Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qe8CnTp2Ot0&list=PLOQvdw7d0cd9RZZkd2lZy2hmrnJv-cfLI&index=47
Evan: So we are back here on the Choose 954 podcast, special Hollywood Showcase Series, with some of the resident artists from our second Zero Empty Spaces location here in beautiful downtown Hollywood on Hollywood Boulevard, ahead of our grand opening reception on Thursday, November 14th, from 7 to 9 p.m.
If you didn’t know about Choose 954, we started a social movement to cultivate culture and community here in Broward County, keeping people informed about all the great things that are going on in an effort to make this a better place to live, not just a better place to vacation. The point of the podcast is to connect you with amazing people like them who are doing incredible things in the community and definitely bringing a lot of art, life, and color to beautiful downtown Hollywood.
This podcast is sponsored by the Hollywood CRA, which does amazing work to bring the community together in the beach and downtown corridor, keeping people informed and providing high-caliber programming from the Art Walks to Hollyweird to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and a bunch of other things in between. To find out more about all the great initiatives, you can go to Florida’s Hollywood.org or Florida’s Hollywood on Facebook.
Without much further ado, why don’t you guys tell us a little bit about yourselves at a high level, starting with Miss Kiki.
Kiki: Hi, my name is Kiki. I was born into a family of artists, and I traveled a lot during my childhood and teenage years. I first came across art early on. I guess you could say that I was raised with the smell of turpentine—that's probably the scent I recall the most, and it connects me with my family. I became a professional artist, which eventually led me into fashion. I don’t even know why, but I became a designer and really fell in love with the drawing part of the business. All that influence has shaped me, and I still illustrate in my mind. I’m very Japanese in my style, and I paint big eyes, which some people love. I create art that makes people happy.
Evan: Amen. Thank you. And how about you, Art Island? Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started in art.
Art Island: Okay, my name is Art Island. I’m 27 years old. I was originally born in New Jersey but spent 20-plus years of my life here in South Florida. I’ve been drawing since I was about four years old. The first thing I remember drawing was a copy of one of my dad’s portfolio sketches. He’s been a big influence on me and is pretty much why I got into art. I went to school for it and got my Bachelor of Fine Arts from the New World School of the Arts, which is a great school in Miami. It’s run by the University of Florida, so my degree is in visual arts. Before I came here to Zero Empty Spaces, I was framing artwork full-time, but once I found out about this program, it just made sense. I’ve been local here a long time and have seen a lot of friends come and go on Hollywood Boulevard, so this is definitely a great opportunity.
Evan: Awesome. And how about you, Emmanuel?
Emmanuel: Yes, my name is Emmanuel. I’ve been doing art since I was five years old. I first got into art around Thanksgiving time when we had to do hand paintings, like the hand turkeys. I remember mixing the colors and playing with the dazzling colors, and that’s when my love for art really started. I’ve been doing it ever since, so it's been over 30 years now. My love for art resonated from that moment and grew and grew. I also got into sports, but art was always my first love. Sometimes I’d be in games thinking about what I’m going to paint next. Artists like Basquiat and others influenced me deeply. Although I didn’t finish school for fine arts, I’ve met incredible people and opened myself up to different realms of art. Before I got to Zero Empty Spaces, I was creating at home, meeting in a few intimate spaces, but this initiative has allowed me to connect with other artists, learn more, and also share my love for art with the community.
Evan: For those who aren’t familiar with the Zero Empty Spaces initiative, myself and my partner, Mr. Andrew Martineau, are the principals of The United & Stripping Group, which is the company behind Choose 954, Art Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale Art & Design Week, and a few other initiatives to support the arts and cultivate culture and community here in Broward County. Through all of those experiences, we’ve met a lot of artists, business people, developers, commercial realtors, and whatnot. Two prevailing conversations kept coming up: artists would say, “Where can I find affordable studio space?” and developers and commercial real estate people would ask, “Hey, can you do cool stuff in my space?”
With my partner’s background in shopping center retail development, where he’s developed a lot of vacancy strategies and commission-free art galleries, we came up with this initiative to activate vacant commercial real estate on 30-day, flexible, renewable lease terms. So month-to-month, we assume all liability through our company, The United & Stripping Group, pay the electricity on behalf of the artists, provide general liability insurance for the property owner, and we activate the space. We do a build-out, market it, handle PR and social media, and hold a grand opening reception. Our grand opening here in Hollywood is Thursday, November 14th, from 7 to 9 p.m. Our first location on Las Olas was very well received and attended by hundreds, if not a thousand, people.
