The Hive Brings New Life, Business and Creativity into Laguna Canyon Festival Center

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. - April 20, 2018 - PRLog -- The Summer of 2018 brings a new era for the Laguna Arts District with the rebirth of the 805-856 Laguna Canyon Road property in its new iteration, The Hive, thanks to Laguna Creative Ventures and the Honarkars. Featuring a plethora of local artisans, creators, and visionaries, The Hive will be a cultural and creative hub for people in the Laguna Arts District, perpetuating the incubation and collaboration of creative thought and life.

Mark Orgill, Executive Partner, Strategy and Development, Laguna Creative Ventures explains that the heart of Laguna Beach has been revived with the creative spirit. In order for the future of Laguna to be centered in creativity and culture, this area needs to embrace the constantly evolving creative energy and offer authentic experiences for a diverse group of creative people. "The goal of The Hive is to be part of the ecosystem that supports creative endeavor," Orgill said. "The Hive will contribute to the Arts District being the place that nurtures a culture of creativity and becomes an authentic, true destination that celebrates the arts, whether it is traditional art as we know it, or graphic/digital design, music, theater, writing, food, or any other form of ingenuity that drives someone to create because they must."

Originally built in the late 1960s, this nearly 20,000 square foot property in the Laguna canyon has been an important staple in the community and offers the perfect creative center for the Laguna Arts District. It was originally known as the Bartlett Center, however after it was sold to Gary Sauter, who purchased the property in 1989 and crowned it Festival Center, due to its close proximity to the Sawdust Festival, Art-A-Fair and the Festival of the Arts, it has most commonly been known as the Festival Center. Sauter is the man responsible for the longstanding blue mosaic façades to the center, which although dilapidated, remains a signature visual symbol for the history of this center. Building off of the legacy and memory of its key purpose, to bridge the festival communities together and connect surrounding residents and visitors to this spread out area through this access point, gathering destination and creative hub, the Honarkars purchased this property and have revitalized its role and responsibility in the canyon community.

Since this property is a place that is constantly swarming with activity at all times and has become a destination for the creative community to gather, it is only fitting that its new life be charmed with the name, The Hive. "Our goal has always been to create an ecosystem within the Laguna Arts District, a place where the creative class can build a sense of community utilizing all mediums of art," Laguna Creative Ventures Creative Director, Hasty Honarkar explained. "We want students, locals and visitors to have a space where they can come together and create something new that continues the legacy of the original Laguna Beach art colony. We want everyone to experience something true to Laguna's artist heritage while ushering in the next generation of Laguna visionaries. We aspire to bring our tenants and partners together to create a family of likeminded individuals and organizations; a real life communal 'hive.'"

Along with the new life brought to this center, The Hive has a variety of tenants already in place and a variety of new prospective tenants to fill the much-needed gaps in this area. With eight-to-12 customizable spaces available in this center, The Hive currently has Laguna Beach Beer Company, Kitchen in the Canyon and a satellite location for Laguna College of Art and Design's (LCAD) Virtual Reality Department. Neighboring the artistic incubator of [seven-degrees], as well as Sawdust Festival, Another Kind Vietnamese Cuisine, and LCAD's student housing, this area is surrounded with professional creators, artisans, foodies, art lovers, as well as eager students of creative practices, making this center the perfect hub and hive for the creative community. A creative ecosystem thrives when fed with creators, students, makers, observers, enthusiasts and consumers, protecting the future of the creative class with diverse, unique and genuine experiences.

As a jumpstart to this new era, The Hive is proudly participating in the Summer of Color, allowing artists to paint exquisite large-scale murals on the façades of businesses who are interested in participating. The first three murals are already in the works, and include the mural that LCAD alum Beau Stanton is painting on the sides of Laguna Beach Beer Company. "We are extremely excited to be opening soon in the Laguna Arts District, and love that the intent of property management is to work with the creative folks in this area to attract talented artists and bring new life to The Hive," Mike Lombardo, Laguna Beach Beer Company Co-Founder said. "We are grateful for all the hard work that has gone into making the space enjoyably unique and we look forward to seeing the creativity of the artists that have been chosen to participate in the Summer of Color as well as future projects in this creative community."