The Art Council of Southwest Florida -- three primary goals

The Art Council of Southwest Florida is dedicated to expanding the range of art appreciation and creative art  opportunities for the residents of south Florida and the many thousands of people from all over the world who visit here annually.

The Council's goals are threefold: 

1) the support of its member art studios and organizations  (currently numbering 21) via this website and other marketing efforts to publicize  their workshops, exhibits and a range of other creative activities;     

2) the provision of networking opportunities for sharing ideas concerning art appreciation, art education and art creation.

3) establishment of a co-operative art gallery -- branded as the COCO Art Gallery -- thus providing a quality exhibit and sales opportunity for the artists and craftspeople who are members of the Council's affiliate organizations (website cocoartgallery.com).

Additionally, the Art Council organizes two biennial exhibits:  the Spring Art Show in even-numbered years and the Winners' Circle Show, in odd-numbered years.

In sum, the Art Council serves to support hundreds of this region's artists and the organizations that they belong to as a way to energize the appreciation and creation of visual artwork.

The Art Council . . . what do you get as a member?

The Art Council of Southwest Florida is an "umbrella" organization that works to support and further energize the efforts of its member art organizations and studios, now numbering 21. These organizations have a combined membership of more than 6,000 artists and craftspeople.

Because the Art Council is in touch with all of these organizations and provides updated information concerning their activities, it offers a variety of benefits:

-- Affiliate members are listed on this website, with links immediately going to each website of those organizations (if available).
General meetings of the Art Council provide an important networking opportunity for the 21 organizations that are members of the Council.

-- Each organization member is invited to "showcase" its facilities and galleries for the other Art Council members by periodically hosting a General Meeting of the Council.

-- Each member organization of the Council has a vote in all decisions of the Art Council at its General Meetings. Together with six elected officers, the member delegates make up the Art Council's Board. The General Meetings provide an opportunity to "talk art" and share organizational and creative ideas with all of the other Council Delegates.

-- The artists who are members of the ACSWF's affiliated organizations can participate in one of the Council's two major biennial exhibits:  the "Winners' Circle Show" and the "Spring Art Show."  Details about these exhibits can be found on this website.

-- Members of the ACSWF's affiliate organizations can submit work for exhibit and sale at the Council's COCO Art Gallery at Coconut Point Mall (Estero, Florida), with 9% of an artist's sales going back to his or her organization. (See the gallery prospectus, this website.)

-- Most of the Art Council's affiliate organizations frequently offer exhibits which can be entered by any of the other artist members of the Council's affiliates.

-- For the organizational reporting that the Council does, and the commun-ications with its members, yearly dues are minimal -- for the smallest in number of members just $60 a year, the largest, $100 a year. This obviously compares well to the increasing costs of advertising and other forms of publicity.

​-- Most important, membership in a regional organization of artists and craftspeople -- such as the Art Council -- provides each affiliate arts organization greater recognition within Florida's vigorous arts community.

The Art Council encourages all artists and craftspeople -- from art hobbyists to professionals -- to explore membership in one of the Council's affiliate organizations.  

Officers of the Art Council