Oviedo board approves $1,000 call to artists for Arts & Entertainment District cup logo

The Oviedo Public Art Board voted to recommend a call to artists with a $1,000 stipend to design an official logo for the city's proposed Oviedo Arts and Entertainment District, Assistant City Manager Patrick Kelly told the board.

The logo will appear on a reusable 16-ounce "stadium" cup that establishments in the designated district may use to sell alcoholic beverages for off-premise consumption if a state bill and a local ordinance amendment are adopted. "The purpose of the district is to allow Equitable community participation in the local economy," Kelly said in his presentation.

Why it matters: The state bill that spawned the local proposal would allow restaurants and other food-and-beverage establishments in the district to sell alcohol for off-premise consumption; the city must amend its code of ordinances to permit the practice in public right-of-way and in parks. The cup is intended to make off-premise drinks identifiable to law enforcement and festival staff, to promote the district and to encourage reuse instead of disposable single-use cups.

Key details: Board members set parameters for the call. The winning submission must be provided as a vector image (SVG or EPS), include the text "Oviedo Arts And Entertainment District," and be designed to work both as a single-color imprint and in full color. The board instructed staff to open the call for one month from publication and directed that preference be given to Florida artists; the motion as adopted specifies artists must be from Florida or reside in Florida. The board also discussed but did not require a specific cup color; businesses may print in a single color that best fits their needs. Kelly said the city will provide cup specifications to participating businesses and that the businesses would be responsible for purchasing cups that meet the city's requirements.

Board members also raised sustainability concerns and asked staff to consider recyclable-content minimums in the cup specifications. "It would be nice to have a sustainability consideration in there," a member said during the discussion; Kelly said staff would "certainly look at that" and consider how that requirement might affect local businesses' costs.

The board approved the recommendation by motion and second; staff will prepare a written call-to-artists package and forward the board's recommendation to City Council for final approval and to coordinate timing with the pending state action.

Ending: Kelly said the legislative bill has passed both chambers and is awaiting the governor's signature; the city aims to present an ordinance to City Council for implementation once state law is final. The board asked staff to return with the draft call-to-artists language for a future meeting before Council consideration.