ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. \u2014\u00a0The city of St. Petersburg unveiled a 175 foot long walkable mosaic aimed at drawing visitors to Sunset Park on Wednesday, which depicts the sunrise over Tampa Bay in the east and ends with a sunset on the Gulf beaches in the west.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
The Sunshine City Mosaic was unveiled on Wednesday in Sunset Park in St. Petersburg\u00a0
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The artwork is made up of 15,000 pieces of porcelain tile and glass, which creates nine vignettes of Florida\u2019s wildlife
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It took three local and emerging artists two and a half years to complete the project\u00a0\u00a0
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The\u00a0175 foot long walkable mosaic aimed at drawing visitors to Sunset Park<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal when we originally started was to make kind of an iconic piece for the city,\u201d said artist Alex Kaufman. \u201cSomething that everyone would take pride in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kaufman, along with artists Laura \u201cMiss Crit\u201d Spencer and George Retkes, were commissioned by the city in 2023 to create the Sunshine City Mosaic for $50,000. The artwork is made up of 15,000 pieces of porcelain tile and glass, which creates nine vignettes of Florida\u2019s wildlife.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Sunshine City Mosaic is not just a public art installation, it\u2019s a celebration of our community\u2019s spirit and natural beauty,\u201d said Mayor Kenneth Welch. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting to see such an ambitious project come to life, connecting our vibrant artistic culture with the stunning landscapes of our parks on the west side.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Spencer called the two-and-a-half-year project<\/a>, which endured some public delays<\/a>, a \u201cremembrance piece\u201d and was still processing its completion.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019ve worked on a project for as long as this one, it becomes like a sibling or a family member,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m still going to be sneaking out here once a week to sweep her off and make sure she\u2019s doing okay.\u201d<\/p>\n The artists were hoping it was going to be longest mosaic in Florida, but the Science Center has a mosaic that is 275 feet long which the city believes holds the record.\u00a0Retkes said before the unveiling that the\u00a0Sunshine City Mosaic\u00a0had been getting a lot of buzz in the Old Pasadena neighborhood.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve already expressed some gratitude for seeing a new piece and getting to walk through the park to enjoy it,\u201d he said. \u201c(It) should hopefully attract some more people over to the side of town.\u201d<\/p>\n Kaufman said the city got a great deal on the project, and he was grateful they were chosen through a program for emerging artists.<\/p>\n \u201cThey took a chance on us, and we gave them something really special in return. So it\u2019s beneficial to both parties,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is an amazing deal for the city, but it\u2019s also our hometown. So, it\u2019s also our business card too.\u201d<\/p>\n