A Frank Lloyd Wright house, art created by the Mexican-American artist Frida Kahlo and Pablo Picasso drawings exploring cubism are just some of the must-see activities this summer at Florida Museums.
This month, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Palazzo Vecchio in Naples is offering special outings through Aug. 28, which include daily tours and chance to explore the building’s design.
South Florida’s Museum of Discovery and Science takes in Picasso’s post-war collection, featuring nearly 300 works and new exhibitions on waves and the ocean. The exhibit continues through April 2019.
For children who love art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Miami is showing several Kahlo sculptures along with her early series of paintings. The museum, which also showcases Magritte’s work, is hosting a special Mexican Independence day from Aug. 14-16.
The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, in a nod to its popular “Carnaval,” takes visitors on four free tours — each one in a different direction — to discover hidden gems hidden throughout the museum. These include Spanish Colonial pieces, Mexican pottery, Portuguese masks and Navajo-style beadwork.
Among the two Florida Metropolitan Public Library (the second largest library system in the U.S.) museums, the Arts and Culture Center in Gainesville offers a free 14-week summer course in indigenous storytelling and music. Once the semester wraps up in September, kids can look forward to other educational workshops.
What’s new this year: Two Orlando-area venues are enhancing their exhibitions.
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Exhibition Center in Orlando has reopened with the debut of “We’ll Always Have New York,” a traveling exhibition of 120 works from the Norman Rockwell Museum, with an emphasis on his perception of the city, and “Homage to ’60s Pop Art,” exploring art that initially traveled internationally, such as “Slaughterhouse-Five,” “The Death of Superman” and “Lavender Mountain.”
The other Marion Mann Collection of Art museum in Apopka is introducing curator Terry Anderson, who was born in Los Angeles but grew up in Apopka. Her list of exhibitions in Orlando includes a revival of Marilyn Shriner’s 1924 costume exhibition, with a tour through the spring of 2020.
The Orlando Science Center has added “Chess for Paris,” a travel history of the National Machine Museum, and “The Good, the Bad and the Weird,” featuring mummies, an ancient Egyptian mummy and an animatronic dinosaur.
Florida Museums has curated a roundup of experiences, including the Naples show and a music festival in Clearwater. Below are additional summer selections.