From Sarasota to Marco Island and Venice and Sanibel to Arcadia and LaBelle, Southwest Florida is home to more than a dozen art centers. Most host visual art exhibitions showcasing member, regional and nationally renowned artists that change every month. In May, there are 28 shows at these venues. Each will stimulate viewers’ imaginations and underscore the importance of the arts in our part of the country.
“North Sarasota County Spring Art Show” [Art Center Sarasota]: The Spring Art Show is a longstanding annual exhibition at the Art Center. Led by school coordinators Angela Hartvigsen and Debra Markley, it showcases the creative talent of over 1,500 young artists spanning grades K-12. This enduring collaboration affords students the invaluable opportunity to present their work in a professional environment, granting them and their artwork exposure to numerous families and community members. The accolades bestowed upon high school students during an evening ceremony are particularly noteworthy, with local organizations generously contributing awards exceeding $20,000. Elementary students also enjoy two evening award ceremonies dedicated to recognizing their imaginative achievements. The exhibit features artwork from schools across the northern region of Sarasota, encompassing both public and charter institutions. Meanwhile, the South County Spring Art Show, another annual fixture, takes place at the Venice Art Center. Closes May 10, 2025.
“Annual Juried Regional Show: Vice and Virtue [Art Center Sarasota]: The Annual Juried Regional Show is Art Center Sarasota’s largest and most prestigious juried exhibition. This year, artists delve into the dualities of the human condition — vice and virtue. Through this theme, artists are challenged to explore the shifting boundaries of morality, shaped by cultural norms, religious beliefs, and political landscapes. What defines good and evil in contemporary society? And perhaps more intriguingly, does a gray area exist between them? Opens May 22 with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Show runs through August 2, 2025.
“South Sarasota County School Show” [Venice Art Center]: Opens May 6. High/middle schools reception from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on May 12. Elementary school reception from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on May 13. Closes May 14, 2025.
Joanne Golenia Solo Show [Venice Art Center at Inn at the Beach]: An avid painter, Joanne Golena has exhibited in international venues, including the International Festival in Houston, the Carnegie Center for Art and History in New Albany, Indiana, and the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, Auburn, New York, as well as locally in the Sarasota Orchestra Harmony Gallery, Art Center Sarasota, Lighthouse Center for the Arts, Tequesta, FL, and the Venice Art Center. She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees, teaching for 16 years before devoting herself full time to art. The Inn At the Beach is located at 725 W. Venice Ave in Venice.
2025 Annual Art Show [DeSoto Arts Center]: The DeSoto Arts Center promotes and celebrates the arts in DeSoto County. The center’s annual art show includes work by DeSoto Art Center members in the categories of painting and photography.
“3D 4 Dames – Art in Metal, Gems and Glass” [Rebecca Hall, Visual Arts Center, Punta Gorda]: Belinda Duclos, Karyn Warner Hammock, Bonnie Walker & Susan Priess present “3D 4 Dames - Art in Metal, Gems & Glass.” These artists are instructors at the Visual Arts Center and specialize in jewelry making. Opens Thursday, May 8; wine & cheese reception on May 15 from 5 to 7 p.m. Closes May 30, 2025.
“A Walk in Nature” [Visual Arts Center, Punta Gorda]: Nature is all around us. Whether an abstract painter, a fiber artist, a potter or a jewelry maker, this exhibit challenged artists to use their imagination to create a piece that reminds the viewer of nature. Opens Thursday, May 8; closes May 30, 2025.
“Paws & Claws” [Visual Arts Center, Punta Gorda]: This juried exhibit includes both 2D and 3D artworks. $900 is prize money will be awarded as well as three merit awards. Opens May 8; closes June 3, 2025.
“Mind, Body and Soul” [LaBelle Gallery and Cultural Center]: Gallery is open 1-5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.
“Surreal Abstraction” [Cape Coral Art Center]: In this open-call juried exhibit, artists explore the creative potential of surrealism with the thought-provoking essence of abstraction. This unique showcase allows a diverse array of mediums with which to either explore the unconscious mind and use of irrational juxtaposition or express their art via shapes, forms, colors, and textures. Either concept is accepted in this innovative event. Opened May 2; reception May 9 from 5 to 7 p.m.; closes June 26, 2025.
“Kids These Days” [Cape Coral Art Center Side Gallery]: Step into a world where creativity knows no bounds! “Kids These Days” is an exciting and vibrant children’s art exhibition showcasing the unique artwork of young artists ages 4 to 19. This dynamic collection celebrates the imagination, innovation, and individuality of children and teens, highlighting the diverse ways they see and interpret the world around them. Four winning categories: “Most Creative Concept”, “Best Storytelling”, “Most Whimsical”, and “Budding Artist”. Opened May 2; reception May 9 from 5 to 7 p.m.; closes May 29, 2025.
