Fort Myers Beach

Hosts

Sand Sculpting

Championship

     The 36th Annual American Sand Sculpting Championship returns to Fort Myers Beach, November 19–23, for five days of artistry, competition and family-friendly entertainment. This years’ event celebrates America’s 250th birthday with the theme, ’Stars, Stripes & Sand: Sculpting the American Story’.

     Thirty-four sculptors will be participating, including 12 Master sculptors and 12 Advanced Amateur sculptors, representing 10 states and five nations, with artists from Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, England, and the United States competing, including Shannon Sumney of Bonita Springs.

     In addition to the professional competition, the championship will feature an Amateur Sand Sculpting Competition, more than 80 vendors, food and beverage vendors, live entertainment, hands-on sand sculpting lessons, professional sand sculpting demonstrations, Quick Sand speed-sculpting shows and a dedicated sand play area for children.

     The weekend will feature Master and Advanced Amateur competition, the Amateur Sand Sculpting Competition, demonstrations, entertainment and family activities. The Amateur Sand Sculpting Competition will take place Saturday, November 21, 10am-3pm, with awards at 4pm. On Sunday, November 22, the People’s Choice winner will be announced along with the awards ceremony. Monday, November 23, will offer visitors a final opportunity to view the completed sculptures, along with plein air and other art activities.

     The event will be held on the beach behind DiamondHead Beach Resort, located at 2000 Estero Blvd. and neighboring Estero Island Beach Club at 1840 Estero Blvd. in Fort Myers Beach. Event hours are 10am-5pm daily. 

     For information about the schedule of events and activities, sculptor lineup, parking information, Amateur Competition and volunteering, call 454-7500.​

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Rauschenberg

Gallery

Celebrates

Kenny Scharf

& Klaus Nomi

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     The Bob Rauschenberg Gallery at Florida Southwestern State College (FSW) presents Klaus Nomi & Kenny Scharf: Time SPLAT!, an exhibition celebrating the era-defining work of two seminal artists who helped shape the late 1970s & early 1980s underground scene in New York City’s East Village. An immersive installation, Time SPLAT! bridges the gap between Kenny Scharf’s signature, ethereal ‘Pop Surrealist’ landscapes and characters and the highly-theatrical, extraterrestrial persona of the late and legendary performer, Klaus Nomi. 

     The exhibition serves as more than a retrospective; it is an exploration of a shared aesthetic universe. Visitors will experience a collision or “splat” of time, where Kenny Scharf’s recurring motifs of cartoonish joy and nuclear-age anxiety meet Klaus Nomi’s operatic, avant-garde futurism. A selection of Scharf’s paintings, transformed found-objects, customized clothing, and cosmic prints are presented in direct dialogue with Nomi’s vintage artifacts, costumes, props and rare performance documentation. Together, these elements mark a pivotal moment in art history when New Wave music, Street Art and high-concept performance met, merged and forever reshaped contemporary culture.

     Kenny Scharf is renowned for his street-art-infused canvases, mind-altering installations and playful ‘Pop Surrealist’ iconography. Klaus Nomi possessed an extraordinary countertenor vocal range that captivated audiences by blending rock, disco and cabaret with operatic arias with a highly stylized Dadaist aesthetic.

     Klaus Nomi & Kenny Scharf: Time SPLAT! Is on view thru December 5 at the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery Annex i(building J-118) at Florida Southwestern State College, 8099 College Pkwy. in Fort Myers. The gallery is open Mon-Sat 10am-4pm. Admission is free. For information, call 489-9313.

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Selby Gardens'

Halloween Light

Show Returns to

Spanish Point​

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     Lights at Spooky Point, the Halloween-themed light show introduced to Selby Gardens’ Historic Spanish Point campus, returns in October for a fifth season, October 1-31.       

     Lights at Spooky Point features a hauntingly lit trail that winds through the wooded grounds and historic landmarks of the campus. Along the path, guests will encounter Halloween displays and light installations. ‘Ghost orchids’ hover above the Pioneer Graveyard, ‘Dracula orchids’ are draped in Spanish moss, and ‘spider orchids’ are spun into glowing webs high in the trees, all decorations inspired by real-life plants bearing the same names.      Designed for all ages, visitors will also find plenty of pumpkins, scores of skeletons, and other Halloween classics. 

