Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center

The 16th annual Fort Myers Film Festival will deliver five days of film screenings, filmmaker panels, and celebration. The festival, which runs May 20-24, 2026, will include 81 selected feature, documentary, and short films from all over the world. We’ll get a preview of the festival in a conversation with Fort Myers Film Festival founder and Executive Director Eric Raddatz. We’ll also talk with multi-award winning filmmaker Jordan Axelrod, whose short film “Szypliski” will be featured at the opening night red carpet gala at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center.

On Friday, the Sidney & Berne Davis is turning its back lot into rave and rock circus and its grand atrium and rooftop into an immersive night of music, movement and mural making. It’s called The Back Lot: Rave & Rock Circus and puts the exclamation point on this month’s Music Walk with a fresh wave of sound, spectacle and underground energy.

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 31 shows at these venues, underscoring the importance of the arts in our part of the country.

A solo exhibition of works by Southwest Florida-based painter, illustrator, writer, and designer Kathleen Kinkopf opens May 1 at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center.Ahead of the opening, we’ll talk with Kinkopf about her striking works, often described as “magical realism” with highly detailed realistic imagery infused with dreamlike symbolism and fantasy elements.

Every two years, the City’s Public Art Committee hosts an exhibition of the work created by the artists who have received Arts & Culture grants during the preceding two years. This year’s Biennial show is being hosted by the Alliance for the Arts and will feature work by 15 visual artists and two local filmmakers.

The 2026 International Baccalaureate Visual Arts Exhibition at the Davis Art Center headlines 29 visual art exhibitions on view in April at Southwest Florida art centers.

In March, there are 28 exhibitions at SWFL art centers, including “Rooted in Community,” a group exhibition that honors the rich contributions of artists from Sarasota’s Newtown and Overtown communities—two historically Black neighborhoods whose cultural and creative voices have profoundly shaped the city’s artistic identity.

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 February, there are 25 shows at these venues, underscoring the importance of the arts in our part of the country.

We talk with painter, veterinarian, and life-long outdoor enthusiast Dr. Jackson Trescott about his exhibition at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center titled “Neon Coast: Southwest Florida Under UV.” Works in the show depict Southwest Florida landscapes, seascapes and wildlife offering a unique dual experience, as they appear completely different under blacklight.

In January, there are 35 shows at Southwest Florida art centers, underscoring the importance of the arts in our part of the country.