Entertainment
Bob Dylan artwork show opens in Miami, new cinema paintings
MIAMI (AP) — Bob Dylan has been telling stories through songs for 60 years. But recently America’s master lyricist has also captured moments in a new series of paintings that, just like his songs, are intimate and a bit of a mystery.
The most comprehensive exhibition of the Nobel laureate’s visual art to be held in the U.S. goes on display on Tuesday in Miami at the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum. Forty new pieces by the 80-year-old songwriter will be showcased for the first time.
The exhibition with more than 180 acrylics, watercolors, drawings and ironwork sculptures will kick off the same week as Art Basel Miami Beach and will run through April 17 with no future stops announced yet. Tickets are $16 and are booked by hourly slots.
“Retrospectrum” includes some of Dylan’s works from the 1960s, starting with pencil sketches he made of his songs such as “Highway 61 Revisited” and “Like a Rolling Stone.” His pieces, loaned from private collections around the world, also include abstract sketches from the 1970s, and covers six large rooms. But the vast majority was created in the past 15 years.
“He was recognized in every possible way as a writer, as a composer, as a singer, as a performer and so on. It is now that the audience sees also the last element,” said Shai Baitel, who conceived the show as the artistic director of the Modern Art Museum Shanghai, where it debuted. “Dylan is able to express himself in so many ways.”
A breathtaking giant canvas of a sunset in Monument Valley on the Utah-Arizona line serves as an introduction to Dylan’s newest works. He has mentioned his admiration of Western movie director John Ford, who used that same iconic landscape in many of his films.
Past the wall with the painting of the reddish buttes is a room with the new series called “Deep Focus,” named after a technique in cinematography where nothing is blurred out.
“All these images come from films. They try to highlight the different predicaments that people find themselves in,” Dylan is quoted as saying in one of the walls. “The dreams and schemes are the same — life as it’s coming at you in all its forms and shapes.
Dylan offers a lot of city life the way Ashcan School artists advocated when they depicted realistic images of people’s hardships at the turn of the 20th century.
A jazz band plays in a colorful club in one of the paintings; a gray-haired man counts wads of cash in another. He depicts two men fighting in a boxing match and portrays a woman sitting alone at a bar drinking and smoking with an intriguing look on her face.
Linking the images of Dylan’s latest works to specific movies will take some internet sleuthing.
Richard F. Thomas is a Harvard University classicist who has studied and written about Dylan. He said in an essay for the exhibit that he found online references tying one of the paintings showing a man in a black leather jacket pouring sugar on his coffee to a scene at a diner in the 1981 film “The Loveless,” where actor Willem Dafoe embodies a biker.
Thomas found a scene from the 1971 movie ”Shaft” with actor Richard Roundtree ordering street food in Times Square. Other new works show cowboys, men in undershirts and barber’s poles, another recurring object used by Dylan.
“Just like the scenes he has been creating in songs for all these years, the scenes of ‘Deep Focus’ will keep Dylan scholars busy in the years to come,” Thomas wrote.
Besides the works in his new series, other works that will be shown in Miami have been previously exhibited in places such as the Halcyon Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Previous paintings reflect images of America from the point of view of a road traveler. Realistic depictions of diners, motels, marquees, gas stations and railway tracks appear frequently throughout his artwork.
“It’s almost like looking at a pamphlet of his memories,” Baitel, the artistic director, said.
Dylan has also experimented with perspective, seemingly imitating the work of Vincent Van Gogh in “The Bedroom” to paint corners of a New York City apartment. And he has done variations by drawing the same characters changing the color of the backdrops and their clothing, or just depicting them at a different time of the day, like Claude Monet’s Rouen Cathedral series.
The exhibit has some interactive displays for music fans. The 64 cards with words from the lyrics of “Subterranean Homesick Blues” that he flipped through in one of the earliest music videos ever made were framed and lined up in eight columns by eight rows, while the clip is played on loop.
It’s not yet clear whether Dylan, who is currently on tour for his 39th album “Rough and Rowdy Ways” will pay a visit.
