A two-story brick building on the east side of Ybor City, has been transformed into a hub for artists, from metal workers, to potters, painters and graphic artists.
Factory on Fifth Avenue, located in a former steel fabrication plant originally built in 1945, will soon allow public access for those interested in immersing themselves in the art world and purchasing locally created art from local businesses.
Bakari Kennedy, a mechanical engineer and general contractor who runs Kenstruction Dynamics, Inc. Professional Contractors, got sucked into the art world when he took his children to visit his friend, Bryant Martinez, long the artist in residence for Winthrop Village on Brandon’s southwestern edge.
His original intent when he leased the Ybor City building was to renovate it for Class B office space.
“The building had been abandoned for almost two years,” he said. “It is two stories and over 8,000 square feet, located in a very industrial area where there are other factories where people are actually building things,” he said.
The former home to Florida Structural Steel sat empty once the company moved to a larger space.
“So much is going on politically and economically and you throw in COVID. I originally wanted to make it a Class B office building. A lot of construction and renovation is going on right now. I wanted to renovate a structure for the local community to have an affordable space.”
But COVID-19 changed that. Office space is not at a premium right now. So, he started thinking about that immersive art experience and the great need for space where artists can work and collaborate. Factory on Fifth Avenue emerged.
“What we are trying to do is give artists and creative companies a place to collaborate together all in one space,” Kennedy said. “Getting the opportunity to engage in the arts and find that inner peace is something I wanted to share with a lot of people.”
It is still important for people to work together, he said. “The thought process, the imagination the innovation they produce. As a general contractor I am accustomed to blueprints and specifications, but to work with individuals really thinking outside the box was invigorating for me.”
The “factory” was the steel company’s former manufacturing office, filled with details from the original 1945 building. “Generations of guys have worked here making things. They are one of the biggest suppliers of fabricated steel in the country, but they outgrew this building.”
So far, there are 12 artists working at Factory on Fifth Avenue. There is space for 28, along with collaboration space and venue space. Kennedy said he hopes to eventually get the appropriate zoning to host art classes there.
Martinez is partnering with him as the factory’s community artist to help get it up and running and promote it within the arts community.
Just recently, Factory on Fifth Avenue held its first public event, called The Container Art Show. Artists displayed their work in actual shipping containers amid live music and food trucks. “We want to continue to host events throughout the year on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays for all demographics, civic club and groups of all kinds.”
They named the event The Container Art Show because there has been so much in the news lately about shipments stuck on ships offshore due to a lack of workers to unload them and trucks to deliver the goods, Kennedy explained.
“We wanted to show the public we have great craftsmen right here; you can buy right here. If you want custom gifts and to buy items right off the shelf, now you are contributing to local companies” by buying from local artisans.
“Everything made overseas sitting in those containers offshore is not all the world has to offer,” Kennedy said. “We are here to support our local community.”
The factory is also about exposure, he said. “We would like the public to be able to visit and see artists at work, to not just get exposed to art, but to interact with it.”
When individuals leave the factory, Kennedy said, he wants them to leave with artwork in their hands, stuff they saw or items they produced themselves, from pottery to ceramics, glassmaking, welding and more.
Artists work at the factory Monday through Thursday producing their work and the factory will soon offer opportunities to the public to stop by on weekends.
“Our goal is to get on the local calendars for the Ybor City arts association Hillsborough County calendars,” he said. “We also have a website at www.factoryonfifth.com, a Facebook page and Instagram. We will have a calendar with upcoming events on the website.”