Plant City's historic downtown features whimsical public art by local, emerging artist
The arts provide inspiration and joy to residents, beautify public spaces, and strengthen the social fabric of communities. Through grassroots efforts and a grant from the Arts Council of Hillsborough County, Plant City is reaping the benefits of sharing traditional art in nontraditional spaces, including local trash receptacles.
An opportunity for an emerging artist
Victoria Creel is a mostly self-taught artist from Plant City. Though she's a professional photographer (she focuses mostly on family portraits), her first major public art project highlights her talent as a vibrant illustrator.
Don't worry, you do not need to buy entrance to a museum to admire her latest whimsical designs. Her work is publicly on display in a downtown Plant City parking lot, on the corner of Collins Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. There, a dumpster covered in folk-inspired drawings features bold and colorful images of flamingoes, otters, armadillos, alligators, and other native animals. The style is part dream, part calavera, somewhat reminiscent of the skeleton depictions seen during Day of the Dead celebrations.
The dumpster is Creel's first commission and came through the Trash Can-vas Project. The project, sponsored by Plant City Main Street, MAKE Plant City, and the City of Plant City, is part of an initiative to bring more public art downtown. The intention is to inspire viewers and to create a more engaging and dynamic community, while employing the help of local artists. An Arts Council of Hillsborough County Community Arts Impact Grant (CAIG) primarily funded the project.
Creel was selected to paint the playful animal designs from a pool of applicants. Her deep appreciation of nature and fanciful reimagining of local critters was a perfect fit for the "Celebrating Florida Nature" theme chosen by the Trash Can-vas Project. Creel's artistic intentions, however, go beyond portraying scenes of wildlife intertwined with fantasy.
As a self-described "very anxious person," Creel finds her creative process, especially the manual work she puts into her art, to be calming. When she added her imaginative creatures to the dumpster, she wasn't just painting for her own relaxation. Creel was also creating in the hopes of spreading a sense of peace to the community, even if only through fleeting moments inspired by glimpses of her artwork.
Enhancing the community through art
Erin Hollenkamp, of MAKE Plant City, assisted with procuring and managing the grant funds used to finance the Trash Can-vas Project. This is Hollenkamp's second year overseeing the project and revels in Plant City getting new doses of fresh art.
Hollenkamp loves Plant City's charming downtown and hopes to attract more families, professionals, and visitors to the area. As far as long-term visions go, she'd like to see the historic city center become a fun place to explore, one full of eye-catching and unexpected art.
Why does she want more art in downtown Plant City? For her, the answer is simple.
"Art makes a community more vibrant, more interesting," Hollenkamp said.
Arts Council of Hillsborough County
The Arts Council of Hillsborough County hosts the Community Arts Impact Grant (CAIG) program. This grant provides up to $5,000 to groups to make arts and cultural opportunities more accessible for underserved populations across Hillsborough County, including support of geographic, ethnic, and age diversity, as well as programs that serve veterans and people with disabilities. Additionally, this grant program is meant to provide flexible funding while serving as a "training opportunity" for small, community-based organizations that are new to grant writing and/or seeking support from the Arts Council of Hillsborough County.
For more information about grant opportunities and local resources for artists, visit the Hillsborough Arts Council.