PK Yonge Developmental Research School:
The new gymnasium at P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School is envisioned as more than an athletic facility—it is a public-facing, community-centered space that reflects who we have been, who we are, and who we are becoming.
Founded in 1934, P.K. Yonge has served for more than 91 years as a public developmental research school and the University of Florida’s Pre-K–12 laboratory school. Our campus has long balanced tradition and innovation, honoring a proud legacy in academics, athletics, and community while continuously reimagining what public education can be.
Artists are invited to engage with this dual identity: deep roots and forward momentum.
Athletics at P.K. Yonge are an integral part of the school’s story—one that emphasizes perseverance, teamwork, humility, and growth. The new gym stands as a renewal of this legacy and as a symbol of expanded access, wellness, and opportunity for today’s students and future generations.
The school’s Live Healthy initiative and HHP (Health and Health Care Professions) Pathway provides an important contemporary lens for this work. Live Healthy reflects a campus-wide commitment to proactive wellness—physical, mental, and social—and to inspiring students to see themselves as capable of leading healthy lives and pursuing futures in health and healthcare professions in answer to the State’s critical need for this type of skilled professional. Artistic concepts may explore themes of vitality, balance, motion, resilience, or care, connecting personal well-being to collective responsibility.
As a developmental research school, P.K. Yonge is both a local school and a site of innovation whose work is shared statewide and beyond. This gymnasium will host not only student athletics but also families, alumni, faculty and staff, university partners, and community members who may be encountering the school for the first time. The artwork should help tell our story to the public—welcoming, inclusive, and legible to a broad audience.
University of Florida:
Located in the heart of North Central Florida, the University of Florida (http://ufl.edu) is one of America’s premier public Universities and is the first Florida school to break into the list of top 10 best public universities, currently at No. 7, according to the 2024 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings. The University of Florida is one of the largest universities in the United States and students from more than 100 countries attend UF’s 20 colleges and 100 interdisciplinary research and education centers and institutes.
UF has a 2,000-acre campus and more than 900 buildings, including the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum- certified building in the state of Florida.
One of America’s all-around best universities, the University of Florida drives future-making education, eye-opening discoveries, life-saving health care, and community-building collaboration for our state, our nation, and our world.
Florida’s Art in State Buildings Program:
The Art in State Buildings (ASB) Program acquires artwork for new public facilities built with state funds. The program requires that up to .5% of the construction appropriation be set aside to acquire artwork for permanent display in, on or around the facility.
Since the program began in 1979, more than 1,000 works of art have been purchased or commissioned for Florida public spaces. You'll find them in nearly every Florida county, in locations such as state office buildings, Department of Transportation complexes, Department of Health facilities, courthouses, and throughout state university and college campuses.
