The Student Government Senate passed a bill to create a committee to coordinate displaying art from students and the St. Petersburg community.
According to the bill, SG will commit $7,000 as seed money to get the committee and art displays started.
Senators Michael Jernigan and James Scott sponsored the bill, and Senators Lauren Reilly and Jordan Iuliucci co-sponsored.
An original bill that would have allocated $10,000 for the project was tabled several weeks ago. The money would come from the capital fund, which has a limited amount and is used for installations like sprinklers or new furniture. The funds for the proposed video wall in the Multi-Purpose Student Center would come from the capital fund.
Scott was inspired by a visit to Florida International University. FIU displays art and sculptures all over campus and “it’s stunning,” Scott said. “We have a beautiful campus when it comes to landscaping.”
But the campus also has a lot of bare, white walls, and Davis, Bayboro and Coquina halls have small windows and little to look at.
Scott would like the campus to feature a mosaic depicting Florida wildlife, because of the school’s waterfront location and connection to the Bayboro Marina. Jernigan would like the campus to have artwork honoring veterans.
“USF as a whole is ranked as one of the top 10 schools for veterans,” Scott said. “We’d like to represent both of those things on campus.”
The bill passed in the senate mentions these and other projects the committee would initially focus on, including installing sculptures made of wood, stone or recycled materials, and clear cases to hold art on a rotating basis.
According to the bill, the committee would “plan, coordinate and implement all actions necessary to allow for the university-wide display, both permanent and temporary, indoor and outdoor, of art originating from USFSP students and the St Petersburg arts community.”
The senate can write and pass bills, but they don’t go into effect until the SG president and the administration has signed off on them.
“The idea is to create an institutional structure,” Scott said. This means a “constant discussion and not a one-year thing.”
Because of financial rules, the committee would have to be created before June 30 in order to access the seed money stipulated in the bill.
“USF St. Petersburg is at a point it’s never been before. We are growing—we are growing beyond belief,” Jernigan said. “We want this artwork to grow with the university.”
Additional reporting by Christopher Guinn, news editor, and Ren LaForme, arts editor.
