Tampa Arts Alliance Formed, Announces Board of Directors

By Erin Cahill.
Updated Jun 16, 2021

TAMPA, Fla. (PRWEB) June 16, 2021 - We are pleased to announce the formation of the nonprofit group, the Tampa Arts Alliance. The Tampa Arts Alliance is a non-governmental arts organization for the Tampa arts scene.

This is an organization Tampa is ready for, says Neil Gobioff, Chair. Several arts leaders were gathering separately to discuss how to increase support for the arts as Tampa grows.

The Tampa Arts Alliance began to take shape as the Gobioff Foundation teamed up with Bill Carlson of Tucker/Hall, Inc. to produce a series of roundtables and forums that addressed the current position of the arts at both organizational and grassroots levels.

With the support of the City and local leadership, we have grown momentum in support of the arts as key to Tampas economic well-being and quality of life, Gobioff said. Without the arts we cannot tell our story. Tampa is not just a city trying to be like somewhere else. We want to raise up the profile of our arts and culture to show off what makes Tampa unique. There is a lot to love here.

Start-up funding is being provided by Tucker/Hall and the Gobioff Foundation and legal services are provided by Sandy Rief of Allen Dell. First steps included the formation of a Board of Directors and an interim Executive Director. In addition to the Board of Directors, the organization is developing committees to address the needs of keys aspects within our arts ecosystem including support for grassroots artists, connecting non-profit leadership, fundraising, and advocacy.

The Board of Directors officers include:

Neil Gobioff, Chair Neil Gobioff is the President of the Gobioff Foundation and CFO of Crab Devil

Dana Warner, Vice-Chair Dana Warner is the Development Director of Friends of Carrollwood Cultural Center

Kathy Durdin, Treasurer/Secretary Kathy Durdin is Director of Operations at the Florida Watercolor Society

Additional members of the Board of Directors include:

Bill Carlson - President of Tucker Hall and Tampa City Council Member Gary Sasso - President and CEO of Carlton Fields Sara Richter - Arts Leader Frank J. Sandy Rief, III Shareholder at Allen Dell and The Duckwall Foundation Jennifer R. Malin - Community Foundation of Tampa Bay Lauren Brigman - Board Chair, Stageworks Theatre Henry Gonzalez, III Tampa Bay Market President of Beach Community Bank Jeff Gibson Shareholder at Macfarlane Ferguson & McMullen Michele Smith - The Resiliency School, is acting as Executive Director

The work of the Tampa Arts Alliance will include, but will not be limited to:

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The Tampa Arts Alliance is a nonprofit 5013 established in 2021 as a catalyst and convener of arts advocates dedicated to making Tampa a city known for excellence in the arts.

For more information, please follow us on Facebook at @TampaArtsAlliance.