{"id":11379,"date":"2017-07-06T21:58:05","date_gmt":"2017-07-06T21:58:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/?p=11379&post_type=story"},"modified":"2024-08-27T13:03:34","modified_gmt":"2024-08-27T13:03:34","slug":"hotbed","status":"publish","type":"story","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/pegasus\/hotbed\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating a Scene"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summer 2017 | By Maureen Harmon<\/em><\/p>\n

[divider][\/divider]<\/p>\n

[photo id=”12473″ title=”ayana-campbell-drew-powers-morgan-walker-” alt=”Ayana Campbell, Drew Powers, and Morgan Walker sit on a blue couch.” position=”right” width=”500px”]Ayana Campbell Smith\u00a0\u201914, Drew Powers \u201911 and Morgan Walker \u201912 created Orlando Creators along with Hillery (Brooks) Powers \u201911 (not pictured here).<\/p>\n

[\/photo]<\/p>\n

Spotlight on Talent<\/span><\/p>\n

Ayana Campbell Smith \u201914<\/span>
\n Drew Powers \u201911<\/span>
\nCo-founders of Orlando Creators <\/span><\/p>\n


\nAyana Campbell Smith \u201914<\/em><\/strong> was born and raised in Orlando, and she had planned to leave as soon as she got her degree in graphic design<\/a>. As a \u201ccreative type,\u201d she intuitively looked toward the likes of New York or Boston to establish her career, but when she landed a job with an Orlando-based digital creative agency, she realized she was surrounded by other graphic designers and visual artists. Now at Envy Labs, a consultancy that specializes in software development and interface design, she teamed up with fellow Envy Labs designer Drew Powers \u201911<\/strong>, his wife Hillery (Brooks) Powers \u201911<\/strong>, and videographer Morgan Walker \u201912<\/strong> to establish Orlando Creators, an online interview series showcasing Orlando designers and visual artists.<\/p>\n

Ayana:<\/span> Our goal at Orlando Creators is to spotlight the creative talent that\u2019s in Orlando<\/strong> because I think a lot of people around the nation don\u2019t realize how much talent we have here.<\/p>\n

Drew:<\/span> The first people we interviewed have already had more exposure than we could possibly give them. <\/strong>We\u2019re kind of leveraging their reach. These are designers and artists that are good enough to work anywhere in the world, and they choose to be in Orlando.<\/p>\n

Drew:<\/span> Orlando is the hospitality mecca of the world, but if you stick around long enough, you\u2019ll realize that there is a small community here <\/strong>besides the swirling sea of people coming and going. I am generally a big fan of archival projects. I would love for this to be an archive \u2014 a snapshot of a time in the city. I like living here, and I\u2019m looking for ways to make my own city better.<\/p>\n

Ayana:<\/span> There are other states or cities that have done similar things. <\/strong>There is a site called Made in the Middle, and it celebrates design and creativity in Kansas City.<\/p>\n

Drew:<\/span>\u00a0<\/em>Tad Carpenter is the designer who started it. <\/strong>So we pretty much stole his idea outright.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ayana:<\/span> It brings me joy to be able to spotlight these creatives,<\/em><\/strong> to give them a platform, to spread their message and then to share their work. To the soon-to-be graduates or creative types looking for their niche: Plug yourself into the local creative community wherever you are. Get involved, and see what you can do.<\/p>\n

[callout background=”#565656″ content_align=”center” affix=”false” css_class=””]“A lot of people around the nation don’t realize how much talent we have here.”<\/span>
\nAyana Campbell Smith \u201914<\/span><\/span>[\/callout]<\/p>\n

\n

[photo id=”12019″ title=”Hotbed-Sean-Walsh” alt=”” position=”right” width=”225px”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