“Bill & Bart: Artworks in Wood by Bill Schmigle and Bart Sharp [Shell Point Gallery at Tribby Arts Center]: In this exhibition, Bill Schmigle of Naples and Shell Point resident Bart Sharp (Lakewood) team up to display more than 60 artworks made of wood. Closes May 10, 2025.
“Winners Circle 2025 of the Art Council of Southwest Florida” [Legacy & Overlook Galleries at Tribby Arts Center]: This biennial exhibition displays Art Council of Southwest Florida guild member artists’ works that won awards in exhibitions from January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2024. Paintings comprise the majority of 33 award-winning works on display, but some other mediums are included. Works of Shell Point artists who won distinction in the exhibition "Seeing Red" will encore in this display. Closes May 10, 2025.
“TREES!: Artworks from Heights Charter School Youth” [Collaborations Gallery at Tribby Arts Center]: The youth from Heights Charter School’s Art Program are showing artworks depicting trees and the creatures that live on or within them, complementing the exhibition of woodworks in “Bill & Bart.” Closes May 10, 2025.
“A Drop of Poison” [Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center Grand Atrium]: Throughout history, poison has been intertwined with feminine imagery, often depicted in poetry as a potent tool of seduction. In his poem “La Dulce Boca,” Luis De Gongora eloquently captured this notion with the verse “porque entre un labio y otro colorado amor está de su veneno armado” (for between one lip and the other, love is armed with her venom). Such metaphors, echoed by countless poets and now permeating modern popular culture, have established a narrative where poison symbolizes a natural facet of femininity. In the realm of visual arts, women have historically occupied a modest space within the vast artistic panorama, one that we perceive as borrowed rather than inherently ours, states Curator Monica Batard. “Yet, it is incumbent upon us to engage with the tools at our disposal, to allure with our exquisite yet potent artistry, and to articulate ourselves through the intimate medium of drawing. This exhibition endeavors to explore our interconnectedness as female artists, challenging conventional notions of technique and reclaiming the symbolic associations that have been imposed upon us." Through this exhibition, artists spanning generations and life experiences unite to articulate themselves in the most intimate language they know, transforming drawing into a multi-dimensional experience encompassing audiovisual elements, performance, and boundless creative expression. Closes May 29.
“Illustrating Expanses: A Juried Landscape Themed Exhibition” [Capital Gallery, Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center]: For this third and final installment of a series of themed open call exhibitions designed to explore the most basic forms of art, the Davis Art Center asked artists to explore the realm of landscape. From vast colorful countrysides to stark geometric cityscapes, this show presents the challenge of opening one’s perspective and presenting something grander. Take time to consider places and regions that conjure the extraordinary beauty of our world, or invoke feelings and memories of locations we long to see. Explore those vistas with any medium or style, and take your audience on a journey through the simple art of landscape. Closes May 29.
“The Future of Art” [Main Gallery, Alliance for the Arts]: This is the 33rd year the Alliance has partnered with Lee Arts Educators Association (LAEA) and the show features artwork from Lee County elementary, middle and high schools with hundreds of works in a variety of mediums. Closes May 24.
“Digital Lee Student Artwork” [Alliance for the Arts Theatre Lobby Gallery]: Digital Lee showcases both design and technology skills of Lee County’s Career & Technology Education (CTE) middle school, high school and post-secondary students. This show features Lee County’s graphic design, animation, publication and web design students from each school. The goal of CTE programs and participation in Digital Lee is to provide exposure for the students of Lee County; thereby spurring career opportunities, scholarship awards, and local technology involvement that will continue to make Southwest Florida a thriving and culturally rich community. Closes May 24.
“Out of this World by Homeschool Rocks!” [Alliance for the Arts Member Gallery]: Homeschool Rocks! is a non-profit cooperative of homeschooling families in Southwest Florida. This inclusive organization offers field trips, classes, fairs, and other events for children of all ages. Closes May 24.
“Annual Artists Collective” [BIG ARTS Mezzanine Gallery]: The Annual Artists Collective is a collaboration between the Arts Education & Fine Arts departments. It features BIG ARTS instructors, showcasing an eclectic body of work that includes a wide range of mediums. Artist reception on Friday, May 9. Closes June 6.
“Art as Therapy; Hope and Healing Through Art” [Dunham Family Gallery at BIG ARTS]: The partnership between Hope Healthcare’s Art Therapy Program and Lee Health’s Art in Healthcare Program conveys the vision of healing through art. Expressive arts, in all forms, strive to provide hope and healing through the creative process. The exhibit shares the journey of each artist during bereavement, grief, illness, depression, physical and emotional challenges, rehabilitation and recovery with the hope that this personal and powerful exhibit elevates the community’s awareness of artists’ special abilities that emerge during difficult times. Opens May 9 with artist reception. Closes June 6, 2025.
