Grab your paintbrush and canvas and add a little color to your life with the stroke of a brush.
The Creative Hub of Apopka is hosting its first plain-air event, Art Alive Paint The Town 2023, on June 3rd and 4th. Show up in the morning or afternoon, rain or shine,
The event will take place at these suggested landmarks: Highland Manor, Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, Magnolia Park, Kit Land Nelson Park, Apopka Amphitheater, Kelly Park - Rock Springs, Wekiwa Springs State Park, Dream Lake, and City Hall. Those who are signed up can set up at one of these locations and recreate their surrounding or interpret the scenery however they’d like and let their imagination run wild.
“…These artists can go around town and paint…” Melanie Jankun, a founder of the Creative Hub of Apopka, said. “…They sit in the open air, and they paint the feelings, the emotions, the scene, the settings of these different places.”
The Creative Hub of Apopka welcomes anyone to sign up by June 1st and try their hand at the competition. Those who might be interested are encouraged to register, but if you’re not a competitive person, then sign up just to have a good time and meet other artists.
Jankun, along with her husband, are two of the five founders of the Creative Hub of Apopka and had a major role in organizing the event. She said that art’s ability to have a positive impact in a community could be seen in other small cities around Orange County and that she wants the Creative Hub of Apopka to be that force for good in Apopka.
“…Our hope is to educate, empower and enrich our community by providing access and opportunities for all to create and enjoy the arts,” Jankun said. “At the end of the day, that’s 100% what we’re about.”
Jankun moved to Apopka in 2016 and started teaching art lessons in 2017. The Creative Hub of Apopka was established in 2021 at the First United Methodist Church of Apopka. A vacant house built in 1925 on their property was renovated in order to become the home of the Creative Hub of Apopka. Renovations began in 2021, and they opened to the public last year in June.
The Creative Hub of Apopka was created to be a conducive place for artists to practice their preferred medium and share their creativity. Their mission is to bring creatives together to network and make new friends.
“We wanted to ensure that everyone that was creative felt comfortable coming into the space no matter if you’re a crafter, if you’re a painter, if you just love to doodle, or you love fiber arts…” Jankun said. “We want everybody to feel welcomed in this space.”
Jankun said she grew up in a community with a “thriving art center” and felt that Apopka was missing that spark of creativity. She said that she wanted to bring art into the community and share it with the public in the hope that it might inspire people to express their artistic abilities. The Creative Hub of Apopka wants to continue to grow and amplify the city’s appreciation for the arts.
--Melanie Jankun/Creative Hub of Apopka Founder
“There wasn’t that connection. It wasn’t happening. So we just saw the need and desire from the people coming to want something like that for our town,” Jankun said. “Our goal moving into year two is that we are establishing a nonprofit so that we can work our way to becoming what we hope to be, the official art center of Apopka.”
Jankun said, in her own experience, practicing art can help strengthen cognitive abilities that are applicable to problems one might face in school or the workplace. She said children and adults could benefit from doing art and that everyone is inherently creative but that they need to take a break from the daily grind every now and then and think outside of the box.
The Creative Hub of Apopka will be holding a second event, the Makers Demo, on June 3rd, which will showcase different types of arts and crafts like woodturning, pottery, macramé, and soap making, to name a few. The organization wants to motivate Apopkans of any age to pick up a medium and use it as an outlet for their creativity. The Creative Hub of Apopka will also accept donations of art supplies for a supply drive that will provide free art kits to as many young Apopkans as possible.
“…What we wanted is that all of these creatives could show off, not just have a booth they sell stuff at, but show off how they make their stuff and really connect with the people that are coming through,” Jankun said. “We are going to have some kid’s art things to do as well, so it’s for all ages.”
The artist’s works will be displayed at First United Methodist Church on June 10 and 11. The art pieces will then be moved to Canon Coffee and displayed from June 12 to July 10. There will be a popular vote award of $50 for first place, a voting committee award of $100 for first place, and $75 for second place.
Registration for the Paint The Town event can be found here.
“…This is a great start to celebrate one year of creativity in Apopka…” Jankun said.
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