Tom Hall

A selection of Henri Matisse's cut-outs along with illustrations and prints are on display at Naples Art Institute in an exhibition titled “Art in Balance: Matisse and His Illustrated Works.”

Southwest Florida’s museums regularly curate traveling art exhibitions as well as artworks from their permanent collections. During the month of February, visitors will find the following shows in museums from Sarasota to Naples.

This weekend's art festivals are in Punta Gorda, Sanibel Island and Estero.

“Purely Pastel” is an exhibition of 72 abstract, impressionist and realist paintings created with pastels. It’s on view at the Alliance for the Arts through February 27. Most people associate pastels with pale blues and pinks, but the paintings on display in “Purely Pastel” burst with color.

Looking for an artful way to observe Valentine’s Day? Consider these three alternatives to flowers and chocolates.

Three shows open, five productions close and 11 others continue their runs this week in Southwest Florida theaters.

“Tainted Love” is on stage at Golden Gate Community Center through February 16. While Johnny Grim’s dialogue is a bit stilted in places, the story presents an interesting dive into how a group of female college friends negotiate life-changing decisions.

The Visual Arts Center in Punta Gorda has announced the indefinite postponement of its long-anticipated Australian Aboriginal art exhibition. Now it is inviting area artists to exhibit work in a substitute show titled “Anything Goes (almost).”

Florida is home to a vast number of award-winning emerging to mid-career contemporary artists. Each year, The Baker Museum of Art invites three of them to exhibit their work in a show called “Florida Contemporary.” The idea is to expose local people to new work by the state’s leading artists.

Stephon Clark was standing in his grandmother’s backyard with a cell phone in his hand. Tamir Rice was playing with a toy gun in a park. In the play “Good Bad People,” Amiri Johnson was taking out the garbage at the homeless shelter where he lived. Rather than focus on the institutional racism that frequently gives rise to cases like these, “Good Bad People” shines a light on the grief experienced by the family members left behind.