ORLANDO, Fla. – Leaders with the Orlando Museum of Art are announcing the new exhibits that will be on display throughout September and into early 2027.
The lineup features original artwork behind a two-time Caldecott Medalist’s beloved picture books, nostalgic souvenirs from Florida’s mid-century tourism boom, and a look at the untamed landscapes and wildlife of the Florida Wildlife Corridor.
The museum shared this lineup along with their dates and descriptions:
Hello Sophie: The Picture Book Art of Sophie Blackall, Sept. 11 – Jan.
“Sophie Blackall has illustrated more than 50 children’s books, including the New York Times best-selling Ivy and Bean series. She is a two-time winner of the Randolph Caldecott Medal – a yearly award given to the illustrator of the best American picture book for children – for Finding Winnie in 2016 and Hello Lighthouse in 2019. This exhibition brings visitors face-to-face with the original artwork behind those pages.”
Blackall will visit Orlando Museum of Art on Saturday, Oct. 3, for a presentation and Q&A, followed by a book signing and meet-and-greet.
Floridiana: Material Culture from The Sunshine State, Sept. 17 – Feb. 1
“View the Sunshine State as visitors experienced it during the mid-20th century through more than 130 objects from the collection of Gary Monroe, an American photographer, author, and educator known for documenting Florida’s visual and cultural history. Hotel ashtrays, rubber alligators, roadside attraction brochures, and other souvenirs reveal a Florida whose identity was shaped as much by tourism and fantasy as by anything else.”
The exhibition opens on Sept. 17 on the museum’s monthly Access for All free-admission day.
A male Florida panther jumps through a swamp in the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge – an important piece of the Florida Wildlife Corridor east of Naples. (Log Jump, 2017 © Carlton Ward Jr.)
The Wild Path: Connecting the Florida We Don’t See, Photographs by Carlton Ward Jr., Sept. 25, 2026 – Jan. 3
“Seventy photographs by Carlton Ward Jr., a National Geographic Explorer and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, trace the wild corners of Florida that most residents and visitors never see. Ward founded the Florida Wildlife Corridor project in 2010 and has since logged 2,000 miles on foot across two National Geographic-supported expeditions advocating for the corridor’s protection and the recovery of the Florida panther, work that led to the documentary Path of the Panther.”
An opening celebration will take place on the evening of Sept. 24, with Ward in attendance.
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