[daytonadewd]

There seems to be 4 lifestyles for artists in Florida:

1. Those who live where they want, produce their art and then use agents, dealers and galleries to sell it;
2. Those who become part of a small enclave of artists who enjoy more of the camaraderie/community and natural lifestyle -- than any real commercial success or notoriety;
3. Those who produce pieces seasonally for hitting the road to become "Festival Gypsies" -- hitting the Sunbelt during the Winter and Northern US/Canada in Summer;
4. Retired hobby artists who are much more opinionated (than the merits of their work).

Here is the BEST Resource I know of that is a comprehensive of Florida Arts scenes by location. You can find hard copies at most urban or popular galleries:

Arts Districts Magazine
ARTDISTRICTS Magazine » ART GUIDE » ART GUIDE

My Favorite Artist Co-Ops in Florida:
Bakehouse Art Complex - Miami
Bakehouse Art Complex | BAC-history
Florida Craftsmen - St Petersburg
About
Artisan's Guild + Gallery - Gainesville
About-The-Guild
Naples Art Assoc. - Naples
About Naples Art Association
St Augustine Art Assoc. - St. Augustine
St. Augustine Art Association

Good Luck!

[gw32]

Originally Posted by smarino

Well, there's not much of one. If you're a Sunday painter/putterer, there's the Hub, a place I detest. Then there's Douglas Fine Arts. They actually have some decent work in DFA now and again, but it's very locked up as far as showing there. We finally joined The Artist's Workshop (kitty corner to the Hub). Very nice group of folks. The median age is senior plus (there are no young artists in this area), mostly (nearly all) well monied Yankees, but quite a few are serious about their work, within the limitations of this area, which are not to be underestimated!

Let's put it this way....if you took Flagler, Ormond, Holly Hill, Daytona Beach, Daytona Beach Shores, New Smyrna Beach, and Edgewater, which are all clustered one after another, the only smidgen of art you'll find is in New Smyrna Beach, and it's tiny. This whole county is about vacationers, motorcycle events, and NASCAR. Art, literature, and poetry do not live here. I've shown and sold a fair amount of work in San Francisco, various cities in New Mexico (best light in the world for a painter/photographer), New Orleans, and Hawaii. This is a whole different thing out here. When it comes to the art scene, I'm going to give Gertrude Stein's famous take on Oakland; "There is no there, there".

What about Atlantic Center for the Arts? Large facility in the northern section and then gallery space and a Artist-in-Residence program. Plus isn't there a ceramics studio on South Riverside Dr?
Seems pretty good for a small Florida beach town.

[gw32]

Originally Posted by bc23

Looking to move Florida way to a place with a strong art community, especially ceramic arts. I've visited New Smyrna Beach and was impressed by the galleries and the friendly people. I was only there for a couple of days, though, and I'd love to hear comments from people who live there and are involved in the arts. Thank you!

Did you make a decision? We are heading to NSB in October for a week away (we live in CT). We have vacationed in the East Central area (centered on Titusville and Canaveral Seashore) for the last few years and really like the area. So now we are starting to look at places where we might want to live. I am photographer/designer and it looks like a good place for lifestyle/wedding/portraits. But the needs of more fine artists are different. A good ceramics community is probably pretty hard to find.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by gw32

Did you make a decision? We are heading to NSB in October for a week away (we live in CT). We have vacationed in the East Central area (centered on Titusville and Canaveral Seashore) for the last few years and really like the area. So now we are starting to look at places where we might want to live. I am photographer/designer and it looks like a good place for lifestyle/wedding/portraits. But the needs of more fine artists are different. A good ceramics community is probably pretty hard to find.

Not really. There is a lot of competition and it's not as lucrative as you might think unless you enter the market with sizable resources and investment....and even then not a guarantee. A friend of mine is a very talented professional photographer who wound up moving from this area elsewhere after several years of significant struggle to make it in this area, thankfully her husband had a full time job or else it wouldn't have lasted several years (let alone several months). It boils down to disposable income in my opinion and numbers show this area is among the lowest in the nation.

