Artegon is Long Gone

Posted on by Thor

I did a series of sketches when plans were made to open Artegon Market Place on International Drive. I was fascinated by the idea of a thriving market similar to the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul Turkey. What appeared in the first weeks were a series of cages filling the empty space of a former mall. Those cages were eventually replaced with mini themed store fronts but the place felt fractured and cut up. I had been toying with the idea of renting a space in the market to sell my art because they promised low cost rents for artists to start. RV, a local artist rented a large gallery but soon left because of broken promises by the management.

Being across from many of International Drives Premium Outlet malls where tourists spend plenty of money before heading back home, I thought there might be a ready market. For whatever reason, the market place never thrived. The center first opened in 2003 as Festival Bay Mall, but that only lasted until 2011. Artegon opened in 2014. The place seemed cursed. In the open inner court area a large Aerial Adventure Course was built with rope bridges, zip lines, suspended disks. The first week the course was opened, Robert Belvoir, 52, fell 30 feet to his death.

Lightstone Group ended its two-year experiment to take the
“property in a new direction.” Bass Pro Shop and Cinemark Theaters remain open since their buildings aren’t owned by Lightstone. Artegon’s owner recouped its $25 million investment, selling
the properties for Bass Pro Shops and Cinemark Theaters for a combined
$30 million. In the Noor Salman trial, footage was shown of Pulse Nightclub shooter Omar Mateen buying ammunition for the rifle used in the Pulse Nightclub attack along with some candy from Bass Pro Shops in the weeks before the massacre.

Gods and Monsters the Mercury Collective.

Posted on by Thor

Gods and Monsters (in the Artegon Market Place)
and The PAR Group, LLC, presented “The Mercury Collective — Premier Launch Party” The evening was promoted as an artistic development and networking event, with some of Orlando’s best emerging music artists and media creatives. “A New Hip-Hop, Soul, and R&B Renaissance.”

I arrived at the start of the event and didn’t notice any creatives or Hip-Hop musicians. I sat down and started drawing the guys at the next table playing a role-play board game. Star Wars and Super Hero figurines lined the shelves, and edgy local art hung on the walls. This dark industrial room was a busy and fun to draw. The Artegon Market Place was shut down last month, so this venue no longer exists. All the vendors were told to leave, wondering what had happened.

I had sat in on the early promotions before Artegon opened. It sounded like an amazing opportunity for local artists and crafters to present their wares to tourists on International Drive. I was considering renting a space. The mall that preceded Artegon was always empty, with most stores closed with a color banner covering the storefront to represent what it would look like if people shopped there. The foot traffic didn’t increase much when Artegon opened. There were random beer-tasting events that I went to sketch, But Gods and Monsters was always the best draw.

Inside was a gallery where local artists presented their work. The good news is that Gods and Monsters (5421 International Dr,, Orlando, Florida 32819) is still open along with the other larger shops like Bass Pro Shop and the Cinemark Movie Theater. The next event I want to sketch at Gods and Monsters is a Retro Futuristic Electro Swing Party. That starts on Friday, March 10th, at 10:30 p.m.-2:00 a.m. It will be an evening of entertainment and fashion from Ocular Hysteria. Admission is $5 at the door. There will be Go-Go Dancing and grinder performances from DefenzMechanizm throughout the night, Antique beats provided by Joseph Vourteque Ringmaster / MC Director/Producer at ROUGE Electro Swing & Cabaret Chicago/Detroit. Costumes are encouraged, Photo ops and prizes!! There will be vendors and artists.