If you’re looking for a combination of fresh air and cutting-edge creativity over the holiday weekend, look no further than the recently launched Corridor Art Trail outdoor gallery along East Anderson Street and Crystal Lake Drive — co-curator of said project, Orlando arts boundary-pusher Pat Greene, let us know that the exhibition will be up for the next year along the prominent Orlando bike path.
The Art Corridor has evolved from one of Greene’s earlier projects; in 2022, this Corridor Project featured local art on billboards along I-4. He and his team, consisting of David Cookson, Javier Guillan and co-curator Erica Greear, signed a contract with the City of Orlando a few months ago to begin the development of the art trail with the help of city Director of Placemaking Sherry Gutch.
The ad hoc outdoor gallery consists of eight pieces on large V-shaped cedar frames spaced along the trail. Greene says that the plan is for the art to be changed out quarterly as they take open call additions to the project. The upcoming quarter begins July 26, with over 150 submissions for Greene and Greear to pick from. The application fee is $10 and eight artists will be featured for the quarter, with each artist earning a total of $500 for their work. The Corridor Project will give each artist $300, with the additional $200 supplemented by city Commissioner Patty Sheehan.
Greene and his team began the project with the goal of expanding the presence of art in the Orlando area. He feels it is important to facilitate conversations around art and accessibility in the community.
“I feel like there should be art everywhere, right?” says Greene. “I always wonder why there isn’t.”
The team meets the last Saturday of every month at Meredith Sand Designs for a bike ride along the trail, and all are welcome to join. Greene wants to emphasize collaboration with local businesses and biking as a means of getting people outside and looking at art.
Greene hopes to create opportunities for young artists to get exposure despite a noticeable lack of gallery spaces in the city. This is a project that won’t judge artists based on their experience or lack thereof. “We don’t ask where you went to school or what your background is,” says Greene. “We just want to see what you’re doing.”
Greene also hopes that the exhibit will help spur conversations between artists and the city of Orlando. He believes that restrictions like certain sign ordinances produce barriers that make it difficult for artists to create and show off their work. Having formerly served as the Public Art Coordinator for the city of Orlando, Greene feels that public officials and artists don’t always speak the same language.
“I think we need to come together and talk to everybody who’s involved and figure out a way to make the whole process a little easier,” explains Greene. “They’re really not addressing artists.”
Greene and the rest of his team hope to expand the project and venture into new spaces across Orlando as concepts develop, particularly in the Milk District. Greene praises his co-curator Greear for their similar design taste, despite a gap in age. Greene participates in a conversation on the morning of the last Wednesday of every month at CityArts, where he says discussions about art thrive because of conversations much like theirs.
“I always think of [John Waters],” says Greene. “He always says, ‘The older you get, the more youth spies you need.'”
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This article appears in Jul 2-8, 2025.