Art and Volunteerism

The Spirit Of Beaux Arts And The History Of Coral Gables Are Uniquely Intertwined.

Editorial from the Miami Herald newspaper, April 1965

In 1952, if you went to the University of Miami on a spring day to visit the Clothesline Sale, you’d walk past the Lowe Art Gallery (now the Lowe Art Museum) and see artwork crowded along the green, strung up on clotheslines. There’d be mostly local artists’ works, juried by a panel of experts. All of the staff on-hand would be women, and all volunteers. Proceeds would go to benefitting the Lowe and local art, but entrance to the event would cost you nothing.

Today, in 2025, there’s little difference between the first Clothesline Sale and what is now known as the Beaux Arts Festival. This year’s festival, held on January 18 and 19, is still free to attend and is also being held outside the Lowe Art Museum, which is still the festival’s primary beneficiary. You’ll still see lots of local artwork – though now there are also national and international artists from Canada, Italy, and Mexico, among others. The staff are still all female volunteers, members of the Beaux Arts nonprofit, a 100 percent female-run organization which also hosts the annual Beaux Arts Ball and various children’s art programs. Perhaps the only real difference is that the art is no longer hung on clotheslines and the festival is now held across two days, rather than just one. It also now draws upwards of 25,000 people and over 240 artists, giving out more than $20,000 in prizes. Over the course of the almost 75 years of its existence, the nonprofit has raised over $8 million for the Lowe, donations that have made it possible for the museum to have free admission and almost 19,000 objects that come from every inhabited continent over 5,000 years of civilization.

Clothesline sale advertising in the late 1950s

Back in the late ’50s, Shirley Pruitt, now 91, was part of one of Beaux Arts’ first membership groups, still working under founder Anne Atkinson, a Lowe employee. Pruitt describes the festival “as it probably is today,” only smaller. “It was the first type of [juried art festival in the state] and then they sort of spread all over Florida,” she says. “There would be artists from all over South Florida that would bring their artwork.” In those days, Pruitt was a general member, and she was responsible for a Pepsi-sponsored wagon and hot dog sales. Her son, then nine-years old (now the father of Ashley Andren, one of the organization’s co-presidents this year), would run the food to customers.

Susie Rieder, who joined the nonprofit around 1976, says that at one point the organization would rent out art to people so they could have it in their homes for a few months. And she, too, remembers cooking food for their various events. Her daughter, Kaitlyn Reider, is now co-chair of this year’s festival.

Perhaps that is how the festival has stayed so consistent throughout its 74 years – many of its volunteers are legacy members brought in through friends or family. “There’s such a wonderful depth of tradition in the group,” says the Lowe’s Chief Curator Dr. Jill Deupi, who also holds the endowed position of Beaux Arts director. “Over time, their core activities have a changed a little but not a lot. I think what’s most important is that the spirit, the ethos of the event, has not changed. It’s about building community through arts and culture, using art as an opportunity to bring people together while also supporting living professional artists.”

“There’s Such A Wonderful Depth Of Tradition In The Group…”
Dr. Jill Deupi (Above), Lowe’s Chief Curator
And Beaux Arts Director
Photo: Rodolfo Benitez

For the City of Coral Gables, which is celebrating its centennial this year, Beaux Arts represents more than just a weekend art festival or even just a nonprofit. “It’s an opportunity for the city to bring in professional artists from around the country, it’s free, it supports a major cultural institution… all of those things are a perfect mix for the city,” says Catherine Cathers, the City of Coral Gables’ arts and culture specialist and one of the festival’s jurors back in 2019. With the University of Miami also celebrating its centennial alongside the city, Cathers says the art festival is particularly important this year. “We just love that it’s here,” she says. “The city was founded with an artist [Denman Fink] as one of its leaders… so [art’s] been part of our cultural fabric from the beginning.”

The Miami Sunday Times Editorial In 1956 

Fink was among the city’s most important cultural leaders, one of the original founders of Coral Gables who served as art director for the Coral Gables Corporation and as a painting professor at the University of Miami. He’s credited with designing the Venetian Pool, City Hall, all the city’s entrances, and many other public spaces. He died in 1956, four years after Beaux Arts was created. When Cathers says art is important to our city, clearly, she’s right.

