Olivia Mansion

Discover artwork infused with robotics and technology 🤖⚙️

Here is a behind-the-scenes look at Bec Conrad sharing the process of making “Wall of Eyes,” and “Eyes in the Rough”

It’s often difficult to convey the energy, hard work, and dedication that our participating artists and Fairgrounds St. Pete team put into creating the work you get to now enjoy!

Scroll on to see BTS images of making the “Wall of Eyes”!

“Wall of Eyes” is a 24’ lightbox installation activated by the presence of a viewer. The lightboxes feature silhouettes of glowing eyes belonging to six animal species who make their home in the Florida Everglades: the American alligator, Roseate spoonbill, tree snail, Florida panther, giant land crab and the opossum. When a viewer passes by, Wall of Eyes lights up, sending the visitor into a mystical, multicolored environment.

“Eyes in the Rough” is a set of three animatronic eyeballs that peek out at visitors from the tall cat grass lining the Everglades Arena. The eyes track movement through a motion-sensing camera hidden in each sculpture. As visitors walk by, they may feel like something is watching them… because it is!

Artist and engineer Bec Conrad holds a MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and a MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire. She was a consulting technologist for Tellart LLC, who received the 2016 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award in Interaction Design. Bec designed and manufactured several robotic interactive elements of Toyota’s Concept-i, the highest fidelity prototype car ever created. Bec’s artwork examines kinetic expressions of robots and questions human relationships with technology. Bec has exhibited artwork nationally and internationally, including at Flux Factory, NY and the International Symposium on Electronic Art, Vancouver.

To see Bec Conrad’s work at Fairgrounds St. Pete, – get your ticket today, and join our Insiders Club for the latest Fairgrounds St. Pete news.

Discover artwork that feels strange yet familiar🚸🛣️🐊

“Caution Ahead” is a collection of three unique iridescent street signs created by Danielle DeGuglimo.

It’s often difficult to convey the energy, hard work, and dedication that our participating artists and Fairgrounds St. Pete team put into creating the work you get to now enjoy! Scroll on to see BTS images of making the “Caution Ahead”.

Danielle has created three iridescent street signs for Fairgrounds St. Pete’s Backwater that are similar to signs seen on Florida roadways. The Panther Crossing, Gator Crossing and Sinkhole signs are made of acrylic, iridescent film, vinyl and steel posts. The faces of the signs reflect a dreamy, mirrored iridescence while warning of the potential danger and right of way for native panthers and alligators. The third sign warns of the rare and sudden occurrence of Florida sinkholes. Typically caused by a change in the stabilization of limestone underground, sinkholes can change the topography by quickly swallowing up the landscape, including buildings and vehicles, or developing slowly over a long period of time.

Danielle DeGuglimo is a native Floridian living in central Florida who creates art installations for public interaction and engagement. Her work is often in response to childhood nostalgia and play. Her installations are typically oversized and surreal and focus on representing the strange yet familiar.

To see Danielle DeGuglimo’s work at Fairgrounds St. Pete, – get your ticket today, and join our Insiders Club for the latest Fairgrounds St. Pete news.

Have you experienced our latest immersive art experience: “Electric Sky Lounge”?

This new immersive, interactive art experience was created in collaboration with internationally renowned artist Neil Mendoza featuring his award-winning artwork “Disruptive Devices”.

You’re invited to interact with each work using a crank wheel that changes a virtual world. The result is a surprising and humorous interaction between the real and the digital worlds. 🦆🤚🐓🤚🐕

It’s often difficult to convey the energy, hard work, and dedication that our participating artists and Fairgrounds St. Pete team put into creating the work you get to now enjoy!

As with all of the artwork at @fairgroundsstpete, “Disruptive Devices” has a story”.

“I’m interested in expanding our culture’s perception of technology and what it can do and be,” said Artist Neil Mendoza. “Disruptive Devices explores themes of environmental sustainability and the impact of technology in our lives, through a surreal and playful lens.”

Scroll on to see BTS images of making the devices!

Neil Mendoza’s practice combines sculpture, electronics and software to bring inanimate objects and spaces to life. By combining found objects with technology in unexpected ways, the various elements of his work are viewed from a new perspective. Mendoza explores themes of the absurd, the humorous, the futile and the surreal. He has exhibited work and talked at conferences around the world, taught classes on art and technology at UCLA and Stanford and co-founded the art collective “is this good?”

To see Neil Mendoza’s work at Fairgrounds St. Pete, – get your ticket today, and join our Insiders Club for the latest Fairgrounds St. Pete news.

Discover artwork inspired by Florida’s underwater worlds.

It’s often difficult to convey the energy, hard work, and dedication that our participating artists and Fairgrounds St. Pete team put into creating the work you get to now enjoy!

Here is a behind-the-scenes look at Ari Robinson @arirobinsonart sharing the process of making “Mystic Reef,” a mixed media installation.

As with all of the artwork at @fairgroundsstpete “Mystic Reef” has a story.

“Mystic Reef” is a site-specific installation created for Fairgrounds St. Pete’s FLORIDARAMA exhibit. The goal was to create a transcendent-like structure cascading from the wall to the ceiling that recalls coral reefs and underwater landscapes. This work references both familiar terrain as well as magical and unknown landscapes of mythical underwater worlds.

Ari Robinson is an installation and collage artist from St. Pete, FL. She approaches her work using a creative execution driven by process and spontaneity, focused on form, color and energy. Informed with an intuitive sense of color and space, she establishes the direction of each piece, whether a site-specific installation or a collaged painting, layer by layer until the work feels grounded with a sense of fluidity. Color is a very important component in her work due to its ability to evoke feelings of transcendence or to suggest a transcendent space. She received her B.F.A. in Studio Art from Lindenwood University in 2015. Some of her clients and press include: Georges Dubouef (Quintessential Wines), Boston Children’s Hospital, Nikki Beach Miami, The Tampa Bay Times, Packaging of the World and Hennessy Paradis Imperial.

To see more of Eddie’s work at Fairgrounds St. Pete, – get your ticket today, and join our Insiders Club for the latest Fairgrounds St. Pete news.

Discover artwork that combines light, space and technology to create otherworldly scenes.

It’s often difficult to convey the energy, hard work, and dedication that our participating artists and Fairgrounds St. Pete team put into creating the work you get to now enjoy!

Here is a behind-the-scenes look at how “The Everglades Arena” was created by our internal art team.

As with all of the artwork at @fairgroundsstpete “The Everglades Arena Projection” has a story.

Sit and take a moment to soak in the views of the Everglades and the Mermaid Star Motel facade. This experience is anchored by a 50-foot projection-based digital landscape made by Fairgrounds St. Pete in collaboration with Olivia Sebeskey @oliviasebesky

To see the “Everglades Arena” – get your ticket today, and join our Insiders Club for the latest Fairgrounds St. Pete news.