     Lights at Spooky Point is open 6:30-9pm. A limited number of tickets will be sold for each night, with two entry times available: 6:30 & 7:45pm. Advance ticket purchase is encouraged. 

     Marie Selby Botanical Gardens’ Historic Spanish Point Campus, located at 401 N. Tamiami Trail in Osprey, is open daily 10am-5pm.

     Call 941-366-5731 for information.​

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Rembrandt

Etchings

Come to Naples

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     Naples Art Institute presents Rembrandt: Masterpieces in Black & White — Prints from the Rembrandt House Museum, an exhibition that explores the remarkable innovation and expressive power of one of history’s greatest printmakers through a rare selection of etchings spanning his career. Traveling to only three museums in the United States, the exhibition reveals how Rembrandt transformed printmaking through masterful use of line, texture, and light while influencing generations of artists that followed.

     The exhibition traces Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn’s lifelong experimentation and innovation, highlighting how his techniques evolved and shaped the future of printmaking. Works by his teacher, pupils, and later artists place his achievement in context and demonstrate his lasting influence across centuries. Together, these prints show not only Rembrandt’s technical mastery, but also his deep insight into human experience, making this exhibition an exceptional opportunity to engage closely with the creative process of one of the greatest artists in Western art.

     Rembrandt: Masterpieces in Black & White is on view October 10-January 24. 

     Naples Art Institute is located at 585 Park St. in Naples. It is open Mon-Sat 10am-5pm & Sun 11am-4pm. Call 262-6517 for information.

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Marcus Jansen

Book Available

for Pre-Order​

   Marcus Jansen, the internationally acclaimed modern expressionist painter —and Fort Myers resident — is publishing his first book, Counterpoint: The Defiant Works of Marcus Jansen, a collection of his works confronting injustice, racism, authoritarianism, imperialism, and the political machinery shaping contemporary life.

     Bringing together works personally selected for their personal and artistic significance, Counterpoint is the first Marcus Jansen collections book produced under the artist’s complete editorial and creative control. Jansen has personally curated the publication, which also marks the first collection of its kind to include his own reflections on the work, from its inspirations and interpretations to the ideas and messages behind it.

     Rather than functioning simply as a retrospective marker, Counterpoint reflects the sustained social, political and psychological concerns that have shaped Jansen’s oeuvre across that period.

     The year also marks the 20th anniversary of Jansen’s ‘discovery’ by Jerome Donson, director of traveling exhibitions at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. 

     Jansen’s work has since appeared in museum installations, exhibitions and institutional presentations internationally.

     Ahead of publication, 100 signed collector’s copies of Counterpoint: The Defiant Works of Marcus Jansen are available for pre-order until October 31.

     For information, visit marcusjansen.com.

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CALL TO ARTISTS

Alliance for the Arts

     Inviting artists to submit works for the following themed exhibitions:

     That’s Absurd: Submit up to three strange, illogical, and offbeat works. Artists are encouraged to blur the line between meaning and meaninglessness through surreal imagery, exaggerated forms, playful chaos, and contradictions that challenge viewers’ expectations and understanding of reality. On display November 6- 28. Deadline: October 4

     Sports: Submit their works in all medias celebrating the world of sports. Artists should consider themes such as competition, teamwork, culture, and history, and explore the ways sports manifest themselves in your surroundings. On display March 5-27. Deadline: February 7.

     Freak Art After Dark: Young adults and students are invited to showcase their artwork in a public community event for a Pop-Up Haunted House exhibit. Artwork can be inspired by Halloween, fortune tellers, tarot, the mystical, or anything odd, unusual, spooky, eerie, strange, or wonderfully unconventional. All pieces must be suitable for outdoor display and able to withstand the conditions of an outdoor event. On display October 29. Deadline: October 18.

     Alliance for the Arts is located at 10091 McGregor Blvd. in Fort Myers. For information, call 939-2787.

'Ding' Darling Refuge

     Annual photo contest for high schoolers: Ding’ Darling Wildlife Society-Friends of the Refuge invites students in Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Glades, and Hendry counties to submit photographs and to compete for cash, gift bags, and other prizes, in support of conservation education at the J.N. ‘Ding’ Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island. Only digital images are accepted. Photographs must be taken of nature wildlife in the open outdoors in the state of Florida. Deadline: January 15.

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