• Instagram Icon
  • Vimeo Icon
  • YouTube Icon
  • Nextdoor Icon
  • Search Icon
main content

The 26th Florida Outdoor Sculpture Competition


 


Call for Art

The call for the 26th Annual Florida Outdoor Sculpture Competition is closed. 

Works will be selected by a committee composed of City of Lakeland staff, representatives from the Polk Museum of Art, and select members of the local arts community. Incomplete or late applications will not be juried. Additionally, sculptures that do not meet the requirements listed (e.g., incomplete works or proposals) will not be juried. Accepted works must be structurally secured and surface-mounted to a concrete pad with anchor bolts or similar devices and be capable of withstanding adverse weather conditions, such as high winds, high temperatures, heavy rain, storms, etc.. In addition, they must withstand a high-traffic, public park environment; consider the audience's safety; and be maintenance-free during the exhibition period. Installation must be accomplished by the artist or their designated representative, using tools provided by the artist (access to a crane will be available if notice is given in advance).

Please email FLOSC@Lakelandgov.net for additional information or with questions. 


About the Competition

The 26th Florida Outdoor Sculpture Competition is on display on the Lemon Street Promenade and Lakeland Public Library through the end of 2026. In the fall of 2025, artists submitted applications through an online application process for consideration in the 2026 show. A jury comprised of City staff, Polk Museum of Art representatives, and members from the local arts community gathered to review the submissions. Artists submitted over 50 sculptures for review, with the jury picking 11 of the best to display.

For the fourth year, the footprint of the exhibit space has expanded to include one sculpture at the Lakeland Public Library on Lake Morton. The remaining ten sculptures cover three blocks of Lemon Street between South Florida and Massachusetts Avenue. The artwork along the Lemon Street Promenade and Library provides a great aesthetic that can be enjoyed on a weekend stroll or as a diversion while visiting the swans on Lake Morton. 

Pam Page, Deputy Director of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts, said, “The sculptures on Lemon Street were introduced to provide free access to public art for all who live and visit our community. We are fortunate to live in a City that recognizes the value of public art that introduces culture and well-being.”

Previous years:
2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025


People's Choice Award

Vote for your favorite!


Meet the Artists

  • Richard Herzog | Athens, GA


    Sprout on the Run
    Medium:
     Stainless Steel


    Artist's Description

    Sprout on the Run is a sprout moving along trying to find a new place to grow.

    Artist's Statement

    As an artist I do not have the answers, I feel my role is more like an activist. I do not create work with a political agenda nor have a politically motivated view. My role is to bring awareness to the society in which we live and to the subjects, objects and ideas that permeate our My work explores botanical forms, the lack of interaction between man and nature, the artificialization of nature, and the patterning that occurs in nature. These sculptures talk about organization and the chaotic nature within natural and man-made forms. I look at how items are composed and their many parts, then abstract their elements-keeping true to their inherit qualities. Some sculptures are more organic in form as if growing or flowing from group to group, mimicking ivy or spring flowers sprouting here and there. All a combination of a systematic organization of natural forms possessing a chaotic multi-layered visual effect creating a metaphor of our culture in a subordinate or subversive manner.


    Learn More

  • Jarod Charzewski | Charleston, SC

    Signal Bloom
    Medium: Steel/Repurposed Satellite Dishes


    Artist's Description

    This public sculpture repurposes satellite dishes and welded steel to evoke the layered geometry of natural forms such as artichokes and pinecones. Nestled within an urban corridor, it stands as a fusion of the organic and the industrial, once tools of broadcast and surveillance now reimagined as petals or scales in a vegetal bloom. The sculpture reflects on the parallels between systems of nature and human-made networks, questioning how we receive, shield, and structure information and energy. By drawing from botanical inspiration and integrating discarded technology, the work speaks to cycles of growth, obsolescence, and renewal within both ecological and technological realms. This sculpture combines welded steel and repurposed satellite dishes to create a form that draws inspiration from natural growth patterns found in artichokes, pinecones, and other botanical structures. The industrial materials, once tools of communication and surveillance, are recontextualized into a form that suggests organic symmetry and protective layering. By merging the manufactured with the natural, the work explores the tension between technology and ecology, permanence and decay. It invites viewers to consider how our built environment mimics, and often disrupts, the rhythms of the natural world, offering a moment of reflection within a landscape shaped by both human innovation and organic evolution.


    Learn More

  • Richard Herzog | Athens, GA


    Rogue Tuber
    Medium:
     Steel


    Artist's Description

    Rogue Tuber is a plant tuber on the move in search of a new home.

