Creative Pinellas pitches countywide “Making Waves” arts pilot, asks Visit St. Pete Clearwater for funding support

Margaret, a representative of Creative Pinellas, proposed a countywide cultural-tourism pilot called Making Waves and asked Visit St. Pete Clearwater for support, saying, “We will devote a $100,000 to this, and we are asking for some support from Visit St. Pete Clearwater as well.”

The plan is a coast‑wide series of site‑specific arts experiences — installations, performances and educational programming — designed to highlight Pinellas County’s natural environment and cultural assets and to extend shoulder‑season visitation in April and May. Margaret told the council the pilot would include partnerships with hospitality and cultural partners and require the works to include both environmental and tourism components.

The proposal is intended as a pilot and a proof of concept for a larger cultural‑tourism initiative. Margaret said Creative Pinellas has reallocated $100,000 in individual artist grants to support Making Waves and described additional grant activity: “Individual artists was about a $110,000. Arts organizations was about $20,000. And then we also funded summer camps to the tune of about $65,000.” She added that Creative Pinellas raised about $20,000 for hurricane relief for artists and that she had submitted, but paused, a larger decision package for a cultural‑tourism program pending review of the cultural plan.

Council members and attendees asked clarifying questions about the scope and finances. Trisha Rodriguez asked for the dollar amount Creative Pinellas was requesting; Margaret answered, “Yes. $300,000.” Dylan Hubbard and other board members explored how current tourism grants and Creative Pinellas grant matches would fund artists for the pilot. Margaret said that Creative Pinellas would encourage events to be free and open to the public and would prioritize an environmental component for every activation.

Speakers noted Creative Pinellas’ recent activities and partnerships: the organization opened a new gallery at the St. Pete–Clearwater Airport to showcase local artists; it has redesigned Arts Coast magazine and hired a managing editor; and it is finalizing a 130‑page Pinellas County Cultural Plan, the first in 20 years. Margaret said the cultural plan includes measurement goals — economic impact, cultural participation and education outreach — and that the pilot would help demonstrate how Creative Pinellas supports cultural tourism.

Doreen Moore, who identified herself as serving as an ex‑officio appointment to the Creative Pinellas board, said Creative Pinellas is a foundation for the region’s arts growth and credited coordination between Creative Pinellas and Visit St. Pete Clearwater for recent cultural gains. Bruce Rector, mayor of Clearwater, likewise praised Creative Pinellas as a countywide framework supporting artists and public art projects.

No formal board action on the Making Waves pilot or the $300,000 request was taken at the meeting. Margaret asked to pause discussion on a broader decision package to allow the council time to review the cultural plan and the pilot materials.

Creative Pinellas supplied several outcome estimates and projections during the presentation. Using the Americans for the Arts calculator, Margaret said a $300,000 investment in Making Waves would generate an estimated $1,030,000 in economic impact and that conservative attendance for the pilot might be around 45,000 visitors; she described that figure as conservative and based on February visitation data. The organization also expects the pilot to target arts and culture visitors (noting site analytics showing many web visitors are ages 18–34) and to leverage social and cooperative marketing with Visit St. Pete Clearwater and other partners.

Looking ahead, Margaret requested an implementation meeting to align the cultural plan and proposed cultural‑tourism program with Visit St. Pete Clearwater priorities and to determine next steps.