It’s interesting—art exhibit openings aren’t the same as they used to be, but there’s something different about opening a studio space initiative, and there’s a buzz and energy behind it. We’re super glad to continue expanding this throughout Broward County, South Florida, and any place where there’s vacant commercial real estate, making more and more affordable artist studio spaces available for artists. There’s no shortage of artists needing spaces to create, and cities don’t like vacant commercial real estate—they want activated spaces with feet on the street.
With that being said, for you guys as artists, what has the transition been like from where you were creating before to moving into this space here in Hollywood?
Kiki: I used to take over the house, so every little corner became my studio. I had art hanging from every wall. I was painting on boats and everywhere I could find space. This has been amazing, to get to work in a proper space and share it with other amazing artists. We became like family from the first day we met. There’s an energy that happens when you put artists together. We’re all doing what we love, having fun, working, and being seen by the community as we’re activating the space.
Art Island: I have a bit of a different background, coming from the framing side of things. I was originally based in Boca, but I’ve always lived in Hollywood, so just the commute alone was a big change. I was spending so much time driving back and forth every day, time that I could’ve been painting. But now, being local and being in a place like Hollywood that I’ve always loved, it’s been a great transition. I’ve seen a lot of things come and go in Hollywood, and unfortunately, not many have stuck. Hopefully, through this initiative, we can open up more businesses and opportunities in Hollywood. It’s a great spot to be, and I’m excited to be part of it.
Evan: No city is absent of vacant spaces, even Coral Springs where I’m from. I went to speak at the City Hall Commission meeting, and they had vacant space right across the street from City Hall. It’s a problem every city has to deal with, and we look at it as a creative problem that we can solve. If you didn’t know, artists, except for the blue-chip fine artists, don’t have tons of excess capital to commit to buying or leasing a commercial retail space on a 1, 5, or 10-year lease. By being able to offer artists the flexibility of month-to-month leases without long-term commitments, we’re able to move artists to other locations if a space gets leased, which we just did in our Las Olas location, moving from Fort Lauderdale to Aventura.
We’re very fortunate to have you, Art, with the unique experience of having been in the Bakehouse complex before. How has the transition been like for you, moving from such an established initiative like Bakehouse to Zero Empty Spaces?
Emmanuel: It’s been great. I’ve been here for about a week, and I’m already sharing supplies, sharing paint, and working closely with other artists. At Bakehouse, it was a great experience for me. I had my own studio space, but everything was kind of closed off. It wasn’t as open as it is here. Here, it’s much more intimate, and we already feel like family because we’re sharing space, love, and creativity. I’m a fan of art first, and I love seeing Kiki’s work, Art’s work, and everyone else’s work. It’s been a great transition.
Evan: For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Bakehouse complex or artist studio spaces in general in South Florida, the Bakehouse has been heavily donor-funded. It was in Wynwood before Wynwood became a thing. It’s been there for over 40 years and has provided affordable art studio spaces around $2 per square foot. Unfortunately, Broward County never really had something like that. There are only really two arts districts in downtown Fort Lauderdale: FAT Village, with about 12 artist studios, and MASS District. Both of those areas are going through changes with a development boom in downtown Fort Lauderdale, displacing artists as these warehouse districts and industrial areas are being redeveloped.
Artists are being pushed out, and they have to go elsewhere to pursue their craft, passion, and profession. But that shouldn’t have to be the case in a place like Broward County—a well-cultured, heavily populated tourist destination with no shortage of money and wealth. Artists should be able to pursue their craft, passion, and creative outlet and have spaces to create. Nobody wants to live in a community where there’s no art, no color, no life, and vibrancy on the walls and in the community. The city of Hollywood and the CRA have done a phenomenal job with the Downtown Hollywood Mural Project, adding over 27 world-class murals to bring color to the life in the walls of downtown Hollywood. We’re glad to support them by adding our artist studios to the downtown corridor, giving people in the community and attendees of Art Walk more things to do and more feet on the street.
