Lakeland's Depot Arts District set for grand opening Saturday night

Lakeland's Depot Arts District set for grand opening

The tenants of the Depot Arts District have been excitingly waiting for November 1, the building's official grand opening. FOX 13's Barry Wong takes us there.

LAKELAND, Fla. - For the last couple of months, the tenants of the Depot Arts District have been excitingly waiting for November 1, the building's official grand opening. 

"It turns out multiple people had the same vision for Lakeland, and just to see this become a reality has been really awesome," B Natural Music Piano & Voice Instructor Tony Mercer said. 

What they're saying:

Mercer has already seen the early potential through lessons that he's already holding for clients. 

"Just seeing my kids come down the hallway already with the people that have already moved in and have their art in the window, kind of inspiring them and say, oh, maybe I want to get art lessons too," Mercer said. "It really is a community here."

Across the hallway sits one of those artists with work in the window. Yvonne Miller, of Sage Smoke Studio,  has been working with polymer clay for 35 years and has never had a dedicated space. 

"The idea of being in a community with other creative people, I love the energy of this building because we have so many different kinds of artists working here," Miller said. 

A unique artist is Bethany Soto of The Hobby Spiral. A self-described serial hobbyist, she hopes to use those skills to help others. She says her space will serve as a creative wellness studio that's centered around mental health support in a non-clinical way.

"The idea is to have people come in and do arts and crafts, specifically adults. To try to reconnect and ground and learn themselves through creative expression," Soto said. "We tend to store trauma in the body. You have to get that out, and you have to do something with it, so that's where I really think that art is good for mental health."

Dig deeper:

All three tenants were partially drawn to the idea of the depot because of the affordable rent of $500 per month with no long-term commitment. 

"It's really hard for artists to start up, maybe it's a passion project," Miller said. "It's been really great to have this space where people can get started."

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In addition to creating products, many tenants will be hosting classes. The building also features two exhibition galleries and will have a slightly-used art-supply retail space. 

"Lakeland has needed a centralized art community," Miller said. 

What's next:

The grand opening is called the "Depot Walk." 

It will be from 6-9 p.m. on Saturday. 

The theme is "Artwork Comes to Life."

Visitors are encouraged to dress in their favorite art pieces.