Artists Among Us: How the Naples Art District Serves the Community
Naples has become known far and wide as an arts destination. Naples Art District has developed as a unique community, growing over the last few years into the creative home for over 70 working artists and artisans. This alliance of artmakers has established itself in an industrial park where it has forged relationships with a larger family of creatives who cater to home design and décor. The Naples Art District is an officially designated cultural arts tourism destination that offers visitors the opportunity to encounter art and experience its execution, while positively contributing to and impacting the economic strength and sustainability of individual fine artists and these associated industries. The Naples Art District serves Neapolitans by fostering the creative economy of the area.
A cornerstone of cultural and artistic economic development is the provision of workspaces and exhibit spaces for designers and artists of all kinds. The Naples Art District features such spaces, with the studios and galleries of member artists tucked between the showrooms of interior designers and other craftspeople of the applied arts. The fine artists of the District seek to bring into focus the margins between art and design which have become increasingly blurred over time by interacting with their industrial park neighbors who value aesthetics as much as the artists. The Naples Art District is a place where artists can build upon the principles of design they share with their applied arts counterparts, to give structure and meaning to their work with input and perspective from one another.
The benefits of the Naples Art District are many, both for the member artists themselves and for the Naples community. They include greater development and availability of artist studios and workspaces, increased access to professional development opportunities for artists, bolstered arts programming for local youth, and deepened and more meaningful relationships within the community at large. The Naples Art District plays a fundamental role in building bonds between community members, connecting people in a way that helps create opportunities for expression, dialogue, and the sharing of varied cultural experiences. The District exists to serve the Naples community, solidifying art and creativity at its heart.
The Naples Art District boasts the largest concentration of working artists in Southwest Florida. The unique coalition of over 70 visual artists with studios and galleries in the District hosts live events every month, such as “Art Alive!” held on first Wednesdays. The District presented a new event, “The Premier Art & Design Expo” in November which highlighted the collaboration between the fine artists and interior designers that call the District home; the Expo will hopefully become a recurring event. The Naples Art District gives professional artists a place to share their talents, which range across a wide variety of mediums and methods. It has a calendar of events and classes available online for anyone who wants to explore the fine arts; contact the organization any time for more information. The Naples Art District, located north of Pine Ridge Road and west of Airport Road, awaits your visit!