Frankie Messina of Apartment E is something of an Orlando institution. For years he has brought artists together from all disciplines. Visual artists mingle with writers, musicians, an performers of all kinds. He has begun curating shows at The Current Galleries (202 E.1st Street Historic Sanford Florida). ” The theme of this show held in March 2015, was Home. “The road to a friend’s house is never long.” It was a collective art and performance show where pieces or expressions were of “your home” or what “home” means to you.
This was the debut event in in the new galleries and Frankie was excited to build new relationships and connections between Sanford, Orlando and all the cities around and in between. The new Gallery was kicked off with an amazing opening night during the monthly Sanford Art Walk that featured poets, instillation art, musicians and of course visual artists. Tais Phillips combined poetry with an overhead projector to create an interactive experience where poets could see their words projected large on the wall.
In the room next to me, mailboxes were mounted on the wall. Patrons were invited to write an inspirational note and put it in one of the mailboxes for future patrons to read. Scott Pantke and his wife Nicole from Blast Studios occupied a studio space where they encouraged people to give air brush painting a try. Just dropping off a painting for the show was an adventure, because Frankie had artists meet him behind the gallery and a spiral staircase lead up to the second floor gallery.
Admission was to the public and the opening was more like a non stop party rather than a formal opening. A 10% commission off work sold went to Apartment E’s Blanket Orlando Project for the homeless, held every year in November. This in itself is an inspiring story of how one person with a pick up truck and a big heart, can make a big difference when they decide to make a positive change. Every year that true gets filled to overflowing to help people who need to battle the cold through Orlando’s winter months. One of Frankie’s favorite sayings is, “What you don’t give away, is lost.”