When art and athletics go together

There on a recessed wall, track-lit inside the lobby of St. Pete Athletic, the new upscale pickleball facility located inside The Factory St. Pete, is a miniature art gallery.

Chad Mize and 23 of his artist friends – all of them local – have hand-painted pickleball paddles. Although they’re real, these brightly-colored works of ball-whacking art aren’t intended for physical courtplay; they are each individual and very much one of a kind. They’re priced accordingly, although guests are welcome to stroll up just to have a look.

Still, more than a third of these unusual canvases have been sold since St. Pete Athletic’s December soft opening. They’ll stay on the wall for a while until Mize, the exhibit curator, switches them out for new art by new artists.

Mize, who painted a distinctive pop-art mural on the building’s western wall, has a well-established reputation as an exhibit facilitator. His Mize Gallery (2018-2022) was followed by a series of “pop up” art shows, from various artists, at different locations around St. Pete.

The Factory is home to several art galleries and studios (in fact, several were displaced when construction began on the athletic club).

“I see it as a business person,” Mize says. “This is bringing in new eyes on art. And hopefully some cross-pollination to this area. Where typically the types of people that come for the sport, wouldn’t come and look at the galleries next door, or go to Daddy Kool Records. So I feel like there’s some other stuff to see here.

“Also, maybe they’re people who have money to spend on art. Because a lot of times I feel like in our community, it’s the same people that come to the exhibits and the shows that support, but they just don’t purchase.”

Vitale Bros. have created a large “wild Florida” painting near the paddle display, and hand-sculpted roseate spoonbill birds by Elizabeth Bonert hang from the ceilings.

“For me, this type of thing is community-driven,” explains Mize. “It’s about keeping the arts alive in the city. And giving people opportunity. I love finding new artists and exposing them, in a way.

“And it’s good for me and my brand. I’ve kind of taken a backseat with my own art, personally. I do art still, but I don’t have the vision to do a solo show. I don’t want to put that much work into my own art – I like doing these group shows where I have lots of different artists filling the walls. As opposed to just myself.”

Mize is, however, in the spotlight courtesy of Dwell Athletics, the paddleball supply company managed by Graham D’Amico, co-owner of St. Pete Athletic.

Dwell has produced, in a limited edition of 250, two “St. Pete” paddles with Mize’s unmistakable art printed on both sides. He designed the custom box, too (they’re available in the pro shop).

He was pleased to learn that the facility’s owners, despite having taken studio space away from artists, “still want to have an art element. I think it’s a good tie-in.”

Mize with his mural on St. Pete Athletic’s western wall.