    Artist's Statement

    As an artist I do not have the answers, I feel my role is more like an activist. I do not create work with a political agenda nor have a politically motivated view. My role is to bring awareness to the society in which we live and to the subjects, objects and ideas that permeate our My work explores botanical forms, the lack of interaction between man and nature, the artificialization of nature, and the patterning that occurs in nature. These sculptures talk about organization and the chaotic nature within natural and man-made forms. I look at how items are composed and their many parts, then abstract their elements-keeping true to their inherit qualities. Some sculptures are more organic in form as if growing or flowing from group to group, mimicking ivy or spring flowers sprouting here and there. All a combination of a systematic organization of natural forms possessing a chaotic multi-layered visual effect creating a metaphor of our culture in a subordinate or subversive manner.


    Learn More

  • Jonathan Chandler | Halifax, VA


    The Three Sisters
    Medium:
    Steel


    Artist's Description

    "The Three Sisters" was created in March 2025 of recycled steel. This sculpture depicts the way the Native Americans grew their crops consisting of corn, beans, and squash. It's made of hand forged and welded steel. Each element has been hand forged to add texture and interest. Every corner and weld has been ground smooth. This sculpture is meant to be touched. My father has a visual impairment so I make all of my sculptures so that everyone can safely experience them. It's painted in a realistic palette with industrial oil paint. The sculpture is finished with an anti-graffiti topcoat. It's made of recycled materials.


    Learn More

  • Adam Walls | Tryon, NC


    Core Oracle
    Medium:
    Steel


    Artist's Description

    This sculpture is a slight departure from two very different series of sculptures. It finely combines elements of both to create a form and a personal narrative of new life, history, and beauty.

    Artist's Statement

    My sculpture is concept driven and is often highly viewer interactive. The conceptual component of my work is often derived from some memory that was stirred by the shape of some memento that I have held on to since childhood. These things bring up thoughts and experiences that challenge me and guide me through the creative process. There are elements in much of my larger works that are derived from my love of fantasy, escapism, and pop-culture imagery.
    My sculpture does range in size drastically from minuscule to monumental. Some of my sculptures only require the viewer to watch as they see themselves reflected atop a difficult and imposing staircase which could represent the challenges we face in order to achieve our goals.
    In whatever way my viewer chooses to engage my work, I find that it is not always necessary to me that the viewer understand my concept, but it is important to me that I provide an experience that might encourage the viewer to see and engage with art more often.


    Learn More

  • Russell Whiting | Breaux Bridge, LA

    Obelisk
    Medium:
    Steel


    Artist's Description

    A carved Angel standing on top of an Obelisk made of steel

    Artist's Statement

    As an artist I want to make sculpture that exhibits the skills and techniques that I have developed as a metal worker over the last 30 years. My method of sculpting steel is uniquely a product of my involvement and experiences in the metal fabrication and ship building industry of La. As a sculptor I have taken this experience and modified it into techniques to carved and shape steel figurative sculptures that are uniquely identifiable as my work.


    Learn More

  • Jessica Bradsher | Greenville, NC


    Heart Locks
    Medium: 
    Steel


    Artist's Description

    "Heart Locks" is an open form sculptural invitation crafted from steel and is meant to be an evolving vessel for the love of strangers. By fastening a love lock to this piece, viewers cease to be just an observer and become part of a collective archive of devotion. The metal grows heavier with these additions just as we are shaped and beautified by the people we choose to love.

    Artist's Statement

    Jessica Bradsher is a visual artist specializing in metal sculpture and painting, currently living and working in Greenville, North Carolina. Her large-scale sculptures are displayed publicly from the eastern to the midwestern regions of the United States and are also included in private collections. The themes in her work range from whimsical to contemplative. Jessica holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in both Studio Sculpture as well as Art Education. She earned her Master's of Fine Arts in 2018 from East Carolina University and currently teaches visual arts and sculpture at a private high school in the Greenville area. At present, Jessica is involved in jurying the annual DownEast Sculpture Exhibition and is fabricating her sculptural entry that has been accepted into the Underwater Museum of Art Sculpture program in the Gulf of Mexico, located in Walton County, Florida.


    Learn More

  • Jim Gallucci | Greensboro, NC


    Digital Sunburst
    Medium:
     Metal


    Artist's Description

    As the sun burst forth ever morning, today we are living in the digital rising day. This is the new digital age. Sun rise.

