9
It’s a little known fact that aside from being the shark attack capital of the world (according to the International Shark Attack File, anyone who has swam there has been within 10 feet of a shark) New Smyrna Beach also has a thriving arts scene. In fact, New Smyrna Beach is listed as one of the top 100 arts towns in America. Arts and the beach (even if it is filled with horrible man eating sharks) of course makes this my new favorite place. The Hub on Canal is…well… the hub of all of this. Housed in a former movie theatre from the 1930s, the building became the Hub in 2010.
The Hub on Canal now serves as an all encompassing arts center offering workshops, classes, live music, and revolving galleries pertaining to all manner of visual and performance arts.
Perhaps the primary function is as a working gallery open to the public from 10am-5pm every day (10-2 on Sundays). Once inside the Hub on Canal visitors can peruse art for purchase in 30 different studios inside the hub that are rented out to permanent and visiting artist. The collections are quite diverse, with everything from paintings to woodcarvings, to paper mache, and even musical instruments in all different styles that run the gamut from traditional to post modern and everything in between. There is quite literally something for everyone.
All of the artist use their space as a working studio, if you’re lucky you could catch one of the masters at work.
Most of the work displayed in the hub is for sale, (mostly at shockingly reasonable prices if anyone in the area needs to decorate!)
In addition to all of the art for sale, there are also revolving exhibits in the gallery that change every month. With every changing gallery exhibit The Hub On Canal hosts a reception on the first Saturday of the month open to the community and the artists. When I visited, the gallery housed an exhibit of self portraits done by the Hub’s resident artists.
Gallery, museum, home decor store, live music venue, The Hub On Canal wears a lot of hats. They even offer some great motivational, advice, and philosophies.
If you live in the New Smyrna Beach area or just passing through, you can check the Hub on Canal website for a calendar of events and happenings. They are always hosting dance, yoga, painting, sculpture, writing, and even foreign language classes and workshops, as well as the occasional open house, reception, or live music event if you’re lucky enough to chance into it. Living in Orlando, I know I plan to check out some of their events and classes in the future (especially now that I’m afraid to go in their shark infested waters!)
Smyrna looks like a great destination! I’m excited to visit in the very near future.
Amber K recently posted…Waterville Valley Resort Offers Active Vacationing in the White Mountains
There are lots of great things to see and do there and an amazing arts scene. The beach is beautiful too, even if it is full of sharks.
shark Capitol? Yikes!! While interesting, there’s no way I’d get in the water. Great article!
Kim recently posted…Old Navy Gift Card Giveaway
Yeah, the art there is definitely more appealing than the water now!
It looks like you had a lot of fun in FL! It is fun to explore and see all those fun shops that seem to show up everywhere. Keep up the travels!
Definitely. I love finding less traditional “touristy” things to explore (not that those aren’t great too)
This looks like a fun place to explore and even meet an artist working on a masterpiece, what a great concept.
noel recently posted…Krakow highlights in one day
It’s a really great facility. I’d be there all the time if I lived a bit closer!
That looks like an interesting place to check out. I love visiting artist studios to see what everyone’s working on.
Laura Lynch recently posted…Great Places to Drink Beer in Amsterdam
There were some really amazing artists there. I collected a lot of business cards for when I win the lottery!
I’m from FL and haven’t been here yet, will definitely have to check it out next time I’m visiting home!
Alyssa Ramos recently posted…This Girl’s Hobby is Extreme SKYDIVING
I don’t know how I lived in Florida so long without knowing we had anything like this! It’s quite a discovery.
I too will skip the swimming, and take in some art as an alternative.
Art beats shark attacks every time!
Looks like a great venue! Thanks for sharing!
EvaSturm of TravelResponsibly recently posted…Ode to my home town, Munich, Germany
Thanks so much for reading. It really is a wonderful place. I could get lost in there for hours.
When you are not going to faraway places, you can find lots of things to do in the nearby places of a locale or your home. This kind of fun always rereshes us!
Absolutely, it’s great to find alternatives like this when someplace more exotic isn’t in the budget (happens to me all too often!)
This looks like my kind of place! I’ll have to add this place to the “to do” list when we go to Florida.
Leslie recently posted…Sunday (6/21)
For sure! It’s a great way to spend a rainy afternoon, which if you’re here in summer is every afternoon!
Mags, this looks like a great place to visit – I always love arty shops!
Anne Sutherland-Smith recently posted…12 Rocking 2WD Road Trip Routes to Escape Sydney These Spring School Holidays
You’d love it here then, it’s huge. I could have spent all day in there!
Ooh! I love visiting places like this. Can easily spend hours here browsing through all the 30 art studios! The old movie theatre must have been quite a big one in 1930s to be able to fit in all the studios, no?
RaW | Ramble and Wander recently posted…Hotel Review: Hotel Perdana Kota Bharu, Kelantan Malaysia
Definitely, I’m not sure if they have added on to it at all since then, but it’s certainly huge now!
I think I would stick to the galleries and live music here too. Too many shark attacks for me to want to get into the water. 🙂
Christy recently posted…5 Amazing Places to Camp in California
I know it’s unlikely, but I still don’t trust water if I can’t see my feet!
Looks like a really interesting place and a good option for those, like me, don’t want to swim with sharks!
Cheers,
Nat
Natalie Deduck recently posted…Searching for Adventure & Things to do outside Barcelona
I hear ya! There seem to have been a lot of shark reports this year!
That looks a cool place to spend some time in. Did you end up buying anything?
Dave from Daves Travel Pages recently posted…Liebster Award – Dave’s Award Winning Travel Blog!
I would have! I was there on a press trip with a pretty tight schedule. it’s probably for the best though, I could have spent all my money there!
I had heard of New Smyrna beach but only because someone I knew had grandparents from there. I never would have thought that it would be so famous for its art scene. I’ll have to check it out next time I’m in the area. It’s only a few hours away.
Vicky and Buddy recently posted…Memorable Animal Encounters Around The World
Isn’t that the case with most towns in Florida lol? I honestly had no idea it had such a vibrant arts scene until this trip!
I’m really enjoying your web content. Thanks for sharing this article. It will help other users as well :). Big Love and Big Support!