“Cypress Lake High School Student Mural: A Shell of a Time” [BIG ARTS West Gallery]: The National Honor Society Art Class of Cypress Lake High School has created a mural for the West Gallery under the title “A Shell in Time.” The class incorporated this project into its fall 2024 curriculum. On view in the Performing Arts Center Hinman Gallery-in-the-Round through June 30.
“Culture Shock” [Hinman Gallery-in-the-Round at Performing Arts Center]: There is no denying the tremendous influence that pop culture and media have on everyday life. They have informed the way we look, think and interact with one another. They provide entertainment, amusement, and distraction from reality, as they have for generations – especially since the advent of cable television. They've become so ingrained in our society that the slightest reference can trigger even the strongest emotional response, be it nostalgic or otherwise. Symbols and themes from pop culture are likewise prevalent in the arts, particularly in recent decades where art reflects the very things that permeate the daily lives of ordinary people. For this juried exhibition, artists explore the aspects of pop culture and media that have influenced them through the ages, from an age-old cartoon that still brings us joy, to a thought-provoking film that you just can’t get out of your head, to the characters, actors, and musicians that stay with us throughout a lifetime. Runs through June 5, 2025.
“High School Scholarship Showcase” [Arts Bonita Visual Arts Center]: This is a showcase of art by local students. Youth engagement and education are cornerstones of the Arts Bonita mission. This has been a priority since Arts Bonita's inception, and one of the results is this annual student showcase. This year, this opportunity is open to students from all Lee County and select Collier County schools. High School Scholarship Closing Reception is May 8 from 6 to 8 p.m. Closes May 19.
“Under the Surface: The Art of Abstraction” [Arts Bonita Visual Arts Center]: Working within the limitations of purely abstract art requires a new level of creativity. The process of using textures, tones, colors, and layers of a given medium to translate a concept or feeling without any objective subject is a challenge in of itself. Artists of all skill levels and mediums explore this unique art form and submit the resulting works for this juried exhibition. Opens May 29 with artist reception from 6 to 8 p.m.; runs through July 10, 2025.
“Time and Light: The Artwork of Michael Tranovich” [Arts Bonita Visual Art Center, Tranovich Gallery]: “Time and Light: The Art of Michael Tranovich” invites the viewer to reflect on the intangible nature of time. As the son of a horologist, or watchmaker, Michael Tranovich confronts the viewer with both organic and surreal imagery, invoking the familiar yet elusive sensation of passing time. “My paintings attempt to capture this passage of time on canvas,” states Tranovich. “Symbolism is incorporated into all of my paintings as I attempt to bring together art and science. Scientific symbols and symbols related to man are both obvious and buried within the bright colors of my artwork. Symbols of time such as calendars, hour glasses, clocks, and gears are obvious. Humans step into time in the form of male and female symbols, intersecting rings, and the circle of life. Science is always there with DNA, RNA, infinity and more. Time remains one of the most interesting parts of the universe. It continues to pass, with no attention to external forces.” Opens May 29 with artist reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Runs through July 10.
“Skyview” at the Naples Airport [United Arts Collier]: This exhibition is the result and organization of a UAC call to member artists which requested two-dimensional artwork examining that which is upwards. UAC sought ethereal sky-themed works for the latest iteration in a series of exhibitions at the beautiful General Terminal of Naples Airport and UAC Member Artist Dario Campanile answered that call.
“Miami to Marco: Collaborative Exhibition of Latinx Artists from MoCA-Americas” [Marco Island Center for the Arts]: Marco Island Center for the Arts and the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Americas (MoCAA) proudly announce a dynamic cultural exchange program highlighting the power of contemporary art to connect communities and celebrate multiculturalism. This collaboration will feature dual exhibitions between May and July 2025, uniting artists from across the Americas and offering audiences on both coasts of Florida a powerful glimpse into the evolving visual languages of our region. From May 5 to July 1, 2025, Marco Island Center for the Arts will host a premier exhibition of 15 contemporary artists from MoCAA’s renowned collection. Curated under MoCAA’s acclaimed Art Tour, this exhibition highlights influential and emerging voices from across Latin America and the Caribbean. [Since its inception, Marco Island Center for the Arts (Art Center) participated in the planning process of ¡ARTE VIVA! – A vibrant Collier County wide festival of Hispanic heritage and artistic diversity on Florida’s Paradise Coast. Throughout the year, a wide variety of events and exhibitions pay homage to the rich cultural heritage and artistic expressions of the Hispanic community. Over the last two years, the Art Center has curated art exhibitions and presented music as part of its musical interludes that featured Hispanic artists and themes. With programs that honor age-old traditions, exciting live performances and exhibits exploring Hispanic artists and Hispanic lands, the Art Center has been proud to be a place where the local community can explore and discover this culture.] Opens May 5. Receptions May 13 and June 10 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
“Thomas C. Keller” [Marco Island Center for the Arts, Petit Gallery]: Opens May 5; closes May 27.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.