2023-24 Season Hits Stretch Run with Exciting Events, Activities

ARTIS -NAPLES Summer is right around the corner and Artis—Naples presents a stretch run of exemplary exhibitions, exhilarating performances and engrossing lectures capping the 2023-24 season that all promise to be scorchers. Over the next three months, the Kimberly K. Querrey and Louis A. Simpson Cultural Campus is sure to have something for everyone, whether you are a full timer, a snowbird sticking around a bit longer or a visitor to Southwest Florida.

With the season long multidisciplinary celebration of George Gershwin wrapping up in May and June, patrons still have time to visit The Baker Museum to experience the first major museum exhibition devoted to the master composer’s passion for the visual arts. George Gershwin and Modern Art: A Rhapsody in Blue features paintings, sculptures and other artworks from his collection. It wraps up June 16. A month earlier, the Naples Philharmonic Jazz Orchestra, as part of the All That Jazz series, will give the composer a proper send off with two performances celebrating Gershwin’s timeless tunes and mesmerizing melodies on May 15.

If you are looking to cool off and be cool all at once this summer, a visit to The Baker Museum to see the new exhibition Andy Warhol Portfolios: A Life in Pop, Works from the Bank of America Collection may be in order. Years in the making, this exhibition includes rare complete portfolios and individual prints by Warhol and runs through September 8. Joining the Warhol exhibition is The Baker Museum’s latest exhibition: Tradition Interrupted. Kicking off May 4 and running through July 28, the exhibition features 12 artists who weave contemporary ideas with traditional art and craft to create thought provoking hybrid images and objects. One of the artists featured, Ramekon O’Arwisters, will speak about his work in a May 10 Artist Talk in the Sharon and Timothy Ubben Signature Event Space. Patrons will also have the opportunity to enjoy Deep Cuts from the Ahmet Ertegün Collection, featuring art collected by the founder and president of Atlantic Records, all summer long. Finally, June is the last chance for patrons to view Florida Contemporary, the annual exhibition showcasing a select group of notable visual artists practicing in Florida, as it draws to a close on June 30.

May is also the month Artis—Naples hosts its Spring Community Day. Beginning at noon on May 18, bring your children and join your neighbors and friends for an afternoon of free music and activities.

The 2023-24 series of stunning programs in Hayes Hall continues in May when guest conductor Markus Stenz and pianist Zoltán Fejérvári join the Naples Philharmonic in a prodigious program featuring Mahler’s masterful Symphony No. 5 on May 10-11. On May 19, the annual Side by Side concert sees the Naples Philharmonic and Naples Philharmonic Youth Orchestra join forces under the baton of Associate Conductor Radu Paponiu to present one of the most spectacular performances of the season. May’s musical fireworks come to a climactic end with Naples Philharmonic’s Patriotic Pops on May 24-25. This special annual performance includes soaring orchestral arrangements and rousing choral moments in what can be described as a star spangled salute to our troops and veterans.

June’s schedule of events begins with the Pro Am. In this performance of Rossini’s Overture to William Tell and selections from Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, the “pros” of the Naples Philharmonic will team up with “amateur” musicians from our community in this special collaborative event on June 2. Finally, Hayes Hall’s iconic backdrop, the Casavant Organ Opus No. 3690, gets its due in the Festival of Great Organ Music. Don’t miss your chance to see some of the finest organists in the area perform in what is sure to be a roaring recital.

Other June events include a series of art and music summer camps. ArtSmart summer camps for students entering grades 2-5 and grades 4-8 will be held June 3-7 and June 10-21, respectively. Music Makers camps include Youth Symphonia, June 3-7; Youth Chorus, June 10-14; Youth Chamber, June 17-21; and Youth Jazz Camp, June 24-28. All music camps conclude with live performances on Fridays at 7 p.m. at the end of each week of camp that are free and open to the public.

And if you still haven’t had your fill of the arts, Artis—Naples invites the community to enjoy Art After Hours at The Baker Museum on the last Wednesday of each month from 6-9 p.m. With live music performed by local musicians, concessions at Heidi’s Place and free admission to all museum exhibitions, Art After Hours is a fun evening of art and entertainment for audiences of all ages.

Tickets and additional details can be found at ArtisNaples.org