Made in the Shadows<\/span><\/p>\n

Sean Walsh \u201912<\/span>
\nOwner of secret Society Goods <\/span><\/p>\n


\nSean Walsh \u201912<\/em><\/strong>, a graphic designer, has always had a love of the macabre. When he began creating lapel pins and bandanas with an eerie twist, he decided to put them online to see if they would sell. Seems he\u2019s not the only one with a love of the dark side.<\/em><\/p>\n

I think Orlando\u2019s time has come, and there\u2019s a perfect storm of things happening.<\/strong> You\u2019re seeing a lot of civic pride due to things like the new Amway Arena and the Orlando City Soccer Club. I think in the past, there\u2019s been a tendency to treat Orlando a little bit like a bus stop \u2014 people used it\u00a0as a transition city. I think we\u2019re seeing\u00a0more and more people who are saying \u201cI don\u2019t need to go far away to make something cool.\u201d I think all it takes to turn a city around is for people to decide, \u201cHey, this is a nice place to live, why don\u2019t we contribute to it?\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m proud of where we live<\/strong>, and I\u2019m proud of the people who are staying here and contributing to this community, both artistically and through small businesses.<\/p>\n

I realized I was working a day job and freelancing on the side<\/strong>, but I didn\u2019t feel like I was making the contribution I wanted to. It was piecemeal \u2014 a hotel logo here, a food truck logo there \u2014 and I felt like I had more to say.<\/p>\n

[photo id=”12023″ title=”Hotbed-Sean-Walsh-Pins” alt=”” position=”left” width=”335px”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

I can pinpoint a moment in my childhood when I realized that I was attracted to the macabre.<\/strong> I got straight-A\u2019s on my report card one year in elementary school, and to celebrate, my parents took me to see The Nightmare Before Christmas. That movie had such an impact on me. I love that flirtation with Halloween, the occult. I like that imagery. I\u2019m fascinated by it.<\/p>\n

Some people get themselves organized and say, \u201cI have a business idea<\/strong>, and this is my business plan, and these are my target goals.\u201d I wish I could say that I was one of those people.<\/p>\n

I go thrift store shopping and collect a lot of things<\/strong> \u2014 little patches and pins, bandanas and handkerchiefs, stuff like that. At one point I thought, \u201cWhy don\u2019t I put a little shop section on my portfolio site? I\u2019ll design a couple of bandanas and see how it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe future is wide open. The most important thing to me is that people can see that I care about what I\u2019m doing. And that there\u2019s a lot of detail in it \u2014 and a lot of love.\u201d<\/span>
\nSean Walsh \u201912<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Pressing On<\/span><\/p>\n

Ryan Rivas \u201905<\/span>
\nCo-founder of Burrow Press and it’s quarterly reading series, Functionally Literate<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n


\n[photo id=”12015″ title=”Hotbed-Ryan-Rivas” alt=”” position=”left” width=”255px”][\/photo]<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ryan Rivas \u201905<\/strong> was teaching high school English in Gainesville, Florida, when his wife\u2019s job brought him back to Orlando. That\u2019s when he met Julia Young, who had just started a program called Page 15. The idea behind Page 15 is to offer free creative writing and reading programs to Orlando\u2019s children \u2014 and inspire a lifelong love of the language arts. By 2010, Rivas had co-founded Burrow Press, an independent publisher of literary work, largely fiction. One of Burrow Press\u2019 main missions: to build the literary community in Orlando.<\/em><\/p>\n

The first book Burrow Press published was an anthology of short stories by Florida writers called Fragmentation<\/em>.<\/strong> It turned out that a lot of the writers we had chosen lived in Orlando. We had a big book release party. The writers came. The writers bought their friends. Their friends were writers. That\u2019s when we realized that many local people were interested in writing, and reading, and literature \u2014 more than we thought.<\/p>\n

[callout background=”#565656″ content_align=”center” affix=”false” css_class=””]“I get to wake up and think about books and think about writing. There are a ton of headaches, as there are with every business, but honestly, I get to focus on what I love to do, every day.”<\/span>
\nRyan Rivas \u201905<\/span><\/span>[\/callout]<\/p>\n

