The Museum of Florida Art has issued a Call to Artists for its Biennial Six Juried Exhibition opening November 11, 2011. The show is open to all artists 18 and older who are living or working in Florida, which obviously includes the strong field of artists who live and work in southwest Florida.
The Deland museum's mission is to promote and showcase the art of emerging and established Florida artists by providing them with a wide range of exceptional exhibition opportunities. The Biennial Six Juried Exhibition is one such opportunity.
The history of the Museum of Florida Art dates back more than 60 years. It was founded in 1951 by a group of community leaders with an opening bank account balance of just $13. Although the museum has dedicated itself to the financial support and promotion of Florida artists and their works since the late '90s, it only changed its name from the DeLand Museum of Art to the Museum of Florida Art in 2006. Today, the museum provides an ever-growing and exciting visual arts campus to Central Florida and an unparalleled exhibition venue for all Florida artists.
The juror for the Biennial Six Juried Exhibition is Bernice Steinbaum, a Wynwood Art District pioneer. Steinbaum has in excess of 35 years of experience as an art dealer, having opened the Bernice Steinbaum Gallery in New York City in 1977. Back then, she was also considered a pioneer - for showcasing women artists and artists of color. She moved to Miami from New York City eleven years ago and purchased a location on North Miami Avenue, long before the neighborhood was considered an official arts district. Hers is a discerning eye and entrants will consider it a distinct honor just to be accepted into the exhibition even if they do not receive best in show or second or third place honors.
The Lee County Alliance for the Arts own all Florida exhibition is just coming to a close. Its 25th Annual All Florida Juried Show is on display at the Alliance through August 6, 2011. The exhibition contains the 50 best out of more than 200 artworks submitted to this year's judge, Kevin Costello, and represents the work of 40 Florida artists. The Alliance's Best in Show was Eric Levin's Sanibel Lighthouse, a 13 by 19 inch digital photograph of the famous Sanibel Lighthouse and its surrounding landmarks, which are stretched around a circular blue sphere resembling earth. Second place went to Diana Rutherford for a two-tone drawing titled Karl Beck which is done in sumiee ink, a formula of soot burnt from pinewood and lampblack combined with glue and camphor. Taking third was Permanent Wave by Jerry Churchill, a sculpture-like mixed media work that is made from electric pieces, wires, and telephone buttons with a support structure of wooden pieces.
It will be interesting to see if any of the artists who had works accepted into the Lee County Alliance for the Art's 25th Annual All Florida Juried Exhibition will enter the MoFA show too.
The deadline for MoFA entries is September 30. A prospectus for the exhibition can be downloaded by interested artists at www.museumoffloridart.org. For more information, please contact Exhibitions Coordinator David Fithian at 386-734-4371 or by email at fithian@museumoffloridaart.org.
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