Presenting The Cannavita Dispensary: A Space Where Art and Cannabis Harmonize As One
- Charmaine Swasey
- Oct 17
- 5 min read
Updated: 7 days ago
Across New York’s five boroughs exist numerous diverse spaces from abandoned firehouses to industrial grounds to host art shows revealing many cultural and artistic expressions to its audiences. During an open exhibition night on Friday, September 26th at the Cannavita Dispensary's free art gallery located in Astoria, New York, a live dj spins Latin pop and contemporary R&B mixes among tropical indoor plants in one corner of the space, lounge seating consisted of a long leather sofa and arm chairs are placed nearby walls lining with colorfully unique art installations by local emerging artists such as, Stév Garci, artbyangelina, Victor Otero, and Love and Antennas, and side shelves and display tables with warm lighting showcasing exclusive cannabis products embedded in what looked like fake moss.
Cannavita isn’t your typical cannabis dispensary that operates in a small-scale space, but a “creative hub where people could explore not only premium cannabis products but also art, wellness, and culture,” as described by a representative of the Ovono Agency, a state-of-the-art media service that supports and hosts rotating art shows at the dispensary every Friday of the month such as “Weed Design Week,” and “Glow in the Dark Gallery Night.” From the start, Cannavita was designed on the vision of being a dispensary that is “more than just a ‘point of sale,’” says the agency’s representative. . For them, “more than just a dispensary” means establishing a space that invites “conversation, collaboration, and creativity.” The dispensary wanted the space to invoke a “destination” that refers to the changing nature of cannabis.
At Cannavita, art and cannabis are both expressions of freedom and creativity and "that's where they naturally intersect,” states agency’s representative, with many exhibitions delving into themes of consciousness, wellness, and human connection. The agency’s representative explains that these concepts are deeply linked with the cannabis experience because several artists either use the plant in their art as inspiration whilst others are "incorporating botanical motifs, reflective storytelling, or social commentary that aligns with the cannabis lifestyle.”
Staten Island-born and Puerto Rican artist, Estevon Garcia, also known as Stév Garci is one of several local artists who embraced these concepts at Friday’s event through his latest canvas pieces featuring line drawing, graffiti, and personal findings he salvages during his day job working for parks and recreation. Such findings include upcycled Nike shoe boxes, Caution tape, and magazine clippings. Through his process of "taking stuff away and putting it back together,” as he calls it, and scattering of all these mediums Garcia says, “the art, it feels really familiar sometimes and I need it to be foreign.” By this, he means the ability of being unafraid to disconnect from a routine-based form of artmaking and welcome experimentation.
Mario Saviñon, also known by his artist handle, Love & Antennas, is another local artist and frequent guest artist at Cannavita’s weekly exhibitions who closely explores the dispensary’s integral themes by showcasing his practice of habitual art-making and alternative art movement to emphasize a colorful characterization of life to connect art with the community.
As a Dominican from the South Bronx, Saviñon says he first started as a bartender for years until he got attracted to Japanese ink pens and began to draw. His most recent series, “The Defectors” exhibits everyday people he observed on the subway. Using colorful Japanese ink pens on graph paper, the faces of each figure are foreground to display their facial expressions which are all distraught amid vibrant scenes of geometric shapes and mixed comic book media. Saviñon says he was astounded by the lack of eye contact as the mass of serious and glum faces were staring down at cellphones, and so he sees them as withdrawers or “defectors”of emotional contact.
Through painting, photography, fashion, or performance, Cannavita aspires to reflect how cannabis inspires and empowers artistic communities. “An art with purpose is a social impact cause,” says Brooklyn-bound local artist, Angelina Annunziato, who dedicates her art form of drip painting toward the emotional and spiritual nature of the local community and shares her love for fluid art to different community centers to encourage meditation. “There’s not enough togetherness in the community,” Annunziato says, “I feel a lot of people are waiting for outside situations to take care of the community from within, but I just believe in building it from the inside out.”
Other community programs hosted at the dispensary are Yoga Nights organized on the last Wednesday of every month led by skilled local instructors to encourage balance, relaxation, and connectivity, and live entertainment of comedy shows on the last Thursday of every month featuring a lineup of rotating NYC comedians to invite an inclusive environment for people to relax and take in a joyous night of community entertainment.
To stay on top of the complex and ever-changing cannabis regulations so the dispensary can resume hosting their weekly to monthly programs and galleries, Ovono Agency’s representative says the Cannavita management team works closely with state-licensed advisors, attorneys, and industry compliance experts. “Compliance isn’t just about avoiding penalties; it’s about setting a higher standard for what a modern dispensary should represent: safety, integrity, and care for the community we serve.” The team also educates staff and customers on responsible cannabis consumption, and acknowledging the support of licensed operations. Also, maintaining transparency and accountability is important for a dispensary as heavily devoted to the local community as Cannavita, which is why the dispensary consistently attends workshops, local cannabis business meetings, and communicates with the New York Office of Cannabis Management (OCM).
Cannavita is where visitors can experience a “creative and laid-back vibe,” as Actress and Curator Katrina Chiovan describes it. With over 90 shows presented so far and the opportunity to observe, meet and connect with alternating artists and their artworks, the comedians, and yoga instructors, a multisensory experience of creative expression and celebration of plants and people is instilled in one local space. “Its a creative way to bridge two worlds, art and cannabis, in an authentic, community-driven setting that celebrates local talent while redefining what a dispensary can be,” says the Ovono Agency’s representative.
