Skyway 20/21: A Contemporary Collaboration

June 14 – September 1, 2021
USF Contemporary Art Museum + Online

 

USFCAM HOURS + ADMISSIONS

Monday-Friday 10am-5pm; Closed Weekends and USF Holidays (July 5) – Reservations required for visits June 14–25. No reservations required starting June 28 when USF lifts COVID restrictions on public access to campus. 

Admission to the Museum is free; however, a USF parking permit ($5.00 daily) or pay-per-space parking is required. Please call (813) 974-4133 for questions regarding reservations, parking, directions, or more information on events associated with the exhibitions.  

 

CAM EXHIBITION ONLINE

Exhibition Home   //   Essay by Sarah Howard   //   Foreword + Acknowledgements
Rosemarie Chiarlone   //   Danny Dobrow   //   Babette Herschberger   //   Akiko Kotani
Cynthia Mason   //   Ry McCullough   //   Casey McDonough   //   Kodi Thompson

 

FOREWORD

Museums are capacious spaces for personal as well as communal experiences. New art often requires an elastic approach to installation, as artists challenge institutions to innovate new ways to present art which is often realized in a range of mediums. The curatorial team for Skyway 20/21: A Contemporary Collaboration represented the four participating Tampa Bay museums on an adventurous endeavor. Realizing this exhibition required studio visits in Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota counties to identify individual and collective talents to create a literally sprawling exhibition. Skyway 20/21: A Contemporary Collaboration invites viewers to engage with artworks that serve as a testimony to the unique way that artists interact with today’s world. Christopher Jones and Ola Wlusek from The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Katherine Pill from the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, Joanna Robotham from the Tampa Museum of Art, and Sarah Howard from the USF Contemporary Art Museum worked with guest curator Claire Tancons to select the works displayed in the four concurrently presented exhibitions. 

This is the second iteration of Skyway, conceived as a triennial, and the first time the USF Contemporary Art Museum is participating. The curatorial team selected 49 artists, many associated with the USF School of Art and Art History as faculty and alumni, from over 300 submissions, representing a broad scope of the diverse and talented artists working in and around the Tampa Bay area. Skyway 20/21 connects and celebrates our artistic community following the past year of isolation and social distancing. 

Margaret Miller
Director and Professor
USF Institute for Research in Art
Contemporary Art Museum/Graphicstudio

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

As a joint presentation across four Tampa Bay museums, Skyway 20/21: A Contemporary Collaboration celebrates the diverse artistic talent in our region through a unique cultural alliance. USFCAM extends deep gratitude to our partnering institutions, the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg; The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art; and the Tampa Museum of Art for inviting USFCAM to join the second iteration of Skyway. It was an honor and a privilege to work to realize Skyway 20/21 with my esteemed curatorial colleagues Katherine Pill, Curator of Contemporary Art, Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg; Joanna Robotham, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Tampa Museum of Art; Christopher Jones, Stanton B. and Nancy W. Kaplan Curator of Photography and Media Art, and Ola Wlusek, Keith D. and Linda L. Monda Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art; and guest juror and independent curator Claire Tancons. I am so appreciative to the curatorial team for their brilliant contributions to this project and exceptional guidance, compassion, and friendship through the challenging periods of uncertainty, loss, and outrage during the past year. 

I extend heartfelt congratulations to all the artists representing Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas and Sarasota counties who are exhibiting in Skyway 20/21. And special recognition to USFCAM’s Skyway 20/21 artists Rosemarie Chiarlone, Danny Dobrow, Babette Herschberger, Akiko Kotani, Cynthia Mason, Ry McCullough, Casey McDonough, and Kodi Thompson for their generous patience, understanding, and flexibility in realizing the Skyway 20/21 presentation following the necessary postponement of the planned 2020 exhibition due to the circumstances of the COVID-19 global health pandemic. 

USFCAM’s participation in Skyway 20/21 is made possible through generous philanthropic support from the Gobioff Foundation and the Victor and Lee Leavengood Endowment. The fully illustrated Skyway 20/21 catalog was funded by Brown & Brown Insurance and The Stanton Storer Embrace the Arts Foundation. Special thanks to Dr. Allen Root for his support, in honor of his late wife Janet G. Root, of the exhibition and educational programs. 

I am thankful for the USFCAM leadership of Margaret Miller, Director and Professor; Noel Smith, Deputy Director and Curator of Latin American and Caribbean Art; and Randall West, Deputy Director, Business Operations and Strategic Planning, for their contributions to this project. Sincere gratitude to my colleagues for their ongoing support and dedication: Amy Allison, Program Coordinator; Shannon Annis, Curator of the Collection and Exhibitions Manager; Marty De la Cruz, Digital Media Assistant; Leslie Elsasser, Curator of Education; Mark Fredricks, Communications Specialist; Don Fuller, New Media Curator, Communication and Technology Manager; Eric Jonas, Curatorial Associate and Preparator; Will Lytch, Photographer; Anthony Wong Palms, Exhibition Coordinator and Designer; Christian Viveros-Fauné, Curator at Large; and David Waterman, Chief of Security.

USFCAM appreciates the expertise of Dr. Laura Harrison and her team at the USF Access 3D Lab for their technical assistance with the digital scanning and presentation of the virtual model of the exhibition for our digital platform. 

USFCAM is proud to be part of Skyway’s notable cultural alliance bridging our communities and fostering connections, dialogue, and exchange among artists and audiences. 

Sarah Howard
Curator of Public Art and Social Practice
USF Institute for Research in Art  

 

Skyway 20/21: A Contemporary Collaboration at the USF Contemporary Art Museum is supported by the Gobioff Foundation, the Stanton Storer Embrace the Arts Foundation, the Lee and Victor Leavengood Trust, and Dr. Allen Root in honor of his late wife Janet G. Root.