press, Inc.

The museum engages the community in many ways. One of which is our Annual Members’ Show, where our members submit their own art, which is judged, and prizes are awarded for best in show, best in category and a members’ choice award.  Additional community programs include fee-based photography classes and children’s learning experiences, an international web-based photography contest and an acclaimed free “Literacy Through Photography Program”, for underserved children.

Photo:  Untitled, Amy Pezzicara, 2009 FMoPA Annual Members’ Show, Best in Category winner, Events

A very special thank you goes to Trickey Jennus.  This Tampa advertising agency created the concept of the window signage and went to great lengths to get the images installed.  FMoPA was awarded the Judges Choice Award at the Tampa Bay Business Journals’ Non-Profit of the Year Awards in 2011.  As part of our award, we received a CreatAthon session with Trickey Jennus, which also included donated digital billboard displays and print ads in the Tampa Tribune . . . the museum could not be happier with the results!!