Pensacola Museum of Art Property

407 South Jefferson Street., Pensacola, FL 32502

Included with our unified admission. To learn more about the current exhibits, programs and classes see the Pensacola Museum of Art.

The University of West Florida Pensacola Museum of Art augments the academic and community missions of the University and the UWF Historic Trust Museums by promoting a space of discovery and dialogue rooted in art, ideas and culture. We aim to facilitate the preservation, understanding, and engagement of visual culture for audiences in the Northwest Florida region and beyond through our permanent collection, interpretive programs, a vital and dynamic exhibition schedule, academic research and education.

On Exhibit

Rising Tide: Photography by Ben Depp

December 6 - April 4

Southern Louisiana, once formed by sediment deposited by the Mississippi River, is now rapidly eroding. Over the past eighty years, Louisiana has lost 2,000 square miles of wetlands, accounting for ninety percent of the coastal marsh loss in the US. Louisiana’s eroding wetlands provide a natural barrier from hurricanes and storm surges that protect seventy percent of the state’s population. They also support the largest commercial fishing grounds in the lower 48 US states and provide crucial habitat for many endangered and threatened species of birds and animals.

This exhibition is part of Ben Depp’s ongoing project documenting the rapidly shifting landscape of southern Louisiana. Depp has been flying above the bayous and wetlands of southern Louisiana in a powered paraglider for ten years, photographing the incredible beauty and the visual clues that tell the story of this place and its destruction. With a powered paraglider, Depp can fly between ten and ten thousand feet above the ground. He spends hours in the air, camera in hand, waiting for the brief moments when the first rays of sunlight mix with cool pre dawn light and illuminate forms in the grass, or when evening light sculpts fragments of marsh and the geometric patterns of human enterprise—canals, oil platforms, pipelines, and roads.

In Depp’s photographs, one can make out varieties of plants, see the weather and seasonal changes—from the shifting high-water line, color temperature and softness of light, to what is in bloom—distinguish living cypress trees from those that have been killed by saltwater intrusion, or see the patterns made by wave energy on barrier island beaches. This intimate view of Louisiana, from a bird’s-eye perspective, prompts Depp – and he hopes, others – to see and appreciate this landscape in new ways.

The Members Show

March 7 - June 1, 2025

The Members Show is an annual juried exhibition open to all Pensacola Museum of Art members. Our founders introduced The Members Show during the art center’s first year as a way to honor and celebrate the relationship between local artists and the institution. 70 years later, this tradition remains a vital part of our museum community. The exhibition is open to artists of all skill levels, from beginning and emerging artists, to those with established careers. The 2025 exhibition showcases over eighty local, regional, and national artists, working in a variety of media that includes drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, ceramics, and site-specific installation. Prizes are awarded to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners and a special People’s Choice winner is determined by visitors during the opening reception.

In Your Face: Portraits by Gila Rayberg

March 7 - September 7, 2025

Over the past two decades, Gila Rayberg has been increasingly captivated by portraiture. Her whimsical mosaics capture the character and emotion of each individual through the use of brilliant colors and engaging patterns. 

Rayberg says, “the artworks are predominantly material driven, combining a wide variety of dishes and other would-be discarded ‘memory-ware’, alongside more traditional mosaic materials. The curves, rims, handles and rounded crockery often become defining elements within my portraits. A teacup handle may become an ear or a strand of hair; the lip of a cup, an eyelid. I love those ‘aha’ moments when the perfect shard reveals itself to me. I ponder the memory of where an object originated, who gave it to me, and other significance it may hold. Endless combinations of disparate elements come together to tell new stories & keep my mind active, while the cutting and placing of each piece keeps me physically grounded. There’s nothing I’d rather be doing, all else falls to the wayside.”

Jimmy Rhea: To Be Defined

March 7 - June 1, 2025

To Be Defined is a solo exhibition of mixed-media work by Jimmy Rhea that juxtaposes historical icons with contemporary culture. Pushing the boundaries of visual language, Rhea creates sculptures that beckon viewers into a curious game of multiple perspectives, merging philosophical inquiries with poignancy and comedic wit. 

“When people engage with my art, I want them to realize that the materials were manipulated by hand. Struggling for answers as to how the art was created, viewers are sent clues to the story through marks they interpret during their investigations of every surface. The marks I inflict upon my work originate from fire and pressure. Scorched steel is transformed from the blows delivered by my hands, hammers and machines. I passionately force it to speak for my thoughts, my fears, and my hopes.” 

An important component of Rhea’s work is the fusion of imagination with traditional craft and contemporary processes. His unique assemblages merge bronze, copper, plywood, and artificial turf with wry symbolism to lead viewers through an act of exploration and discovery. Rhea constructs his art to highlight traces of the materials’ history and hint at a larger narrative filled with humor, emotional skirmishes, and triumphs. 

Jimmy Rhea will be giving an artist talk about his work on Friday, April 25 at 6:00pm. Rhea’s talk is free and open to the public.