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Barn Theatre Features Recycled Art

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By YVETTE C. HAMMETT, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 14, 2007

RIVERVIEW - The creator of Winthrop Village will kick off several new "green" initiatives Thursday night with an art exhibit created from recycled products.

Thursday Night Live, which will run from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Barn Theatre at Winthrop Village, will feature local artisans who use old tools, rebar, concrete and recycled paint to create original paintings, sculpture and other works. Similar events will be held monthly.

"We're trying to join together the art community and the people in this area with a regular event," said Winthrop developer John Sullivan.

In conjunction with the exhibit, Sullivan will unveil a new City Bikes program at Winthrop. Refurbished bicycles will be placed throughout the commercial and residential areas of the 149-acre community so people can use them at their leisure to get from one destination to another.

A similar program is being used in various parts of Europe to cut down on automobile use, Sullivan said, and he believes it will help make his community a pedestrian-friendly place to live, shop and work.

Sullivan said he also plans to announce the use of a new cardboard compactor and plans for plastics and paper recycling in Winthrop's commercial areas. He also will announce installation of electric car chargers in the commercial district that shoppers may use when they visit.

The recycling initiatives were the brainchild of Sullivan's daughter, Sarah. She came up with the various programs as part of her Gold Award project for Girl Scouts, the Girl Scout equivalent of the Boy Scouts' Eagle award.

The art display is a way to highlight recycling and re-use, said Winthrop spokeswoman Linda Chion Kenney.

Bryant Martinez is among the artists who plan to display his work.

"I'm going to have several paintings I did on discarded wood using discarded paint that I found," Martinez said. "I got into it because I kept seeing supplies that I could use to create art, and they were being thrown out."

Martinez has painted a farm much like the dairy that used to occupy the Winthrop property. He also is creating a bike rack for the City Bikes program using rebar and old bicycles. It will be sculpted to look like a limousine, and he plans to make several more racks that will be sculpted to resemble cows.

The Barn Theatre is a "black-box" theater, meaning it is painted black inside and is perfect for all kinds of exhibits and works, from screen plays to one-act plays, visual arts and everything in between, Chion Kenney said.

More than 20 artists will display their work, and some school groups may get the opportunity to create art, she said.

No schedule has been set for the monthly exhibits, but the second Thursday Night Live is scheduled for Dec. 13, Chion Kenney said.

The works of disabled artists will be featured beginning at 6 p.m.

Before the exhibit, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office will host a holiday dinner in the nearby pole barn for adults with disabilities, who will be able to view the exhibit afterward.
Winthrop Village is off Bloomingdale Avenue at Providence Road. The Barn Theatre is at the east end of the community.

Reporter Yvette C. Hammett can be reached at (813) 657-4532 or yhammett@tampatrib.com.

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