More than 30 artists from across Florida have joined a new exhibit dedicated to preserving state parks and art in the face of contentious moves from Tallahassee.
The project in Lake Worth Beach is part of an ongoing effort to illustrate how — despite a slew of state-level controversies surrounding environmental protection and arts defunding — “arts and culture is resilient,” said co-curator Trina Slade-Burks.
“This is a difficult time, but we're going to get through this.”
The BOUNDLESS - Florida's Creative Resilience Exhibition was conceived as a direct response to how nonprofit arts and culture organizations are still reeling months after Gov. Ron DeSantis slashed $32 million in arts and culture funding from the 2024-2025 state budget.
“It's not just about money,” said Slade-Burks, founder of No More Starving Artists Foundation, (NMSAF) a non-profit that provides professional services for Palm Beach County artists. “It's about the loss of opportunities for the young people as well as those of us who take advantage of things in our community, such as museums, such as programming, theater and dance and ballet."
READ MORE: South Florida arts community reeling from DeSantis veto of millions of dollars in state funding
More than half of the 31 artists are from Palm Beach County. The exhibition curated sculptures, paintings and photographs that aim to bring awareness to the arts industry, the environment as well as concepts surrounding self-evaluation.
Quinn Miller's surreal portrait, Suffocate, shows fully-clothed men and women floating in and above a body of water. The artist said it symbolizes self-reflection.
NMSAF vice-president and artist Craig McInnis says his abstract painting, Passion Language 1 and 2, stirs "moments of introspection."
The exhibition also includes art works that may inspire environmental preservation.
One art piece, by celebrated artist Anthony Burks Sr., Slade-Burks's husband, honors the endangered Scrub Jays at Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Jupiter.
Curated from his 2011 Endangered Species of Florida Series, the mixed-media painting is used as a way to spotlight the widespread backlash against the state's now-withdrawn Great Outdoors Initiative — recent attempts to add sports amenities like golf courses, pickleball courts, and hotels to several state parks.
“Ultimately that would have been a situation where we would maybe not have any more scrub jays,” Slade-Burks said. “So we picked that particular piece to kind of represent a little bit of the Boundless mindset.”
Betsy Rossin’s Umbrellas and Beach Vibes are colorful, abstract collages of upcycled paper products that are described as representing “enthusiasm and unabashed optimism.”
Jamaican artist Michelle Drummond’s fiber art installation consists of yarn, glue and other materials, mimicking a three-dimensional water stream — she told WLRN it "provokes conversation" about access to clean water.
Earlier this year DeSantis vetoed cultural and museum grants secured from state legislators, forcing arts and culture organizations to scramble to prevent cuts to major programming. Some could not avoid layoffs or ceasing operations altogether.
It's the first time that no money will be allocated for arts and culture programs by the state and the potential outcome is “shocking," said Jennifer Sullivan, Senior Vice President at the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, an arts support agency for the Palm Beaches.
Proceeds from the sales at the Boundless exhibition will go toward a fund that supports struggling local organizations.
IF YOU GO
What: BOUNDLESS - Florida's Creative Resilience Exhibition
When: The exhibition runs through November 30th
Where: Palm Beach Art, Antique & Design Showroom 500 N. Dixie Hwy, Lake Worth Beach, FL 33460
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