[photo id=”12025″ title=”Hotbed-Ryan-Rivas-Florida-Book” alt=”” position=”right” width=”200px”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

When we first started Burrow Press<\/strong>, we knew we wanted to have a community program. We started with a monthly reading series with J. Bradley \u201901<\/strong> called There Will Be Words. Later we started our own quarterly reading series, Functionally Literate: A Literary Function, named to reflect the irreverence of the personalities of the people involved with Burrow Press.<\/p>\n

There was a burgeoning writing community in Orlando.<\/strong> So we thought we could use our connections to bring in big authors and get locals involved too. We brought in authors from Portugal and Ireland but mainly across the United States. New York Times<\/em> best-sellers. National Book Award finalists. Literary high-brow, genre-benders, experimental poets. The idea is to present the broadest array of what\u2019s happening in contemporary literature.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve been lucky<\/strong> in that we didn\u2019t have to pay for advertising or marketing. It\u2019s grown through word of mouth, and to a certain extent, just a need for it.<\/p>\n

I get to wake up and think about books and think about writing.<\/strong> There are a ton of headaches, as there are with every business, but honestly, I get to focus on what I love to do, every day.<\/p>\n

\n

Life on the Fringe<\/span><\/p>\n

Michael Marinaccio \u201998<\/span>
\nFestival producer for the Orlando Fringe Festival<\/span><\/p>\n


\nIn 1997, Michael Marinaccio \u201998 <\/strong>got together with some friends from Theatre UCF and created a sitcom called <\/em>The Zombie Doorman. It was written by Tod Kimbro \u201902<\/strong>. \u201cThink of an R-rated <\/em>Friends,\u201d \u00a0Marinaccio says. They took the show to the Orlando Fringe Festival, and Marinaccio fell in love with the atmosphere. For the next 15 years, he produced, directed, acted in or wrote something for the Fringe. Then when the festival producer position opened up, he landed his dream job.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cAt 26, we are the oldest fringe festival in the United States. Over that time, we\u2019ve created an avenue for lots of artists to take chances, innovate and develop as businesspeople and entrepreneurs. It\u2019s led to the birth of many theater and performing arts companies.\u201d<\/span>
\nMichael Marinaccio \u201998<\/span><\/p>\n

[photo id=”12028″ title=”Hotbed-Michael-Marinaccio” alt=”” position=”right” width=”440px”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

I cry once every festival.<\/strong> It\u2019s always tears of joy and inspiration. It\u2019s usually from a show or an artist that far surpasses my expectations. There is a group called the Downtowners, a choir from Orlando Lutheran Towers, which performed. Their youngest member is around 70 years old, and their oldest member just turned 102. They sing fun pop songs and standards. They\u2019re totally an amateur group, and you may not be completely blown away by the performances, but they show so much joy when they\u2019re singing. It\u2019s infectious. If you can watch a 101-year-old woman sing \u201cForever Young\u201d and not cry, you\u2019re not human.<\/p>\n

There are many different types of fringe festivals throughout the world<\/strong>, but I think the one thing that binds us all together is independently produced, cutting-edge performing arts. Fringe festivals are almost all multigenre festivals, so they include anything from juggling to drama, musical theater, poetry or puppetry.<\/p>\n

A lot of our audience members are not part of a regular theater crowd<\/strong>, but they come to Fringe because tickets are a maximum $12. And with 165 shows, there\u2019s always something for everyone, whether it\u2019s dance, stand-up, acrobatics or theater.<\/p>\n

Every year we have shows that range from really polished, professional works to brand new, amateur<\/strong>, \u201cI\u2019m-a-semiretired-electrician-and-I-decided-to-do-a-one-man-show-even-though-I\u2019ve-never-performed-on-stage-before\u201d works. That\u2019s the beauty of it. Because it\u2019s a lottery selection, everyone has the same chance of getting into the festival.<\/p>\n

