Florida Man

Annual Juried Exhibition

Open Call to Artists

Exhibits open during Art Walk on the 1st Friday of every month. 6pm-10pm

Gallery hours Monday through Friday 10:00am – 5:00pm

Extended Gallery Hours most Fridays until 10pm

Occasionally galleries may be closed for private events

– Please call ahead for gallery hours –

Donation Entry Fee

Overview

Call for Artists

Florida is a place of contradictions. It is paradise and punchline, wilderness and suburbia, postcard and tabloid headline. It is a state where flamingos share space with strip malls, where ancient cypress swamps exist just miles from neon-lit tourist attractions, and where some of the most breathtaking natural beauty in the country coexists with stories so bizarre they have become their own cultural phenomenon.

For the 2027 Annual Juried Exhibition, the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center invites artists to explore the theme “Florida Man.”

This exhibition goes far beyond the viral headlines. We are seeking artwork that captures the full spectrum of the Florida experience: the beauty, the absurdity, the nostalgia, the mystery, and the unique spirit that makes Florida unlike anywhere else.

Perhaps your work reflects childhood summers spent chasing lizards, collecting seashells, visiting grandparents, or enduring sunburned family vacations. Maybe it explores the allure that draws millions of people to Florida each year in search of sunshine, reinvention, opportunity, or escape. Or perhaps it embraces the strange and unforgettable moments that have become synonymous with Florida culture: roadside attractions, eccentric characters, alligators in unexpected places, hurricanes, mermaids, theme parks, retirees, tourists, spring breakers, and the legendary figure known simply as “Florida Man.”

We encourage artists to interpret the theme broadly. Consider:

• The natural beauty of Florida’s coastlines, wetlands, springs, and wildlife.
• Memories of family vacations and seasonal migrations.
• The dream of paradise and the reality behind it.
• Local folklore, urban legends, and regional culture.
• The people who shape Florida’s identity, from lifelong residents to recent arrivals.
• Florida’s unique blend of cultures and communities.
• Humor, satire, and the state’s reputation for the unexpected.
• Personal stories of life in, leaving, returning to, or discovering Florida.
• The curious, colorful, and sometimes chaotic moments that could only happen here.

Whether heartfelt, humorous, surreal, critical, nostalgic, or celebratory, we invite artists to explore what Florida means to them.

Because beneath every strange headline is a deeper story. Beneath every tourist brochure is a lived experience. And somewhere between paradise and peculiarity lies the real Florida.

Who is Florida Man?

He is all of us.

He is the dreamer, the newcomer, the retiree, the fisherman, the artist, the adventurer, the oddball, the survivor, and the storyteller.

He is Florida itself.

Juror’s Challenge

Artists are encouraged to surprise us. Bring us the beauty hidden behind the weirdness, the weirdness hidden behind the beauty, or both at once. Show us the Florida that visitors never see, the Florida that residents know by heart, or the Florida that exists only in memory.

“Come for the sunshine. Stay for the story.”