So all these things go together—nobody wants to live in a place where you just go to work, go home, rinse, repeat. You need that play element of the live-work-play balance, and the arts definitely support that. We’re going to support that this Thursday during the grand opening of our Zero Empty Spaces location in downtown Hollywood from 7 to 9 p.m. We also do that every third Saturday night of the month, where I lead a guided tour of the Downtown Hollywood Art Walk for free, thanks to the folks from the Hollywood CRA at 7 p.m.
But enough about us, I’d like you guys to tell us a little bit about your work. Emmanuel, you have a piece behind you. Tell us a little about your craft, your work, and what we’re looking at here.
Emmanuel: My style is a blend of realism. With this piece right here, I love to create environments that spark conversation. I love creating pieces that make people think and feel something. I had my first exhibit at the Bakehouse, and it was an incredible experience. I love to see other artists’ work hanging alongside mine. I put 105% into each piece I create; it’s like a window into my soul. This piece here was a live painting of a young woman. Her essence was so calm and radiant, and I wanted to capture that on canvas. It’s about bringing that energy to life through art.
Evan: One of the things we connected over was our mutual love for jazz music. You have a series reflecting some of the jazz greats that you’ll be able to see in the future here at Emmanuel’s studio. Kiki, tell us a little bit about your work.
Kiki: Right above me, I have three pieces that reflect my style. I was classically trained at the New World School of the Arts, where they disciplined us hard—making sure we knew how to draw, paint, and sculpt. But after school, they let you branch out and develop into your own artist. Nowadays, you can’t be a one-trick pony; you need to explore different mediums. Here, I have charcoal, oil, and acrylic works. But what I love the most is abstract work, especially large-scale abstract work, with a lot of charcoal and pouring techniques.
Evan: We’re actually in the lobby/reception area right now, so not all of the work is reflected within the screen here. Kiki brought a piece from her studio, which she’s going to share here as well.
Kiki: A lot of my work invites people in—it doesn’t feel intimidating. I do big eyes, and anime is really big in my work. I don’t forget that art is always entertaining, so I bring playfulness to my work. This piece specifically talks about the heart and love, and how love always persists, even when other things fade away. Sometimes your world might be gray for a while, but love is always there to brighten it. That’s the story this piece tells.
Evan: If you notice in the top right corner of the screen, we have some works by Janet LaRue Podolski. She does beautiful tile works, and you might know her as a girl about town. We also have some pouring works from Nita, who goes by the artist name of Art from the Heart by Nita. She does workshops, classes, and art healing sessions, and she’ll be doing some of those workshops out of here. We’re super excited to have her.
You don’t have to be a full-time professional artist to be in this space, but we want to make the space available to those who are pursuing their craft professionally. There isn’t a skill requirement—you don’t have to be a blue-chip, fine art master. It could be for an emerging artist, an established artist, or a nice blend of both.
Evan: In closing, what would be one thing you’d want the community of Hollywood to know about the arts, your arts, or Zero Empty Spaces?
Kiki: I’d like to say that we benefit from their visit as much as they do from looking at our work. We have to break this taboo—it's so rare for people to be able to meet and greet the artists and hear the stories behind the paintings. We welcome them in, sit down with them if needed, and share the stories behind the paintings. This is an opportunity for people to meet up, hang out with, and get closer to the artists.
Emmanuel: Well put. I would love for the community here in Hollywood to understand that art is critical to any community. We can see what happened in Wynwood—a space that was essentially a dead zone, with wholesale warehouses that no one would ever drive to unless they were trying to buy wholesale shoes. Now, you have a Ducati showroom next to a taco shop, next to a coffee shop, next to 20 galleries. It’s insane, and that’s all because of art.
Art Island: Exactly. We cannot forget about the arts. Just the murals alone changed this whole area, and we’re definitely changing it even more. People need to embrace and understand art. We’re not going to bite you, we’re humans too. Art is for everyone.
Kiki: Yes, artists create, but we’re humans too. We want to share our stories and connect with the community. This is our window, our open door to share. Come enjoy it, come talk to us. Every artist has a story, and this is an opportunity to hear those stories and see the work up close.
