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Giant, pink flamingo will greet guests at Tampa International Airport

It's a very Florida welcome.

TAMPA, Fla. — It’s big, pink and will soon be greeting travelers at the Tampa International Airport.

We’re talking about a 21-foot flamingo sculpture. 

It’s called HOME by Matthew Mazzotta. It’s a floor-to-ceiling sculpture of a flamingo dipping its head into the water.

The sculpture was one of seven new art commissions the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority Board approved recently. They were picked from 734 total respondents who came from across the world and locally.

“I think we will find that HOME is aptly named as it will evoke a sense of place for those that experience the artwork,” said Robin Nigh, the City of Tampa’s Manager of Arts and Cultural Affairs, and a member of TPA’s Public Art Committee. “The artwork should provide a visual respite; a sense of home for returning travelers and a sense of arrival for visitors. It is unique, quiet, beautiful, kitsch and fun all at once. HOME will carry the meaning of what individuals bring to it, very much like one’s ‘real’ home.”

The other winning artists include:

  • Soo Sunny Park, of Hanover, N.H., who will produce a hanging sculpture in the new SkyCenter atrium.
  • Jason Hackenwerth, of St. Petersburg, Fla., who is creating a hanging sculpture entitled Cove for the third and fourth floor of the SkyCenter Atrium.
  • Jason Bruges, of London, England, who is creating a mixed media mural entitled Cloud Ascent to adorn the east wall of the red vertical circulation building.
  • Catherine Wagner, of Oakland, C.A., who is creating a large mural featuring photos that are laser-etched onto anodized aluminum panels, for the northwest wall of the blue vertical circulation building.
  • Jason Middlebrook, of Hudson, N.Y., who is producing a mural featuring a composition of local flora and fauna, for the northwest wall of the blue vertical circulation building.
  • Aaron Stephan, of Portland, Maine, who created a hanging sculpture out of ladders entitled Paths Rising, for the Main Terminal helix space between the Main Terminal and SkyConnect station.

You can read more about the new piece here.

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