Tampa Bay: Living Waters
Site: Storefront at Channelside Drive & Franklin Street
Artist: Carlton Ward
Concept: Conservation Photography; environmental messaging on Portal prototype
Using conservation photography, the artist recognizes the natural wonder of the original Tampa Bay and the human engagement connected to its living waters. Specific environmental messages complement the images. This installation is a prototype for a developing educational program. The Portals are a part of the Riverwalk Cultural Plan.
Using conservation photography, and focusing on Tampa Bay, Carlton Ward, Jr.’s installation focuses on Tampa Bay's environment and wildlife. The final images will be displayed digitally through a portal prototype. Ward is an environmental photojournalist from Clearwater, Florida, with graduate training in ecology and anthropology.
Ward notes that Tampa Bay is a geographic place for 3 million people who call the area home. First and foremost, Tampa Bay is a bay. It is the largest open water estuary in Florida and it is the ecosystem that defines and sustains the region that borrows its name. This photography portfolio celebrates the natural wonder of the original Tampa Bay and the humanity connected to its living waters.
"I want people to be inspired by the beauty of the bay and to learn what makes it unique." Ward says. “Forty miles long and 400 square miles across, Tampa Bay is the culmination of six rivers and over 100 tributaries, connecting seven counties and drawing from a watershed covering 2,200 square miles. The bay is home to more than 200 species of fish, as well as dolphins, sea turtles and manatees. Birdlife is abundant and endangered species find refuge. Crystal clear springs flow to form rapids as it descends the Hillsborough River and tidal waters meet the white sand beaches and surf from the Gulf of Mexico.
“Through its beauty, I also want people to appreciate the bay's fragility. The nation's tenth largest domestic trade cargo port can coexist with the nation's largest nesting colony or roseate spoonbills, commercial fisheries can coexist with waterfront housing, and the rivers can continue to flow while quenching the thirst of millions. But not without our help. We must appreciate and protect to estuary that sustains us. The future of the bay and the future of the region depends on it.”