\n

[photo id=”12032″ title=”Hotbed-Local-Love” alt=”” position=”left” width=”370px”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

Local Love<\/span><\/p>\n

Jim Hobart \u201988<\/span>
\nHillery (Brooks) Powers \u201911<\/span>
\nCo-founders of Local Love Orlando<\/span><\/p>\n


\nJim Hobart \u201988<\/em><\/strong> met Hillery (Brooks) Powers \u201911 <\/strong>in his advertising course at UCF<\/a>. A few years later, he hired Hillery to manage his photography company, Macbeth Studio, which largely focuses on portraits, architectural photography and video. As the business expanded, Hillery began to create custom backdrops for the shoots, which eventually evolved beyond the standard studio shoot. Macbeth, its photographers and those creative backdrops were being recruited for parties and fundraising events. And some of that creativity became so popular that the pair created a spinoff, Local Love Orlando, which specializes in hand-drawn prints and goods that celebrate The City Beautiful.<\/p>\n

Hobart:<\/span>\u00a0When I started in the advertising world<\/strong>, there were some up-and-coming businesses in town that were starting to get national attention. Orlando\u2019s been around since the late 1800s, but it felt like it was just starting to get recognized for more than Disney World. Over the 30 years that I\u2019ve been working here, Orlando\u2019s been growing and changing, and it\u2019s nice to be one of the people who helped get things started. It\u2019s like being in New York City in the \u201980s when it was sort of re-emerging as an international hub.<\/p>\n

[callout background=”#565656″ content_align=”center” affix=”false” css_class=””]“I want to help create the city that I want to live in.”<\/span>
\nHILLERY (BROOKS) POWERS \u201911<\/span><\/span>[\/callout]<\/p>\n

Hobart:<\/span>\u00a0I started a monthly event\u00a0called First Friday Fotos, where I did headshots for very low prices.<\/strong> We would have 20 to 40 people walk through the door, and I would never know who was coming \u2014 large, small, black, white, old, young. I had every type of person walking through the door, and I had to learn how to photograph people. Then Hillery got involved and started saying, \u201cLet\u2019s make it a little more involved than just a red background. Let\u2019s create something.\u201d So, the photo booth\u00a0 backdrop evolved out of us trying to make it a little more interesting. And then that modified into fundraising for causes we believe in, and that evolved into events, and suddenly people were calling us for their wedding receptions, or their dinner parties, or their company holiday parties.<\/p>\n

Powers:<\/span> We decided to do a backdrop for an event to raise awareness for a local homelessness campaign.<\/strong> So we made a map of\u00a0 Orlando. I designed it, and a few artists helped paint it. Dozens of people started reaching out asking for prints of the map. That\u2019s how our print company, Local Love Orlando, got its start.<\/p>\n

Hobart:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0I\u2019d like Macbeth Studio to be known as the photography and video firm you call<\/strong> when you have something going on downtown. And it completely dovetails with what Local Love\u2019s doing. Even though they\u2019re two separate companies, and they\u2019re growing together but apart, I think that they\u2019ll be connected. Macbeth incubated Local Love, and now Local Love is going to help Macbeth.<\/p>\n

Powers:\u00a0<\/span>I have lived in other\u00a0places, and when I moved back <\/strong>to Orlando, I developed this love for the city.<\/strong> I was proud of the\u00a0 things that were happening here. I was proud of the smaller coffee shops, and the markets, and all these people who have invested in Orlando. And I really love being part of that.<\/p>\n

\n

[photo id=”12051″ title=”Hotbed-Shorts-Kruck-v3″ alt=”” position=”right” width=”360px”][\/photo]
\nShorts Stand Tall<\/span><\/p>\n

Gene Kruckemyer \u201973<\/span>
\nNelson Beverly \u201904<\/strong><\/span>
\nChristina Grace Beverly \u201904<\/span>
\nCo-founders of the Love Your Shorts Film Festival<\/span><\/p>\n


