UT Journal, Winter Issue ’23 – Tampa Arts Have an Ally 

Tampa Bay Business Journal   – Eclectic work history has Tampa Arts Alliance director in the right role at the right time    

Michele Smith’s career is an eclectic blend of business and art. Her experience began with championing trade to and from Tampa Bay. First as a producer and importer of fine silk from Bangalore, India, Michele managed a thriving fabrics supply that opened up a new aspect of household trade through Port Tampa Bay. A few years later while acting as Business Manager for a Central American firm, she exported American goods from the port to real estate projects in Honduras that produced over 400 homes. Her work was highlighted in the advocacy of the regional free-trade agreement, CAFTA. This experience proved useful while working for the French firm Bureau Veritas, in the area of environmental health and safety (EHS) services.  

Throughout her entire career she has participated in and led art initiatives that enhance community. During the unprecedented events of 2020 she realized a desire to focus her attention and skills to her local community. Michele believes strongly that the arts are a positive change agent as well as a valuable economic engine. As Executive Director for the Tampa Arts Alliance since its inception in 2021, she spearheads efforts to bring international attention to Tampa Bay’s thriving arts ecosystem while shoring up opportunities for local artists to access new markets. She has led the Alliance in forming a phenomenal Board of Directors and engaged committees that touch every aspect of the arts while connecting to the larger community. This has resulted in an increase in local municipal spending and investment, additional public and private RFPs and calls for artists, cross-sector collaborations with industry leaders in real estate development and tech and the creation of new cultural spaces. 

Recent Publication:

UT Journal, Spring 2024: Leaving and Impression; 
S24UTJOURNAL-WEB 
page 34-41  

Arts Leadership includes:

• • 2025- present: Hillsborough County Arts Council Board of Advisors
  • 2022 – present: Acquisitions Committee for the USF Contemporary Art Museum
  • 2021 – present: Board of Directors for the City of Tampa’s Friends of Public Art
  • 2021: program lead for Lights on Tampa 2021 two-day public activation
  • 2018-2021: Chair of Tampa’s Downtown Arts and Culture Committee
  • Curator for artLOUD! public art installation of 15 small-scale sculptures in Downtown Tampa
  • Producer of Creacion, outdoor arts activation on Davis Islands
  • Founded HCC Dance Club
  • Founder of the ‘Artists Network of Tampa Bay’ database, and Wired In Tampa Bay e-zine

Arts Experience includes:

• • art residency with Sam Gilliam at the University of Tampa
  • Bangor, Wales residency with Edward Povey to co-produce The Business of Art 
  • Undergraduate Degree- International Business and Fine Art from the University of Tampa
  • week-long dance repertory studies with Urban Bush Women, Monica Bill Barnes, Dante Brown Warehouse and Cakeface at Hillsborough Community College
  • Associate Producer to Academy Award Winning director Barbara Kopple for Hot Type: 150 Years Of The Nation Magazine 
  • led healing arts workshops and yoga retreats internationally