Truman Adams, a Sarasota-based artist, was recommended and approved Nov. 5 by the Sarasota City Public Art Committee to create "Niche Art," a mural at Tenth Street and Osprey Avenue in the Gillespie Park neighborhood.

Staff told the committee the project began as a resident proposal in August 2024 and was refined through the citys Florida Legacy Mural Series call. The process drew 133 submissions and a five-member finalist pool. Staff reported a $55,000 total project budget had been authorized previously and that each of the five finalists received a $500 stipend to advance concepts. An online public survey produced 92 responses citywide, including 30 from Gillespie Park residents; Adamss design received more than half of the community votes.

In presenting the selected concept, Adams described a composition that incorporates native Sarasota flora and three parakeets often seen in the neighborhood: "Niche art is my love letter to Sarasota," he said, noting the design uses local plant species and a three-dimensional illusion intended to encourage interaction and selfies.

Committee members and neighborhood representatives said outreach was robust. Kelly Brown, president of the Gillespie Park Neighborhood Association, said the association used newsletters, park bulletin boards and on-site flyers with a QR code to drive responses. Colleen Owens, a resident representing the building that would host the mural, told the committee the buildings occupants and nearby dog-park users had engaged heavily with the selection process and that the mural would create neighborhood identity and places for people to pause.

Staff recommended commissioning Adams in part because the design incorporated the buildings architectural lines and because community feedback aligned with the building ownerspreferences. The Public Art Committee moved and seconded a recommendation to commission Niche Art; the motion passed unanimously.

The committee also debated how to use the other finalists. Staff noted those proposals could be sited at different walls around the city and that the public art program maintains a $150,000 mural budget to support additional work this fiscal year. After discussion, the committee approved a separate motion prioritizing three additional finalists for future sites: "Above the Nest" (Trinity Revard), "Spoonbills of the Suncoast" (Sunny Bahon) and "Flow" (Federico Masa), directing staff to pursue locations and neighborhood outreach for those works.

Staff said final contract details, site-specific drawings, anti-graffiti coatings and a schedule for fabrication and installation will be returned to the committee as details are finalized. The committee did not set an installation date at the Nov. 5 meeting.