Parking lot becomes comedy club for one-night stand
Salvo Art House, known as a venue for the arts in Bunnell, took things to another level Friday night with the studio/gallery's first Moody Peach Comedy Jam.
Inviting Matthew Elliott, a member of the Random Acts of Insanity improv troupe out of Central Florida, and stand-up comedian Paul Jensen to lead the evening, JJ Graham, Salvo’s founder, took a backseat as part of the audience as the venue's parking lot became a temporary comedy club.
Elliott's self-depreciating jokes skirted on the edge with some audience members while Jensen drew plenty of laughs with his PG-13 anecdotes about family life.
“I’m here to help support the arts locally by telling jokes,” said Jensen. “It’s really nice to do something local because my daughter takes classes here and loves the gallery, so our family is connected. It’s kind of like full circle: to do what I do nationally, to be able to do it right here where I live.”
Involving multiple facets of the arts community has been a specialty of Graham over the past decade. From the former Hollingsworth Gallery shows and spaces in Palm Coast, to a more bucolic location at NatureScapes featuring trendy musicians, underground and well-known artists and events, to the current Salvo Art House in Bunnell, Graham is working to invigorate the surrounding area using art.
Former Flagler clerk of court Gail Wadsworth, a longtime county resident, considers what the Salvo Art House is bringing to Bunnell — and the Flagler arts community overall — to be a huge positive.
“I think Salvo Art is making it happen because they reach out to the community through social media and bring people in,” Wadsworth said. “One of the best things JJ is doing is with the children’s art program that you see on the sidewalk, on the driveway and behind the house. He posts the pictures. Often as not, they’re so memorable I share them. He’s a joy.
“I grew up here and the only thing we had was a 10-cent theater when I was in high school,” she said. “He’s bringing in things that people had to go fairly far away to gain. For the most part, art in Flagler County when I was growing up was what was in art class in high school and music presented by the band director. What JJ’s done is broaden the scope, especially in Bunnell.”