Citing contractor issues, Art Fair Tampa opening is postponed to Friday night

Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida on July 3, 2023. Credit: Keir Magoulas Tyler Sirota’s Art Fair Tampa was never going to be easy to pull off, but the 33-year-old has been unwavering in his push to stage what s billed as “the region’s first major indoor fine art fair.” Last week, he told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that he had to change contractors charged with building booths for the hundreds of artists expected to display their work at Tampa Convention Center. Now, what Sirota called a “miscalculation” by the new contractor is forcing him to postpone Art Fair Tampa’s opening from tonight to Friday. “It’s the last thing we want to do,” Sirota, art curator at the Epicurean Hotel in South Tampa, told CL today. “But we want to be able to deliver on what we promised to the artists and guests.” Now, anyone with a ticket to the VIP collectors night will come on Friday, Oct. 16 from 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor is still slated to cut the ribbon on the new open