Current Exhibits
Connections in Nature: The Art of Adorable Monique
May 1 – August 28, 2021
Naples Depot Museum
Connections in Nature explores aspects of our natural world and the human experience with it, aspiring to reveal the inner beauty of the life and fertility that our region’s environment sustains. The Everglades, from where much of artist Adorable Monique’s inspiration lies, is represented in the vibrant palette and bold styles she was influenced by while growing up in Central America. The trees, mangroves, birds and other fauna off this unique ecosystem are highlighted by vibrant expression, movement, and contrasts of light.
Adorable Monique is an award-winning artist based in southwest Florida. Born in Chicago, she was raised abroad in Central America. Her upbringing surrounded by different cultures and diverse ethnic groups has profoundly influenced her understanding of art, culture & color, inspiring her to embrace many artistic customs and values. Her time in Central America especially allowed her to identify with and find appreciation for both the agricultural and natural environments in which she grew up. Having received her degree in Fine Arts & teaching, Adorable Monique is continuously pursuing success in personal, professional, and artistic endeavors and the cultural experience itself.
All Collier County museum locations offer free admission.
Fish, Fruit, and Fine Dining:
Marco Island’s Food Culture
April 6 – July 10, 2021
Marco Island Historical Museum
Today, Marco Island is a lovely vacation and retirement destination with nearly every type of food style and dining establishment you could ask for, especially if you like fish. The first Americans moving to the island starting in the 1870s quickly learned what the Calusa had known: the fishing here is great. But did you know Marco Island was once vital to providing pineapples, mangoes, and other citrus fruits to the rest of the U.S? Visit to learn more about Marco Island’s Food Culture.
All Collier County museum locations offer free admission.
Everglades Oasis: Plumbing the Depths of Deep Lake’s History
through May 29, 2021
Museum of the Everglades
Everglades Oasis: Plumbing the Depths of Deep Lake’s History explores the fascinating history of the area surrounding Deep Lake, a geological anomaly situated nineteen miles north of Everglades City. Once the home of a Seminole Chief, it was later the site of a commercial grapefruit enterprise, complete with its own narrow-gauge railroad carrying the fruit to port in Everglades for transport. It was the first southwest Florida real estate purchased by Barron Gift Collier in what would eventually become Collier County. Now a part of the Big Cypress National Preserve, only traces of the railway as well as ruins of a road prison, and Collier’s luxurious hunting lodge remain, but the region’s rich history lives on.
All Collier County Museum locations offer free admission.
Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland
April 6 – May 25, 2021
Collier Museum at Government Center
For more than 150 years, Coney Island, a strip of sand at the mouth of New York Harbor, has occupied a singular place in the American imagination. From a beginning as a watering hole for the wealthy, through its transformation into an amusement and entertainment mecca for the masses, to its struggle for renewal in recent decades, an extraordinary array of artists have viewed Coney Island as a microcosm of the American experience. The exhibition brings to life the excitement of Coney Island, showing visitors how its magnetic world of attractions has become a touchstone for American mass culture and popular recreation.
Throughout the exhibition, artifacts display how the modern American mass-culture industry was born at Coney Island. The exhibition investigates the rise of American leisure and traces Coney Island’s influence on amusement parks and popular culture throughout the country. Photographs, ephemera, film clips, and hands-on interactives immerse visitors in the experience of Coney Island.
All Collier County museum locations offer free admission.
On the Hoof: Portraits & Landscapes by Jo-Ann Sanborn
May 1 – July 17, 2021
Immokalee Pioneer Museum at Roberts Ranch
Jo-Ann Sanborn made Southwest Florida her home when she moved here in the mid 1990s. Jo-Ann is known for her artistic focus on the landscape of the Everglades and is often referred to as “The Everglades Artist.” Recently Jo-Ann became interested in the animals present in Floridian landscapes and is fascinated with the long history of Roberts Ranch in Immokalee. She produces expressionistic compositions rich with uncommon color, creating a distinct style that somehow still radiates simplicity and integrity within a nuanced piece filled with layers of color. She invites to the viewer to take a breath and become engaged in her art, whether it’s of a swamp bog in the Everglades or the faces of red cattle grazing an Immokalee ranch. You can see Jo-Ann’s beloved Florida cows on display at the Immokalee Pioneer Museum at Roberts Ranch beginning
All Collier County museum locations offer free admission.