\nWhen Gene Kruckemyer \u201973<\/strong> and his wife, Nancy, discovered the Dam Short Film Festival in Nevada, they figured it was just the kind of thing that Sanford, Florida, needed. So they started their own film festival, Love Your Shorts, with friends, including Christina Grace Beverly \u201904<\/strong> and Nelson Beverly \u201904<\/strong>, who have a love of the genre. Now in its eighth year, Love Your Shorts screens 70 to 80 short films at the historic Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center every year and welcomes more than 2,000 attendees.<\/em><\/p>\n

Gene:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0My wife and I were visiting Las Vegas<\/strong> and we went down to the Hoover Dam, which is right next to a little town called Boulder City. We were driving through and saw a short-film festival at the Boulder Theater. We watched the comedy block that night. Afterwards, they had a Q&A with some filmmakers and a meetup at a nearby microbrewery. My wife turned to me and said, \u201cWe could do this in Sanford.\u201d When we came back home, we asked our friends if they wanted to be a part of this, too.<\/p>\n

Nelson:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0There were five of us that said, \u201cLet\u2019s make this a reality.\u201d<\/strong> That night we registered the domain name Love Your Shorts. A year later, we had filmmakers from all over the U.S. and Canada come to Sanford for our first festival.<\/p>\n

Christina:<\/span>\u00a0 Who doesn’t like a movie? <\/strong>And it’s even cooler when\u00a0 it\u2019s a short film because it\u2019s short and sweet. Now it is hard for me to sit through a two-hour film. I don\u2019t like horror films, but for some reason I really enjoy watching the horror film shorts. Two hours of suspense may be a bit much, so maybe I can deal with five minutes of it.<\/p>\n

[photo id=”12060″ title=”Hotbed-Christina-Grace” alt=”” position=”left” width=”283px”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

Gene:<\/span><\/strong> People these days are attuned to look for shorter things.<\/strong> Think about how people consume social media. We figured that this is a format that they\u2019re used to, and it\u2019s clicked.<\/p>\n

Nelson:<\/span><\/strong> That first year we were just making it up as we went along.<\/strong> We did it at our local chamber of commerce. We have a local historic theater, but we were afraid that nobody would show up. We sold out pretty much every showing.<\/p>\n

Gene:<\/span> One year, a film we were showing, God of Love<\/em>, was up for an Academy Award.<\/strong> The filmmaker couldn\u2019t come to the festival, but his mother was here from Amelia Island. She accepted his award for Best of the Fest. Turns out, he was in California getting ready for the Academy Awards, where he won an Oscar.<\/p>\n

\u201cTHERE IS OFTEN A MISPERCEPTION ABOUT SANFORD. WE WANTED TO HAVE AN EVENT AND INVITE PEOPLE IN AND SAY ‘LOOK, THIS IS SANFORD. COME AND SEE IT FOR YOURSELF.\u201d<\/span>
\nChristina Grace Beverly \u201904<\/span><\/p>\n

Christina:<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong> Since we started the festival, so many businesses have opened up here.<\/strong> We have new bars, new restaurants, new retail. Not that it\u2019s necessarily because of the film festival, but to be part of the renaissance, bringing people here \u2014 it feels good.<\/p>\n

\n

We Built This City on Creativity<\/span><\/p>\n

[photo id=”12155″ title=”ucf-pegasus-cole-smith-jesse-walsh” alt=”” position=”right” width=”300px”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

Cole Nesmith \u201907<\/span>
\nExecutive director of the Creative City Project<\/span><\/p>\n


\nTo Cole NeSmith \u201907<\/strong>, bridges and\u00a0 roads are the skeleton of a city, but arts and culture are its soul. Nesmith developed the Creative City Project, an organization that hosts an annual public performance and installation arts event called IMMERSE. He spends the rest of his time advocating for artistic development in the community \u2014 and for the artists themselves.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Creative City Project has three objectives:<\/strong> One is to cultivate\u00a0a thriving arts community in Orlando. The second is to help the residents of our city care more about it. And the third is to shape the global perception of our city as one known for innovation and creativity.<\/p>\n

