ARTIS – NAPLES SEASON BEGINS IN GRAND FASHION

Audiences don’t have to wait until fall for the highly anticipated launch of the 2024-25 Artis—Naples season. In July, Alexander Shelley commenced his role as the artistic and musical director for the multidisciplinary arts organization. Even though Shelley won’t be in Naples until October, he and the Artis—Naples team have been collaborating for over a year to create a remarkable lineup of events, performances, and exhibitions from The Baker Museum to Hayes Hall, promising to captivate, educate, and entertain art enthusiasts throughout the region.

Kicking off at The Baker Museum is the exhibition “As We Rise: Photography from the Black Atlantic,” featuring selections from the Wedge Collection. Running from July to October 13, this showcase showcases a diverse array of photographs from African diasporic culture, providing a timely examination of Black identity across the Atlantic.

In September, the museum will present Becky Suss: The Dutch House. This solo exhibition features new paintings inspired by Ann Patchett’s eponymous novel which chronicles two adult siblings recalling their childhoods and the subsequent dissolution of their family.

Alex Katz: Theater and Dance, the first comprehensive exploration of Katz’s playful and inventive collaborations with choreographers, dancers and avant-garde theater ensembles, arrives at the museum in October and includes unpublished, never-before-exhibited sketches, major sets, paintings and rare archival materials from the Paul Taylor Dance Company. Other early season highlights inside the museum and Hayes Hall galleries also include the continuation of Deep Cuts from the Ahmet Ertegün Collection, which draws to a close on October 13, and the annual exhibition, Florida Contemporary, which spotlights three notable Florida artists exploring themes affecting the Sunshine State.

Musically speaking, the first few months of the 2024-25 season are punctuated by the Naples Philharmonic’s popular free chamber concerts around the Southwest Florida community from September 5-11. The orchestra will also welcome thousands of students from Collier and Lee counties for numerous school time education concerts throughout September and October. Later in the fall, Alexander Shelley will conduct his first Naples Philharmonic Masterworks program as artistic and music director on November 1-2.

The performances include Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, Gabriela Ortiz’s Kauyumari and the Florida premiere of a guitar concerto by Mexican composer Arturo Márquez written specially for renowned classical guitarist Pablo Sáinz-Villegas and co-commissioned by Artis—Naples. The Motowners will return to Naples, performing R&B classics from the ’60s and ’70s. Chicago tribute band Brass Transit joins Assistant Conductor Alvin Ho and the orchestra in mid-October for a symphonic celebration of the jazz-rock outfit’s biggest hits.

Before Shelley’s community welcome, upcoming musical performances include a Sypert Salon series featuring French composers Onslow and Farrenc, and the return of the All That Jazz series with trombonist John Allred paying tribute to jazz mentors, including his late father.  Additionally, three tribute acts set to appear in August and October should satiate the appetites of rock and R&B fans. First up is Billy Joel tribute act Turnstiles on August 1, and on August 14-15,. A closing night awards ceremony and wrap party in Daniels Pavilion recognizes some of the best films from the festival on October 27, and later in the evening, the Naples Philharmonic and Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly convene in Hayes Hall to perform Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) in Concert for an exhilarating conclusion to a memorable weekend.

As has become customary with the beginning of a new Artis—Naples season, the Naples International Film Festival marks its red-carpeted return, offering moviegoers opportunities to view some of the newest and best independent films, mingle with filmmakers and participate in panel discussions with filmmakers. The opening night film and party is set for October 24 with NIFF films playing on the Kimberly K. Querrey and Louis A. Simpson Cultural Campus and at a local partner cinema from October 25-27.

A closing night awards ceremony and wrap party in Daniels Pavilion recognizes some of the best films from the festival on October 27, and later in the evening, the Naples Philharmonic and Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly convene in Hayes Hall to perform Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) in Concert for an exhilarating conclusion to a memorable weekend. As has become customary with the beginning of a new Artis—Naples season, the Naples International Film Festival marks its red-carpeted return, offering moviegoers opportunities to view some of the newest and best independent films, mingle with filmmakers and participate in panel discussions with filmmakers. The opening night film and party is set for October 24 with NIFF films playing on the Kimberly K. Querrey and Louis A. Simpson Cultural Campus and at a local partner cinema from October 25-27.

Tickets and additional details can be found at artisnaples.org.