In just about 20 years, St. Petersburg’s Warehouse Arts District has evolved from rows of derelict industrial buildings into a vibrant, thriving, hub for the city’s arts community.
It began when St. Pete Clay Company, and then the Morean Center for Clay, moved into the old city train station. Mark Aeling arrived from St. Louis and found a place for his steel-sculpture studio. Noted glass artist Duncan McClellan turned a tomato-packing plant into a gallery, studio and hot box.
The documentary District Lines: The Rise of the Warehouse Arts District premiered Saturday on the outdoor stage/screen at the Arts Xchange, the center of activity for the nonprofit Warehouse Arts District Association (WADA). The organization operates several art galleries and 28 artist studios on the Arts Xchange campus.
The 28-minute film was created by City of St. Petersburg videographers Michael Flanagan and Amanda Henderson. It chronicles the area’s bumpy first years, through the first-hand accounts of McClellan, Aeling (the current President of WADA), former Mayor Rick Baker, co-founder, attorney and longtime board member Rob Kapusta, WADA executive director Markus Gottschlich and numerous artists…