Now it's planning its third: ArtQuest, a juried sculpture exhibit on the island.

MIFA's first significant project was the replacement of the stolen statue of the little girl in the Happy Travelers sculpture at Leigh Plummer Park in October 2004.

The most recent was a postcard project in conjunction with the Marco Island Historical Society.

"We decided on a more aggressive project with a wider scale this time, so ArtQuest was born," said Keith Dameron, a member of the foundation's board of directors.

For entries in the sculpture project, MIFA organizers are looking to artists on Marco Island and throughout the country.

MIFA President Jo-Ann Sanborn sent out a call to artists from July through September in high-quality sculpture and art publications, including Sculpture Review, ARTnews, Art Calendar, American Artist and Arts Alive: The Newsletter of the United Arts Council of Collier County. She also advertised with the Art League of Marco Island, the Art League of Bonita Springs, the Naples Art Association and Bayshore Arts.

"Artists can submit up to three pieces," Sanborn said. "We've already received a large number of inquiries from all over the country. We expect to get more because some of the publications just hit the shelves."

Sanborn said she targeted high-qualify venues because MIFA wants high-quality submissions.

"We hope to get a good mix of traditional and modern sculptures," she said.

MIFA is signing up 15 local business sponsors to display the selected pieces on their premises.

Fourteen sponsors already have been secured, so MIFA needs one more.

The artists' fee for submitting up to three pieces is $200, plus shipping and handling, per piece. The sponsors' fee is $1,500.

"The exciting part is that the business sponsors get to choose which piece they want to display," Sanborn said. "We will most likely receive pieces of stone — such as marble — and, of course, metal. The artists can choose their own themes, but (the sculptures) must be able to withstand our climate with its heat, sun, salty air and sand."

A MIFA committee will select the pieces for the project, and the sponsors will choose from those, Dameron said.

"We'd like for the submissions to be family-appropriate," he said. "This is not intended to be a fundraiser; it will be a break-even project."

MIFA will have 10,000 color maps printed with the locations of the sculpture displays, Dameron said. The group will distribute the maps to the sponsoring businesses and to the concierges at Marco Island's hotels and resorts.

"This will be a very, very exciting way to bring traffic to the businesses and people to the island," Dameron said. "We had a wonderful surprise with the businesses at The Esplanade. They're going to take six pieces and are planning to have a big unveiling party at the end of January, during high season. The party will be the focal point of the project."

Dameron said the ArtQuest sculpture exhibit currently is in the "very early" stages.

"It should draw a great deal of attention," he said. "We're still looking for that 15th sponsor."

The artwork will be displayed at the business sponsors' locations throughout 2006. In 2007, MIFA will start the process all over again, looking for new sponsors and entries.

"My vision is to boost the sponsors up to 20 (to) 25 by 2007," Dameron said. "This will bring so much positive, high-quality art to Marco Island. The island will be viewed far and wide as a community that appreciates high-end quality artists and their work."

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