Message From NAWAFL President

NAWA Florida Chapter Members,

Last year was a busy exhibiting year for our Florida members. With an annual goal of 3-4 shows, we scheduled six because of opportunities that were presented by our exhibition chairman, Muffy Clark Gill, and other area coordinators.

• Art Ovation Hotel Autograph Collection in Sarasota

• Marco Island Center for the Arts

• Orlando City Hall

• Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta, GA

• The Cornell Museum of Art in Delray Beach

• The Miami Dade Library during Art Week Miami

Our last two Exhibitions to close 2024 were well attended and I’d like to congratulate the following award winners:

TIMELESS: Center for the Arts, Marco Island, FL
1st Place-Joanna Coke/Peace
2nd Place-Roberta Millman-Ide/H2O
3rd Place-Emi Sisk/Horizon
Honorable Mentions-Kimberly Beltrame/Kayak Adventures and Jane McIntyre/Resting

BRAVE & BOLD: Miami Beach Public Library, Miami Beach, FL
1st place: Lully Schwartz/Rebirth of Venus
2nd Place: Annette Margulies/Hidden Joy
3rd Place: Penny Seldin/Women in Crisis
Honorable Mentions-Roberta Ide Millman/Never Yours to Keep and Denise Cormier Mahoney/Epoch

We have one upcoming spring Exhibition for 2025 with two tentative others for fall/winter:

• SKINS: Art Gallery 21, April 2025, Wilton Manors, FL

This will be our first annual Member Showcase where each member gets one guaranteed art work in the show.

Here some ways to understand this fun theme:

• Using the theme literally such as collages or layers/skins of paper, dried paint, fabric, wallpaper or other physical materials

• Using the theme emotionally such as getting under someone’s skin

• Using the theme physically such as the skin of fruit, animals, vegetables or humans. Full nudes not accepted.

Upcoming Exhibitions for 2026

• A Woman’s Perspective on War & Peace: Herrig Center for the Arts, March 2026, Bradenton, FL

• The Fragility of FL’s Ecosystem: Martin Arts Cultural Center, October- December, 2006, Stuart, FL

This will be our second annual Member Showcase where each member gets one guaranteed art work in the show

Our membership is now at 98 with 10 new members for our current fiscal year.

Our three main focuses for the Florda Chapter are:

• Professional level exhibitions to build our members’ experience and resumes

• Artists workshops, run monthly and archived on our members only page, to share our talents and inspirations with each other.

• Scholarships to support the next generation of NAWA artists.

I am very proud of the artists members in NAWAFL and applaud their professionalism, volunteerism and creative bravery as a sisterhood of like-minded artists.

Sincerely,
Denise Cormier Mahoney