Art is Everywhere

Like the swallows returning to Capistrano, parking problems at Publix, or the car-carrier semi-trailers unloading along the streets of Marco Island, another sure sign the season is here is the proliferation of art fairs across Southwest Florida.  

Over the next few months, locals and seasonal residents will be able to “expose themselves to art,” drink in the creativity of talented creators and possibly trade some hard-earned income for a slice of beauty.  

The first blockbuster art show of the new year took over Cambier Park in downtown Naples on Saturday and Sunday, January 4 and 5, when the Naples Art Institute hosted the juried Naples New Year’s Art Fair. The longtime Naples fixture brought 250 professional artists, plus or minus, and approximately 10,000 art lovers to the park, conveniently located adjacent to the Art Institute’s gallery and museum at Fifth Avenue South and Park Street.  

With a tree-shaded canopy, benches, and chaise longues, a multi-level parking garage, and ample open space for both artists and spectators, Cambier Park is a nice place for an art fair, particularly on the clear, cool days of the past weekend. There was no claustrophobic squeezing in, like the car show that packs Fifth Avenue a little later in the season. Artists showing their work, many of them based in the northern states, expressed their appreciation for the balmy weather.  

“It’s 11 degrees at home today,” said woodworker Salem Barker of northern Illinois. “It’s great to be here.”  

There is no way to take in and appreciate the wildly varying work of 250 artists or even see them all – just the list of categories for the show has 19 classifications, from ceramics, digital art and drawing, fiber/leather (combined in one category) to photography, printmaking, sculpture, and wood. You just had to stroll around and see what grabbed you.  

In the photography category, one recurring motif was rendered poignant. Photographer after photographer exhibited shots of the iconic Naples Pier, all of them now relegated to history after the devastation the quintessential local landmark suffered in 2022’s Hurricane Ian. The same holds true for the Cape Romano dome home, although, unlike the domes, the pier will be rebuilt – eventually.  

Meanwhile, the hits keep coming. The Naples Art Institute will be back in the park with a three-day show February 21-23, and again on March 22-23. They are also hosting a major show on Henri Matisse in the gallery from January 18 to April 13.  

On Marco Island, the Marco Island Center for the Arts will sponsor the second annual Marco Island National Fine Art Show on March 8-9 at Veterans’ Community Park in conjunction with the Collier County Tourist Development Council, with 102 juried artists in 15 categories. Marco also hosted an Art in the Park show on January 4-5 produced by Blue Ribbon Events.  

The Esplanade will host a Coastal Art Walk on January 19. The Art Center will host the Fine Art and Craft Show at their headquarters on Winterberry Drive on Jan. 25. St. Mark’s Episcopal offers monthly craft shows, and the Marco Island Historical Museum is currently featuring a major retrospective of the work of longtime Southwest Florida artist Paul Arsenault, kind of an art fair all by itself, through February 15. 

Bonita Springs and Estero will host their own shows, and even Ave Maria gets into the act with “A Big Kind of Small Town Art Show” on January 25-26.