[photo id=”12152″ title=”cirquedusoleilJohnDavidHarris” alt=”” position=”left” width=”200px”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

From year one, we\u2019ve had a relationship with Cirque du Soleil, and it’s been really wonderful.<\/strong> On a whim that first year, we gave them a call and said, \u201cHere\u2019s what we are doing. Do you want to participate?\u201d We didn\u2019t have a budget, and we didn\u2019t really have much of a structure as an organization. But they agreed to participate. About 30 of their performers came downtown during a Friday lunch hour, and they performed a 35-minute original piece out in front of City Hall, and a couple thousand people came. It was really\u00a0special.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy for politicians to paint the arts and culture in a frivolous light.<\/strong> But there are a\u00a0 lot of organizations that work very hard at showing the economic impact of the arts and cultural experiences of a city. That\u2019s really important for us to recognize. The arts aren\u2019t frivolous. They\u2019re an essential fiber of the city.<\/p>\n

Compared to much of the world, the U.S. doesn\u2019t cultivate meaningful, city-wide cultural experiences<\/strong> \u2014 like Carnival in Brazil or the month-long celebrations of Chinese New Year. We believe that as people encounter meaningful, shared experiences as part of our annual event, IMMERSE, it transforms the way they perceive the people and spaces of our city. An example: The first year that we did the Creative City Project we had a photo booth in the historic city plaza. A van drove by and a family stuck their heads out and said, \u201cHey, what are you doing?\u201d About five minutes later we see this family walking up the sidewalk toward our booth, and they took some photos and had a good time. This family lived in Argentina, and they were taking a van trip from Argentina to Canada and were on their way home via Florida. They were driving through the middle of downtown Orlando on a Tuesday night, and it was really dead. Had we not been there, that would have been their memory of downtown Orlando. But they came, and we connected with them. I’d like to think that when they think of Orlando, that that’s the experience they remember.<\/p>\n

“we believe that as people encounter meaningful, shared experiences, they transform the way they perceive the people and spaces of our city.”<\/span>
\nCole nesmith \u201907<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

[photo id=”12085″ title=”Hotbed-Elizabeth-Horn” alt=”” position=”left” width=”270px”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

The Wisdom of Youth<\/span><\/p>\n

Elizabeth Horn \u201910MFA<\/span>
\nAssistant Professor in Graduate Theatre for Young Audiences program <\/span><\/p>\n


\nAs an undergraduate musical theater major at Brenau University, Elizabeth Horn \u201910MFA <\/strong>was a performer and touring manager for a repertory company that visited K\u201312 schools in Georgia. The experience taught her about the importance of theater for young audiences, and she was hooked. Now, as an assistant professor in the graduate Theatre for Young Audiences program (a partnership between UCF and the Orlando Repertory Theatre), she\u2019s working with her students and the local community to explore social and cultural issues through the arts.<\/em><\/p>\n

I have students who work with young people on the autism spectrum<\/strong>, with young people who are experiencing grief, and with young people who are in the foster care system. We are frequently looking at theater as a tool to access identity and emotional expression.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not what all theater for youth looks like \u2014 some of it is polished.<\/strong> If you look on Broadway, you\u2019ve got musicals like The Lion King<\/em>, Matilda<\/em> and Mary Poppins<\/em>, but this community-based work puts an emphasis on the individual and on process and growth over product.<\/p>\n

We worked on a touring production called Puddin\u2019 and the Grumble<\/em>.<\/strong> It\u2019s about a young girl who, through changing circumstances in her life, finds herself with little food. A musical about childhood hunger is not what people typically expect, but it works beautifully. We\u2019ve taken this production into a variety of schools \u2014 both schools where students may not be as aware of childhood hunger and schools where many of the students receive food backpacks every Friday to get them through the weekend. For the latter, it\u2019s the opportunity to see their story reflected on stage and to have confidence in knowing that they\u2019re not alone. It also helps them learn how to ask for help.<\/p>\n

