“We specialize in large graphic murals and commissioned artwork,” Scalise, who owns Tada! Traditional and Digital Arts, said.

So it was no surprise that when Scalise was given the opportunity to paint a mural on the side of a Downtown Tampa building, she jumped on it.

“It’s art, everyone loves it, and it puts color to otherwise dreary buildings sometimes,” Scalise said.

Scalise has painted three murals in downtown thanks to a public activation grant from the Tampa Downtown Partnership.

“Murals are a great way to add life to a building that maybe doesn’t have great architectural character, or maybe to an area that you want to give a community identity to,” Ashly Anderson, Senior Design Manager for the Tampa Downtown Partnership, said.

Grant applicants can be reimbursed up to $2,500 for their art. The project has to be in Downtown Tampa and in a place where the public can access it. It doesn’t only apply to murals; it can also include installations, events and performances.

“It can really be any fun idea that an individual, a company, an organization, an artist has. We would like to have them do it and help fund it downtown,” Anderson said.