Naples artists come full circle at this year’s Naples Invitational. Executive Director Frank Verpoorten provides context.
“Naples Art Institute has been, for over 70 years or so, a cornerstone of this community,” said Verpoorten. “Some of the artists featured in the exhibition used to come here as children, as teenagers, taking art classes. So it's pretty interesting that we can follow their trajectory, and that's what we're excited about.”
The Invitational is a biennial exhibition that showcases the work of contemporary artists with strong ties to the Naples community.
“It's a survey, really, of very local, fine contemporary artists,” Verpoorten added. “We have about 28 to 30 artists in this year's selection, a little bit over 60 works.”
While it consists of local talent, Naples Invitational is far more than a local show.
“I've been in the community for 12 years or so, first at the Baker Museum, now here, and I really want to both inform the public about how talented this community is … and to shape the cultural identity of the city as well," said Verpoorten. "Because, as you know, Naples, and I'm sure Fort Myers, is a very changing community, both in terms of demographics, international flow of visitors, and so on. I want people to come here and see this exhibition and say, 'Wow, these works hold up against national or international standards of contemporary art.'”
Naples Invitational opens Sept. 2 with a reception from 4 to 6 p.m.
The exhibition will be on display through Nov. 30.
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Naples Invitational highlights artistic excellence, cultural relevance, and imaginative vision. Bringing together approximately 30 artists across generations and disciplines, it offers a compelling look at the American experience through a distinctly local perspective.
The exhibition also celebrates the vibrant and diverse creative voices emerging from Southwest Florida.
For over 70 years, Naples Art Institute has played a pivotal role in the region’s cultural development, serving as a place for artistic growth, education and inspiration. Many of the featured artists began their training at the institute or were involved in its early years, underscoring the organization’s lasting impact on the local art scene.
This year’s biennial is Naples Art Institute’s second such show.
“The previous and first Naples Invitational exhibition was in 2023,” Verpoorten said. “We alternate every year between an exhibition with local artists and a show with works from our permanent collection. One really feeds into the other, because by bringing together this constellation of exciting artists that work in our direct neighborhood here, we're also building a rapport with them. Some of their works end up in our collection, so it’s an ongoing dialogue.”
Structuring the exhibition as a biennial gives Verpoorten and his staff the time and resources to find and vet the artists they’ll invite to be in the show.
“Preparing an exhibition like this requires a lot of time, right? It's not like I just come up with the names for these artists in the last month or so. There's really a process of scoping out new artists, meeting new folks, people who come to see exhibitions, who partake in classes, events. Among them are artists, professional artists, who I had not met before, and so you always keep them in the back of your mind for a studio visit.”
Verpoorten drew a distinction between the artists who are invited to exhibit their work in a show like Naples Invitational and the larger community of “hobbyist artists” who may take a class or two at Naples Art but do so just for pleasure or on an occasional basis.
“The artists we’ve included in Naples Invitational are artists who really want to express themselves through their art, who have a very professional approach to their art. It's their means of living. They communicate something through their work,” Verpoorten said.
Many of the artists included in the show have yet to meet each other. They’ll have that opportunity at the artist reception on Sept. 2.
“We expect many of the artists to come to the opening,” Verpoorten added. “There is a sense of pride to be included in the exhibition in the context of the other artists as well. And so it's just an exciting opportunity for them.”
Frank Verpoorten serves as executive director and chief curator of the Naples Art Institute. He is a renowned leader, professional, and academic in the art world with more than 25 years of curatorial and artistic leadership in museums in the United States and Europe.
Verpoorten previously served as director and chief curator for Artis—Naples, The Baker Museum, where he grew and advanced the appreciation of the permanent collection during his seven-year tenure, raising the museum’s profile and building a reputation for distinctive, world-class exhibitions. Verpoorten’s impressive fundraising efforts during his tenure resulted in significant donations, gifts of art, endowment support, and exhibition sponsorship and underwriting.
Prior to his tenure at Artis—Naples, Verpoorten’s career included 10 years in New York City as culture attaché at Flanders House (2009 – 2012), director of visual arts and exhibitions curator at Snug Harbor Cultural Center and the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art (2005 – 2009) and curator of the Dahesh Museum of Art (2002 – 2005).
Verpoorten attended the Ph.D. Program in Art History at the City University of New York and holds dual master’s degrees in Cultural Studies and Art History from Vrije Universiteit in Brussels, Belgium.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.