We also helped pilot The Justice Project \u2014 a collaboration between UCF and the Orlando Repertory Theatre.<\/strong> In this project, we worked with young men of color at Evans High School, and we trained them in theater techniques. In our pilot program, we asked them, \u201cHow do you imagine a just community?\u201d We asked these gentlemen to share their stories, and we crafted their stories and experiences into an original play.<\/p>\n

Then these young men worked as facilitators in a workshop where they shared this performance, and they facilitated theater exercises with current and future police officers. So it\u2019s this really beautiful exchange of these young men of color sharing their stories and then extending their hand to police and saying, \u201cNow we want to hear your stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

They\u2019ll learn a lot of skills that will serve them for things like public speaking, but the primary thing that I\u2019m hoping they\u2019ll experience is empathy. The young men\u2019s original script began with the line, \u201cThere\u2019s more to me than meets the eye.\u201d If you look at the police-civilian dynamic right now in our country, both parties are essentially saying this.<\/p>\n

All theater really has the power and potential to impact the community<\/strong>, but when we\u2019re working with young people, we tend to focus on that more because we understand all of the opportunities for education and enrichment and personal growth. I think everyone, regardless of age, could benefit from experiences that lead us to all of those things.<\/p>\n

\n

Snap! to it<\/span><\/p>\n

Holly Kahn \u201993<\/span>
\nCo-curator and exhibition coordinator for Snap!\u00a0Orlando<\/span><\/p>\n


\nAfter spending 10 years in California and getting to know photographers who are exploring the medium as a fine art, Holly Kahn \u201993<\/strong> and her husband, Patrick, wanted to bring the contemporary world of photography to Orlando to enhance what they perceived as a burgeoning arts scene. The couple created Snap! Orlando\u00a0to exhibit international and local photographers \u2014 and to educate the public on photography\u2019s ability to branch well beyond headshots and editorial spreads.<\/em><\/p>\n

Prior to moving to Orlando, my husband and I spent about 10 years in L.A.<\/strong> \u2014 he was publishing a magazine and I worked in education. Within the first year, we felt a cultural void. We had a few museums, but very few galleries. There was no emphasis whatsoever on photography, especially as a fine art medium.<\/p>\n

Snap! Orlando\u00a0was a leap of faith.<\/strong> One of the first people we contacted was Douglas Kirkland. He\u2019s the one who photographed Marilyn Monroe in her bedsheets. He is a dear friend. We invited him to be our guest celebrity speaker, and he accepted. When we approached the Downtown Development Board of Orlando, they enthusiastically gave us logistic and financial support.<\/p>\n

[photo id=”12100″ title=”Hotbed-Holly-Kahn” alt=”” position=”right” width=”238px”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

Originally, we started as a popup show with no walls.<\/strong> Basically, we would have to find an empty warehouse. We would build an entire exhibition venue with lighting and moveable walls and within days it would be uninstalled and gone. We needed brick and mortar. After four years, we decided to find a permanent gallery space, where we could maintain a relationship with the artists and engage the community all year long.<\/p>\n

We connected with a woman who is an icon in the art world, Deborah Willis.<\/strong> She is the chair of Department of Photography and Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. She curated the critically acclaimed traveling museum exhibition, \u201cPosing Beauty in African American Culture,\u201d which explores the ways African American beauty has been represented in historical and contemporary contexts through photography, film and fashion. It had never been previously allowed to be exhibited in a gallery, but Deborah and the curatorial service trusted us. It was shipped from Los Angeles in huge crates, and it was unbelievable to open them and see these historical photos and iconic works.<\/p>\n

We did an exhibition called You Are Here<\/em>. <\/strong>For 30 days we had a pop-up exhibit, programming, something going on every day. It was held throughout the city. What we were trying to do was show people the gems in the community, whether it was a clothing shop or a newly opened hotel.<\/p>\n

