FLORIDA KEYS COUNCIL OF THE ARTS
Press Release
Contact: Liz Young
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 305-295-4369
02/09/18

“Tamiami Trail: In the Beginning”
Tropical Botanic Artists document the 100-year-old Tamiami Trail’s effects on South Florida’s landscape

When:  March 8th – June 15th, 2018
Where: The Gato Building, 1100 Simonton Street, Key West, Florida 33040  
Hours:  9 am – 5 pm daily. Free.                     

Key West, FL (February/March xx, 2018) -- Portraits of plants found along the historic **Tamiami Trail a century after the road was begun, will be on view at the Gato Building in Key West , Sept. 21- Oct. 26, 2017. Admission is free and open to the public. 

“Tamiami Trail: In the Beginning” is an exhibition of original artworks by members of the Miami-based Tropical Botanic Artists collective. The botanical subjects were selected to mark the 100th anniversary in 2015 of the start of work on Tamiami Trail, a roadway begun in 1915 in Miami. Today it stretches across the Everglades from Miami to Naples and northward to Tampa, through areas that were largely wilderness a century ago. The exhibition’s over30 plant portraits depict species found then and now in multiple vegetation zones along the route. Due to human intervention and changes in water flow, some of the plants illustrated are rare or endangered, and their predominant locations may have shifted, but all persist in South Florida’s landscape.

Presented with support from the Florida Keys Council of the Arts, the exhibition is the result of the artists’ collaboration with Dr. Evelyn Gaiser of Florida International University, who is principal investigator for the local Florida Coastal Everglades Long Term Ecological Research program.

Artists whose works are in the exhibition are Margie Bauer, Kristi Bettendorf, Beverly Borland, Silvia Bota, Marie Chaney, Susan Cumins, Jeanie Daniel Duck, Pauline Goldsmith, Leo Hernandez, Elsa Nadal, Carol Onstad, Laurie Richardson, and Jedda Wong.  

ABOUT TROPICAL BOTANIC ARTISTS
The Tropical Botanic Artists collective was established in Miami, Florida, in 2006 to highlight the beauty of tropical plants through art. Its members come from all walks of life and each brings a unique viewpoint to his or her work. They share a love of the natural world and that fascination is reflected in their art.  www.tropicalbotanicartists.com

**WIKIPEDIA states that The Tamiami Trail  is the southernmost 275 miles (443 km) of US Highway 41 (US 41) from Florida State Road 60 (SR 60) in Tampa to US 1 in Miami.

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