Emmanuel: You bring up a good point. So many people don’t interact with artists, especially in their studios. By having this space open to the public, we make art more accessible. This isn’t a stuffy place; it’s not a high-end art gallery. It’s a creative, raw space, and that makes art more approachable. There are so many ways to support the arts, from liking or following on social media to telling a friend, to commissioning an artist, or even just attending an event. Art is one of the first things to get cut, so by finding ways to support the arts, you’re supporting the community.
Evan: Exactly. Art has given me so much in my life—it’s changed my life, my community, and even the art fair world. The Art Fair we created with Art Fort Lauderdale on the water wouldn’t have happened without art. Who knows what the arts can do for you? These walls were bare before, and now they’re filled with phenomenal art made by talented local artists. Think about your own space—do you have blank walls that need some life and color?
Evan: If you want to find out more, you can join us this Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. for the opening of the studio space. Where can they find you on social media?
Art Island: Instagram is probably where I post the most. My handle is my last name plus the word art—ArtIsland. You can find me across the board with that.
Emmanuel: You can find me at AE Fine Art on Instagram, and my website is www.aefineart.com.
Evan: Great! We’ll put that in the comments of the page here. For those who tuned in and found this interesting, you heard us talking about Wynwood a little bit. I think it’d be good for people to understand how Wynwood became what it is and how it transformed Miami into the street art capital of the United States, potentially the world. Wynwood is a commercial warehouse district, an industrial zone right on the border of Overtown. It had traditionally been a very blighted, dilapidated space, and many years ago, artists like my partner, Mr. Andrew Martineau, went into these warehouses and could rent them for a hundred bucks to have a space to paint in freedom.
What started to happen as a result was that collectors, investors, real estate developers, and business people started visiting these artist studios. For better or worse, and this is a different conversation about what Wynwood has become now, people started buying up warehouses in Wynwood, developing them, and places that used to rent for a hundred dollars are now selling for forty million dollars. Unfortunately, the true essence of the local independent artist has subsided as commercial businesses have moved in. But nobody can argue the impact Wynwood has had for the good and betterment of the arts.
Evan: Zero Empty Spaces isn’t going to have that Wynwood effect. We’re going into retail spaces that are vacant—we’re not displacing anybody. We hope to bring tenants to these commercial real estate spaces, but we’re not increasing the rent for the whole boulevard by having artist studios. We’re simply providing affordable studio spaces for artists to create in a place that is unfortunately one of the least affordable counties for housing in the country. What if we could make Broward County one of the most affordable places for artists to create and make it a destination for artists?
Evan: With the efforts of myself and my partner, we’ve created the signature and only four-day annual art fair in Broward County. We now have the ability to have artists creating in spaces, participating in a world-class revolutionary art fair that takes place in luxury mansions on the water, something that can’t be done anywhere else. We’re now even working to create more opportunities for artists within our leasing vision for all these businesses that keep coming to us saying they want art on their walls but can’t afford it.
Evan: No problem! We’ve created a great leasing program where we give a certain value of artwork to a local business, making it available for three percent of the total value of the artwork on a three-month minimum commitment. We’ve worked with a local spa that wanted to support local artists, so they have artwork on their walls and lobby. We’re really excited about the impact we’re making in the community with the Zero Empty Spaces initiative.
If you know somebody or if you own vacant commercial space, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@zeroemptyspaces.com. We’re an open book and super excited for the grand opening of our second location here in downtown Hollywood on Thursday, November 14th, from 7-9 p.m. There will be light bites and refreshments, and we’ve got support from our friends at Flora Fine Foods. Camp Cocktail Bar down the street will also be providing some cocktails.
Evan: You’re in for a very special treat! My dear friends from the beautiful music duo La Voz will be here with a special live performance. It’s a very eclectic sound, with a beautiful voice and my man Tres, one of the most talented producer-DJs who also plays the trumpet live. It’ll be something like you’ve never seen before.
Evan: We hope you join us—it’s a free event. If you can’t make it Thursday, we’ll be here every third Saturday night for the Art Walk in downtown Hollywood, where I lead the Choose 954 guided Art Walk tour for free, thanks to support from the Hollywood CRA. You can find out more at floridashollywood.org or on Facebook and Instagram.
Evan: Don’t hesitate to reach out to me, don’t hesitate to reach out to them, and we appreciate your interest in supporting the arts. Let us know what you choose 954 for. You can email me at evan@choose954.com. We look forward to seeing you here in beautiful downtown Hollywood. Take care.
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