- May 8, 2024
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MainStreet leader says developing an arts district is a long-term project.
The banners declaring “Arts District” along Granada Boulevard have prompted discussions on Ormond Beach-related Facebook pages.
“Where’s the Art?” one person wrote, under a photo of the banner.
"The words ‘Arts District’ brings more to mind than just a garden and a small museum, even if they are a good start,” wrote another.
“Need more than an art show on the river every year. Need more permanent venues,” wrote someone else.
In a recent conversation, Julia Truilo, director of Ormond MainStreet, said people always ask her why Ormond Beach isn’t like New Smyrna Beach, or Mount Dora, or Sarasota. She said the answer is fairly straightforward: It isn’t any of those places.
She said Ormond Beach must do what it is good at, using the existing facilities.
“It would be very dull if all little towns had the exact same mix of artists and restaurants and cute little shops,” she said. “You couldn’t tell one from the other. Ormond has its own feel and its own energy. That’s what we should build on.”
She said there’s “a lot going on” right now in the arts, but she admitted there is still a lot of work to do before Ormond Beach is known as a true arts district.
She pointed out several cultural opportunities in the city. Some are well known, like the art classes and displays at The Casements, Frame of Mind and the Museum of Arts and Sciences.
Others are less known, such as Bill Jones’ collection of art that hangs in The Grind, and the Meet the Artist events held periodically at Dunn’s Attic.
“For performing art, you have the Performing Art Center,” she said. “We’ve had poetry readings at Frappes and The Grind.”
Trulio points out that it’s an Arts District, with an “s” on the end of art, and includes more than just visual art.
“I would like to see us do what no other city is doing and that is to include the performing arts in its various guises — spoken word, music — as part of our arts district,” she said. “One way to do this is to have more festivals. We only have Art in the Park.”
As an example, MainStreet has recently announced a new event on Sept. 26, called the Ormond Arts Festival.
Truilo said it will feature both visual and performing arts along West Granada Boulevard, including a battle of the bands, local performers, a kids’ zone and visual artists.
“It will be a really fun event,” she said. “It’s our first stab at a large art event.”
She said she also has a vision of doing some kind of “crazy little music festival” with multiple venues. She mentioned The Grind, Anderson Price Building, St. James Episcopal Church, Ormond Beach Library and Lulu’s as possible venues.
She said it would be very beneficial to have a space where artists have studios, like the Hub in New Smyrna Beach. She said it could happen in Ormond Beach, if there was an available building.
“They had a large empty office building,” she said. “It took about five years to raise the money to put that project together.”
She said the plan for Ormond MainStreet is to continue encouraging the arts and adding events, until it becomes an unstoppable force, like a rock rolling down a hill.
“We’ll just keep on keeping on,” she said.