Dr. Deupi echoes this. “I understand that from the start, [city founder George] Merrick intended for there to be not just a university, but also an art museum,” she says. “But, of course, with the hurricane that delayed many things in the early 20th century, the museum project was paused. So, I do think it’s important to know that from the start, there was this vision to include an art museum, which speaks to the importance of the arts in our community.”

Going hand-in-hand with that commitment to arts and culture is volunteerism, the spirit of which dates back to the 1925 founding of Coral Gables. The women of Beaux Arts are the latest in a long line of female volunteers who championed service in the Gables. Case in point: Althea Merrick, George Merrick’s mother, was the founder of the Coral Gables Garden Club, another female-run service organization. Today, Beaux Arts has grown from its original 50 members to almost 100, many of whom come from service-oriented families in the city and all of whom have different reasons for joining.

“We Just Love That It’s Here… The City Was Founded With An Artist [Denman Fink] As One Of Its Leaders… So [Art’s] Been Part Of Our Cultural Fabric From The Beginning.”

Catherine Cathers, City Of Coral Gables’ Arts And Culture Specialist

Festival co-chair Kaitlyn Reider, for instance, says she didn’t join the organization out of a love for art, but rather because the spirit of volunteerism was “a family thing.” Her mother-in-law, Susie Reider, was a member of the organization and encouraged her to join. “Personally, I like the back side of it. I like setting it all up and getting to know everybody. Just looking at it at the end of the day and being like, ‘I did that!’ That’s my favorite part,” she says.

Her fellow co-chair Amber Seidle-Lazo, a Gables native, has a similar story. “I remember coming to the festival when I was a kid,” she says. “My dad grew up down the street on Riviera and he remembers walking hereto the show with his mom. It’s just full circle. Now, I bring my kids here. It’s something to say that multiple generations have come to love this place and keep coming back.” Seidle-Lazo is involved in several different nonprofits but, she says, Beaux Arts will forever “hold a special place” in her heart. “It’s just a great group of women and the things we do are amazing,” she says. “Everything we put on is 100 percent volunteer run.”

For others, like co-president Jordan Kever, who isn’t from Miami, volunteering with Beaux Arts was a way to get involved and “build a community.” She and her husband are art appreciators and collectors, so joining the organization was a no brainer. “It’s just a really incredible opportunity to not only support artists in their passion but to connect with others,” she says. Of the festival, she adds, “We do it all ourselves, boots on the ground. It’s an incredible community outreach program because it exposes people to the Lowe and all the wonderful work they have on display, but also connects our community with incredible artists.”

“It’s Such A Privilege To Be Part Of An Organization That Has Impacted So Many In Our Community…”
Ashley Andren, Co-President, Beaux Arts Festival

Left To Right: Co-Chairs Kaitlyn Reider And Amber Seidle-Lazo And Co-Presidents
Ashley Andren And Jordan Kever

For co-president Ashley Andren, who also got involved at the behest of a family member, her favorite part is the organization’s children’s outreach programs and the general accessibility it provides to anyone interested in the arts. “I have young kids and they’re very into art, so it’s nice to show them all the different mediums and the talents of the artists,” she says. “Art is such an important thing for children.” Beyond that, she says, the art at the festival is accessible to all because of the wide range of prices. “There are price points that any buyer can reach,” she explains. “It can strike people’s interest in art [for the first time].”

This year, the team hopes to do just that by drawing even more people than they have in the past through more activations and a wider range of artists and artworks. Having been forced to move the festival to the Watsco Center for the last three years due to construction at the university, the board is excited to bring the event back outside the Lowe, this time with two separate entertainment stages at each end of the festival. There will also be a live art installation from a chalk artist working on a piece over the weekend and two beer gardens. Attendees will see some familiar faces, artists who come back year after year, but also exciting new talent. And, of course, there will be activities for children, including a beading workshop in the museum.

“It’s such a privilege to be part of an organization that has impacted so many in our community,” Andren says. “Standing on the shoulders of all these women.… Who would have imagined that almost 75 years later, we’re 100 women strong and still pursuing the same mission to support the Lowe Art Museum and art access in our community? It’s such an honor.”

Beaux Arts Festival Of Art
January 18-19, 10 Am To 5 Pm
1301 Stanford Dr.
Beauxartsmia​mi.org


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