TAMPA (August 15th) — Brian “B.V.” Cooper set up an art table in the clubhouse of a Town ‘n’ Country apartment complex. He poured paint into little round trays, put on happy music and offered wine and snacks to a group of residents who had gathered for the evening.

The Paint and Sip event is an amenity offered at the Amira at Westly in Town ‘n’ Country. It’s led by Cooper, an artist-in-residence who lives at the complex rent-free in exchange for leading free art classes. In addition to a year of free rent, he gets a stipend to buy materials and refreshments for the classes.

The program was conceived of by American Landmark Apartments, the Tampa-headquartered company that owns and operates the Amira, as well as other multifamily units in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Rachel Lubeck and Gladys Diaz started the program in 2019 as a way to provide both a relaxing community experience and a little housing relief for artists. It began in Fort Lauderdale, where there now have been three artists-in-residence. (There have also been two in Texas, one in Orlando and one in Wesley Chapel, and another one is set to debut in South Carolina.)