NEW SMYRNA BEACH – For those who live in a seaside town, have you ever wondered what it takes to maintain this "paradise" for others? That's what the Community Artists in Residence and serial collaborators Erin Charpentier and Travis Neel are investigating as part of the Community Artists in Residence at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach titled ‘Maintaining Paradise.’In its third year of supporting this type of project, Ren Morrison, director of Community Programs at ACA, said, "we believe it engages and benefits the local community and offers a different perspective.""We researched New Smyrna online and consistently came across the word ‘paradise’ but had never been here," Neel said.So, Charpentier and Neel drove here from Portland, Oregon, in August and for the next four months, they will reside at the Harris House."Our goal is to talk with and interview people who work in a variety of occupations such as life guards, palm tree trimmers, rental unit cleaners, golf course workers, retail and healthcare providers (not business owners) about their experiences from an employee perspective," Neel said."We're heading to the beach every day, watching the dolphin and manatee in the river, taking hikes to Turtle Mound and in the Doris Leper Preserve, and even witnessed a shark-feeding frenzy north of Sapphire Beach," Charpentier said, noting they are learning about the area from a vistor's perspecitve.Soaking up the atmosphere provides this team with an insight to ask questions when they talk to those working to make this a positive experience for visitors and short-term residents. The interviews should take between 20-45 minutes and will be conducted on site or at the Harris House. They encourage people to, "find us on the beach, give us a call (386-410-3745) or send us an email at [email protected]."Culminating in a number of exhibitions and the creation of a small publication by the end of December, Morrison said, "We're particularly excited about Erin and Travis’s project because, among the many things it does, it will offer a different perspective on this “paradise” we live in and will also serve as a form of time capsule that will archive a slice history that is so rarely recorded."