\u201cOrlando’s arts and culture scene is noticeable and rapidly changing, and we are happy to be a part of that evolution.\u201d<\/span>
\nholly kahn \u201993<\/span><\/p>\n

[photo id=”12098″ title=”Hotbed-Snap-Gallery-v2″ alt=”” position=”center” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

\n

[photo id=”12112″ title=”Hotbed-Harrison-Rai” alt=”” position=”left” width=”250px”][\/photo]
\nThe Beauty of an Empty Space<\/span><\/p>\n

Harrison Rai<\/span>
\nParramore district innovator<\/span><\/p>\n


\nHarrison Rai, a former UCF business<\/a> student, refurbishes old warehouses and rents them out. So when he saw the development going on in the Parramore District near the Orlando City soccer stadium, he purchased a few dilapidated buildings and brought them back to life. That space, now known as the West Art District, has become a go-to scenic spot as locals and tourists take in Orlando\u2019s largest street arts exhibit. But Rai hopes it becomes more than just something to look at.<\/em><\/p>\n

When I first started, this place was really bad.<\/strong> There\u2019s a lot of crime in this area, and it was just very unkempt. But then I saw all the development going on in Parramore \u2014 the Orlando City Stadium, UCF\u2019s new campus \u2014 and I really wanted to make this an activity hub for all the new people coming here. I want people to hear the name \u201cParramore\u201d and think, \u201cOh, the West Art District. Let\u2019s go over there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parramore is a great area; it just needed a little love.<\/strong> I started\u00a0cleaning up the area \u2014 pruning trees, cutting the neighbors\u2019 grass. Then I recruited artists to do murals on the buildings\u2019 exteriors. As soon as the murals went up, the atmosphere changed. People were smiling a lot more. They were complimenting the art.<\/p>\n

We have six buildings, and one of them is going to be a startup incubator with 15 to 20 new businesses.<\/strong> In another building, we\u2019ll have a coffee shop and juice bar. I\u2019d like to put a bakery in there, too. We have another building for CrossFit and yoga; we have an outdoor lounge. The main building is going to be a hybrid event space, where we could have events with pop-up businesses, like restaurants or a microbrewery.<\/p>\n

[callout background=”#565656″ content_align=”center” affix=”false” css_class=””]“I\u2019VE HAD ARTISTS REACHING OUT TO ME FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, HOPING TO BE A PART OF THIS.”<\/span>
\nHarrison Rai<\/span><\/span>[\/callout]<\/p>\n

We have a youth program here that helps take kids off the streets.<\/strong> It gives them free fitness training, and they also compete in tournaments. I would like to get five or six more youth programs established and have a giant program that involves mathematics, engineering, science, health, business skills \u2014 teach kids how they can be successful and live a good life.<\/p>\n

UCF saw what I was doing and knows I\u2019m three blocks down from their new campus<\/strong>, so we connected and painted a mural together. So far, I haven\u2019t had to reach out to any artists \u2014 they\u2019re reaching out to me from all over the world, hoping to be a part of this. They\u2019ve come from Canada, Venezuela, England, California, New York, Miami and Mexico. They all know what I\u2019m trying to accomplish and give back to the community.<\/p>\n

We also have a practice wall for anybody that wants to come and paint.<\/strong> The best part about mural art is the reaction from people. Murals are beautiful, and they make the surrounding area beautiful. They make people happy.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m hoping that 10 years from now this will be an activity hub for UCF<\/strong>, the soccer stadium and the K\u20138 school that\u2019s going up a few blocks away. I see this as a big hub for students and locals. I hope kids come to the West Art District to learn arts, mathematics, soccer, science and engineering through after-school programs. The West Art District, to me, is about so much more than the art.<\/p>\n

[photo id=”12113″ title=”Hotbed-Empty-Space” alt=”” position=”center” width=”100%”][\/photo]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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