Jordana Pomeroy, director of the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, said it will be its first ticketed event since the museum first opened in 2008. The Florida International University will be holding a symposium on Dylan inviting scholars to discuss the songwriter’s entire body of work.
“That’s the treatment we are going to give Bob Dylan,” Pomeroy said.
Entertainment
USF Credit Union Named Presenting Sponsor of ‘Rainbow To Your Door’ With $5,000 Challenge Match Grant
ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN) — The production team behind Rainbow To Your Door announced that USF Credit Union has joined the upcoming theatrical production as its Presenting Sponsor, accompanied by a $5,000 Challenge Match Grant aimed at encouraging community support and helping fully fund the project.
The partnership reflects a shared commitment to arts, education, and community engagement across Central Florida. Organizers say the challenge grant will match community contributions dollar-for-dollar up to $5,000, helping expand public access and educational opportunities connected to the production.
Original Play Celebrates Florida’s Artistic Legacy
Rainbow To Your Door is an original stage production written by Los Angeles-based playwright Kenneth Brown. The play is inspired by the historic friendship and artistic exchange between acclaimed author and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston and artist Jules André Smith.
Set in 1938 at the historic Maitland Art Center, the production explores the challenges, triumphs, and purpose of artists navigating a rapidly changing world while preserving their creative voices.
“This partnership represents more than sponsorship. It is an investment in storytelling, culture, and preserving the legacy of artistic voices that helped shape Florida’s creative identity,” Brown said. “We are incredibly grateful to USF Credit Union for believing in this vision and helping us create meaningful community impact through the arts.”
Challenge Match Campaign Aims to Fully Fund Production
As part of the sponsorship, USF Credit Union will provide a $5,000 Challenge Match Grant to encourage community participation and charitable giving. Production organizers say that once the matching goal is reached, Rainbow To Your Door will be fully funded.
Donations generated through the campaign will support expanded accessibility initiatives, educational programming, community outreach, and audience engagement efforts associated with the production.
“USF Credit Union is proud to support initiatives that enrich the communities we serve,” said Rick Skaggs, CEO of USF Credit Union. “Rainbow To Your Door reflects the power of culture, education, and the arts to inspire meaningful conversations and strengthen community connections.”
Production Scheduled for October 2026
Media relations and promotional efforts for the production are being coordinated by Fierce Entertainment.
Rainbow To Your Door is scheduled for Oct. 10–11, 2026, at the Timucua Arts Foundation in Orlando.
Additional information regarding ticket sales, sponsorship opportunities, and the community challenge campaign will be announced in the coming weeks.
Media Contact:
Rob Henlon
Fierce Entertainment
rob@alwaysfierce.com
For sponsorship information and production updates, visit Rainbow To Your Door.
Central Florida News
FNN Honors Teen Reporter Isabella Schmitt as She Graduates and Pursues Communications Degree
ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN) — Florida National News proudly celebrates Isabella Schmitt as she marks an important milestone with her high school graduation and prepares to begin an exciting new chapter pursuing Communications in college.
Over the years, Isabella has represented the next generation of young voices with professionalism, creativity, determination, and passion.
Through reporting opportunities, community involvement, and media experiences, she has continued to shine both on and off camera while inspiring others through her dedication and work ethic.
Jenny Rosario, Vice President of Florida National News, praised Isabella’s accomplishments and bright future ahead.
“Watching Isabella grow both personally and professionally has been truly inspiring,” Rosario said. “She represents the future of journalism, communications, and storytelling. Her passion, confidence, and commitment to making a positive impact through media are remarkable, and we are incredibly proud of all she has accomplished.”
Rosario added that Isabella’s decision to pursue Communications in college is a natural next step for someone with such strong talent and determination.
“The world of media and communications needs more young voices like Isabella’s,” Rosario said. “We know this is only the beginning of many great accomplishments to come.”
Florida National News congratulates Isabella Schmitt and the entire Class of 2026 on this exciting achievement.
“Keep dreaming big and telling stories that matter,” Rosario added.
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