Even though St. Petersburg’s Warehouse Arts District evinces a rebellious, we-play-by-different-rules attitude, the Venture Compound still comes off like the bad boy on the block. Maybe it’s the heart-on-the-sleeve, mouth-with-no-filter approach that founder Jesse Vance and art director Brad Kokay take. Maybe it’s their ridiculously populist take on art ownership (art’s not supposed to be that affordable). Or maybe it’s the fact that VC is doing everything so differently. Either way, attorney Jim Grankier helped the venue secure its non-profit status, and now Vance & Kokay have another avenue to help them curate meaningful events for an underserved community of musicians, artists, and everyone in between. 2621 Fairfield Ave. S., St. Petersburg, facebook.com/theventurecompound
This article appears in Sep 18-24, 2014.