59th Annual Beaux Arts Festival of Art
59th Annual Beaux Arts Festival of Art
Lowe Art Museum
Jan. 9-10, 2010
The 59th Annual Beaux Arts Festival of Art will bring more than 240 fine artists to the grounds of the Lowe Art Museum on the University of Miami campus Jan. 9-10, 2010.
Recognized as one of the top-rated outdoor exhibits of museum-quality fine art, the festival attracts 100,000 people annually, offering works in 11 mediums for a variety of budgets. This year, artists hail from 32 states and four countries including Mexico, Canada and the Bahamas.
Two local experts will be judging this year’s entries: well-known painter Humberto Calzada, whose work embodies the classical Latin American artistic tradition, and art collector Carlos de la Cruz, Jr., whose family recently opened its extensive, private art collection to the public. Some $20,000 will be offered in prizes – including a Best in Show award announced during the festival.
Admission and parking are free. Proceeds benefit the Lowe Art Museum, which will be open to the public for free all weekend. The festival is sponsored by Mercedes-Benz of Coral Gables/Mercedes-Benz of Cutler Bay, Marti and Wayne Huizenga, Geico, Sir Galloway Cleaners and Bunny Bastian.
A signature event on the South Florida cultural circuit, the Beaux Arts Festival of Art offers visitors the opportunity to meet exhibiting artists, sample fine cuisine, enjoy live entertainment and – for the kids – create their own works of art.
The festival features an Art Park, where young ones ages 5 to 12 dabble in arts and crafts. The Art Park is open during all hours of the festival, and costs $10 per hour per child.
New this year, the festival is offering a Kids Zone, with a magician, storyteller and a hands-on “archeological dig,” plus family-oriented vendors.
Also, the festival presents the annual Student Art Showcase, featuring 122 pieces from Miami-Dade junior and high school students on display inside the Lowe. A portrait by Best in Show Winner Andrea Keeler, a seventh grader of Palmer Trinity, graces the festival’s poster. A celebration honoring their work will take place at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 7 at the Lowe.
The art show dates back to the 1950s, when Beaux Arts volunteers for the Lowe Art Museum displayed works from several local artists on clothesline they strung in front of the museum. Nearly six decades later, the show has evolved and is considered one of the top fine art shows by Sunshine Artist magazine.