A new group exhibition about life along the South Florida shoreline opens to the public today, Friday, November 6, at the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County in downtown Lake Worth Beach. Called Sun, Sand, Surf, the show brings together work by 32 creative professionals who live or work in Palm Beach County, and it stays on view through Thursday, December 31, 2026. Admission is free.

The exhibition fills the William R. and Joyce A. Kruger Family Gallery inside the Council's headquarters, the Robert M. Montgomery, Jr. Building at 601 Lake Avenue. The artists met the public at an opening reception on the evening of Thursday, November 5, and the gallery now settles into its regular schedule for the eight weeks that follow.

What the show is about

The Council describes the exhibition as a look at the coast through many sets of eyes. The works on the walls cover reflections on the water, big skies over the ocean, the culture that grew up around surfing, and the environments where land meets sea. Rather than a single style or medium, the show gathers a range of approaches to the same subject: what the beach looks like, how it feels to live near it, and how it shapes the creative life of the county.

Jessica Ransom, the Council's director of artist services, curated the exhibition. One of the pieces featured on the Council's exhibition page is a painting by Pam Ayres titled Sunset Serenade.

Who is in it

The participating artists include Jon Allen, Gerri Aurre, Pam Ayres, Jerilyn Brown, Jamie Cain, Summer Collins, Ayesha DeLorenzo, Carol Frezza, Paul Gurguirs, Gail V. Haines, Diane Hutchinson, Bonnie Jacobson, Karen Jaggard, Melissa Kelley, Carolina King, Autumn Kioti Horne, Joe LaPierre, Sarah LaPierre, Margaret Lewis, Devin Noel, Theresa Roberts, Tom Rowe, Manon Sander, Billy Selesnick, Julie Silk Beaumont, Susan Smith, Christine Templeton, Bianca Urbanowicz, Maria Votek, David Wasson and Grant P. Williams.

The show also includes a special collaboration with the Surfing Florida Museum, which adds a piece of the state's surfing history to a gallery otherwise filled with work by individual artists.

Two free performances in December

The exhibition comes with a short piece of live theater. Autumn Kioti Horne, one of the exhibiting artists, has an installation in the show, and she and fellow artist and actor Suzanne Ankrum Harris will present The Necessary Monster and the Sea Itself, a 20-minute performance connected to that installation. It runs twice:

  • Thursday, December 10, at 6 p.m.
  • Saturday, December 12, at 2 p.m.

Both performances are free, and each one is followed by a question-and-answer session with the two performers.

Docent tours start Saturday

The Council is adding free, docent-led tours of its galleries every Saturday at 1:30 p.m., beginning Saturday, November 7. The first tour falls on the show's second day.

The same building is also showing a solo exhibition by painter Bogdan Kravchenko in the Gayle and Paul Gross Gallery through December 5, so a single visit covers two shows. The Roe Green Uniquely Palm Beach Store, which sells work by county-based artisans, and the Jean S. and Frederic A. Sharf Visitor Information Center are in the building as well.

How to go

  • Where: Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, Robert M. Montgomery, Jr. Building, 601 Lake Avenue, Lake Worth Beach, FL 33460
  • When: November 6 through December 31, 2026
  • Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 12 to 5 p.m.
  • Cost: Free, for the exhibition, the docent tours and the December performances
  • Tours: Saturdays at 1:30 p.m., starting November 7
  • Parking: Free four-hour parking on downtown Lake Worth Beach streets, plus a public lot on the east side of L Street next to the Council's building
  • Phone: (561) 471-2901

Details on the exhibition and the rest of the Council's season are on the Cultural Council's Sun, Sand, Surf page.

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