This last year has been one of both challenge and growth for the TBBCA.  We continued our High School Art Stars program, soliciting applications from the bay area’s schools for scholarship awards.  The 2008-2009 scholarships were announced at one of our new programs, Chalk Walk this past March. In the past two years the TBBCA has awarded $32,500 in scholarships to local students in the arts.

In addition, our Cultural Encounters program invited area business people to visit selected cultural institutions to learn about their programs and community impact.  In 2008, our visits included the Spanish Lyric Theatre, USF’s Graphic Studio, the USF School of Music, USF Contemporary Art Museum and Tampa Realistic Artists. The 2009 Cultural Encounters program started in July with a visit to Tampa Museum of Art. Some of the other cultural organizations Cultural Encounters will take you will include The Art Institute of Tampa, Tampa Bay History Center, Jobsite Theatre and Florida Pro Musica. Due to the generosity of Target, over the past two years, we have been able to provide a check to each of these institutions for their program support. Please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information about participating or sponsoring the 2009 Cultural Encounters program.

In 2008, we also continued our relationship with Americans for the Arts and MetLife as we presented, in partnership with the Arts Council of Hillsborough County, two public forums.  The first featured Patricia Martin, a nationally known author of RenGen: the Renaissance Generation, who led a lively panel discussion among a number of area cultural leaders addressing communication and marketing issues in reaching the millennium generation.  The second phase of this program developed projects based on these conclusions.

In October we presented our Fourteenth Annual Awards Gala, a lovely event at the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, at which the award recipients were presented with beautiful prints of Poppy, an oil painting from the museum’s permanent collection, as well as vases with similar images. This year's Awards Gala will take place on November 5, 2009 at The Florida Aquarium.

We would love to have the opportunity to discuss the programs, goals, and successes of the Tampa Bay BCA.  This year is shaping up to be another great year for the arts! Thank you for your commitment and dedication to the Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture & the Arts!