[gw32]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Not really. There is a lot of competition and it's not as lucrative as you might think unless you enter the market with sizable resources and investment....and even then not a guarantee. A friend of mine is a very talented professional photographer who wound up moving from this area elsewhere after several years of significant struggle to make it in this area, thankfully her husband had a full time job or else it wouldn't have lasted several years (let alone several months). It boils down to disposable income in my opinion and numbers show this area is among the lowest in the nation.

Well, perhaps. But there is a ton of competition everywhere. In the particular segment I mentioned it depends on many many factors - including how you market yourself and who you connect with. Disposable income is the wrong way to look at it, I think. I look at the area like this: you need to be willing to consider your market as the area you can drive to in an hour. From NSB that is north to St Augustine, south to Melbourne, and west to include all of metro Orlando. Millions of families, millions of vacationers, hundreds of events and conferences, thousands of companies, lots of creative agencies and media companies, etc. Plus, you can shoot outside at parks and beaches almost year-round (try that in CT!)
Do you see what I am saying?
Looks pretty viable to me, if you are willing to hustle and get the right price points in place.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by gw32

Well, perhaps. But there is a ton of competition everywhere. In the particular segment I mentioned it depends on many many factors - including how you market yourself and who you connect with. Disposable income is the wrong way to look at it, I think. I look at the area like this: you need to be willing to consider your market as the area you can drive to in an hour. From NSB that is north to St Augustine, south to Melbourne, and west to include all of metro Orlando. Millions of families, millions of vacationers, hundreds of events and conferences, thousands of companies, lots of creative agencies and media companies, etc. Plus, you can shoot outside at parks and beaches almost year-round (try that in CT!)
Do you see what I am saying?
Looks pretty viable to me, if you are willing to hustle and get the right price points in place.

Are you really under the impression that disposable income isn't the way to look at it? You originally mentioned wedding photography which doesn't impact vacationers/convention attendees and would rely upon local residents. If that is the case, consider the number of other individuals with the same bright idea moving here from wherever along with locals, all versus a population not that large on a locals-only scale and on average not especially well-to-do. There are oodles of photographers of here, so if you think you're more qualified and have more enthusiasm or better ideas somehow than all of the others I would say by all means you're destined to move here. If not, I would highly recommend a bit more investigation. Good luck!

[gw32]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Are you really under the impression that disposable income isn't the way to look at it? You originally mentioned wedding photography which doesn't impact vacationers/convention attendees and would rely upon local residents. If that is the case, consider the number of other individuals with the same bright idea moving here from wherever along with locals, all versus a population not that large on a locals-only scale and on average not especially well-to-do. There are oodles of photographers of here, so if you think you're more qualified and have more enthusiasm or better ideas somehow than all of the others I would say by all means you're destined to move here. If not, I would highly recommend a bit more investigation. Good luck!

I appreciate your insight, thank you.
Yes I am under that impression. Weddings, engagements, boudoir, etc are emotional spending. Sure, there is a segment of the market that looks at it the way I might - "can I afford this?", "is it worth it?" Etc. But there are plenty that don't. That's who you want to target. You won't get a decent income if you are chasing down engagement sessions for $100 and weddings for $1000. Its a numbers game. How many do you have to do at a certain price point to make the income you are looking for? What does that mean for how many hours you will spend working? How many hours can you (or want to) work? It's also a service industry - get the marketing in place, get the word of mouth, get the price point that you market expects, and work hard to deserve it.
In my case, fortunately, I am not looking to open a wedding photography business in NSB (should we move there). I am much more interested in varied income stream - commercial art may or may not be part of it. But I wouldn't be depending in just that kind of photography, or just photography at all. Here is a lot that I can do. 😄
We are looking for quality of life, lower cost of living, access to metro areas (but not part of it).
Anyway, I see you live in Sanford, right? Are you a transplant, or a native, to the area/state? Have you lived in NSB?

[thomasirwin]

In case people don't know, Daytona Beach has one of the highest crime rates of any city of its size in the USA today! Google it. They say that 1 in 30 people will experience some form of assault or property crime. This is not the beach city they sell.