    Artist's Statement

    I have been a sculptor for 40 years and work full-time designing and creating/fabricating sculptures in my Greensboro studio, assisted by a staff of 6 people. My commissions can be found in public, corporate, and residential spaces throughout the country. I am currently showing my work in 32 sculpture shows across the country.


    Learn More

  • Jim Gallucci | Greensboro, NC


    Distilling a Conversation
    Medium:
    Metal


    Artist's Description

    I live in the old moonshine part of the country. It was in this area that moonshine was booklegged in fast cars that had to outrun the revenuers. Today what is distilled are conversations and opinions. This bench is where conversations can be spoken and heard.

    Artist's Statement

    I have been a sculptor for 40 years and work full-time designing and creating/fabricating sculptures in my Greensboro studio, assisted by a staff of 6 people. My commissions can be found in public, corporate, and residential spaces throughout the country. I am currently showing my work in 32 sculpture shows across the country.


    Learn More

  • 4th Dimension Fab / Keith Williams | Lakeland, FL


    Jammin
    Medium:
    Recycled Materials


    Artist's Description

    Jammin' pays homage to the Radioshack and big Boom box days. Created from recycled metal parts in the shop , he stands about 10' tall and is really enjoying the tunes.

    Artist's Statement

    Hey! I'm Keith Williams and have a creative fabrication and welding company in Lakeland, Fl. I've been welding nearly 20 years and find the most joy making sculptures from recycled metals and parts.


    Learn More

  • Kirk Seese | Lutherville Timonium, MD


    Lumenfly
    Medium:
    Steel & Acrylic


    Artist's Description

    In the silent depths of alien caverns and the shadowed tunnels of distant moons, these autonomous dragonflies drift gracefully through the darkness, their sleek metallic wings humming with quiet precision. These bio-inspired machines, known as Lumenflies,
    are engineered to navigate treacherous subterranean landscapes where human explorers cannot easily tread.

    Each Lumenfly carries a lattice of bioluminescent panels and adaptive sensors, casting rippling patterns of light that reveal mineral veins, hidden passages, and microbial colonies on asteroid walls. Guided by swarm intelligence, they coordinate their movements to map vast underground systems in shimmering detail, illuminating not only the terrain, but also the mysteries of life and resources above and beneath the surface.

    Artist's Statement

    Besides my insatiable desire to design, fabricate, deliver and install art to the public…
    wherever I can,
    whenever I can,
    as much as I can,
    the following poem best describes my interest in public art:

    Open love letter to public art:

    What I love about you, public art, is that you are meant for everyone
    You require no entry fee, cover charge or special invitation.
    Set free from the galleries, museums and private homes of the past.
    You're out there, in the wild, unapologetic, yet vulnerable, and for everyone to see!
    You must be strong, durable, able to withstand all types of weather, public scrutiny and the test of time!
    You can be interactive, kinetic or stationary, and come in so many forms,
    In all shapes and sizes.
    You invite discussion and bring the world of visual arts to people’s everyday lives.
    For all these reasons and many more, I will adore you for the rest of my life!

    Hopelessly smitten


    Learn More


Lemon Street Promenade & Lakeland Public Library

Covering three (3) blocks of Lemon Street between South Florida Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue, a visit to the FLOSC sculptures on the Lemon Street Promenade is perfect for a quick weekend outing or during a lunch break.

Added in 2022, an additional sculpture can be found at the Lakeland Public Library. The library's location, just south of Lakeland's downtown core, can be a leisurely walk or short drive from the Lemon Street pieces. 

Which sculpture is YOUR favorite?


Audio Tour by Otocast

Check out the Audio Tour powered by Otocast, you can download and install the app to find the Florida Outdoor Sculpture Competition tour with voice recordings from the artists talking about each sculpture.

Find it on Google Play | App Store (Apple)


Walking Tour

Developed by the City of Lakeland's GIS Team, the link below will take you to a GPS-enabled map where you can walk through the Florida Outdoor Sculpture Competition virtually or in person!

View Tour Full Screen

As a convenience and for informational purposes only, the City of Lakeland provides external hyperlinks on its website, directing website users towards certain outside sites; links to these websites do not constitute the City of Lakeland’s endorsement or approval of linked websites, or the information, products or services contained therein. All links the City of Lakeland Provides are consistent with the mission of its website. However, the City of Lakeland exercises no editorial control over the information website users may find on external websites. The City of Lakeland also cannot attest to the accuracy or appropriateness of information provided by external websites and organizations.