Image: The Baker Museum, Naples
The Baker Museum in Naples, Florida, is marking its 25th anniversary with ‘There & Here: New Perspectives of the Permanent Collection’, an exhibition bringing together highlights and rare treasures from its holdings. On view from January 10, 2026, and continuing as a multi-year exhibition, the presentation examines identity, cultural heritage, geographical dislocation and resilience through works selected with a community advisory committee.
Located on the museum’s second floor, ‘There & Here’ is organized by Artis—Naples, The Baker Museum. It is co-curated by Dianne Brás-Feliciano, curator of modern art, and advisory committee members Magdiell Antequera, Tara Backhouse, Tayina Deravile, Lisette Morales, William “Popeye” Osceola, Donald Sutton and Annabelle Tometich. Sophie Bennett, Courtney McNeil and Casandra Ruanova also assisted with the exhibition.
The museum describes the exhibition as a reflection on how individuals preserve their identities and maintain connections to cultural heritage, including when they are separated from familiar places. Its curatorial approach combines works from the permanent collection with community participation and related public programmes, presenting art and interpretation as ways to illuminate diverse narratives of heritage and resilience.
Among the works identified on the exhibition page is Chakaia Booker’s ‘Dialogue with Myself’, made around 1998 from rubber tire, wood and metal. The sculpture entered The Baker Museum’s collection as a 2025 gift from Bob and Terry Edwards. Other selected works include Guillermo Meza’s ‘Arrieros somos (Mule Drivers We Are)’ (1944), an oil painting gifted by Harry Pollak; Perle Fine’s ‘Silent Procession’ (1947), acquired by the museum; and Marcus Jansen’s ‘Behind Walls #3’ (2019), purchased for the collection.
The exhibition’s anniversary context also places emphasis on the continuing development of The Baker Museum’s holdings. Its current programme includes presentations drawn from the collection as well as exhibitions based on major gifts and loans. ‘The Passion of Collecting: Stories in Glass and Ceramics from the Sibrack Collection’, also opening January 10, 2026, presents 74 works by 60 artists from a gift by Naples collectors Dr. Laurence and Rita Sibrack. Unlike that focused presentation, ‘There & Here’ surveys the permanent collection through themes of identity, belonging and cultural connection.
Two exhibition-related lectures are scheduled at the Ubben Signature Event Space. ‘Inside the Collector’s World: Connoisseurship, Conservation and Legacy’, with Sotheby’s executive Julian Dawes and conservator Rosa Lowinger, is listed for March 5 at 2pm. ‘Collecting with Purpose: Shaping the Future of The Baker Museum Collection’, led by museum director and chief curator Courtney McNeil, is scheduled for March 30, 2027, at 10am. The exhibition is supported by the Myra Janco Daniels Legacy Fund, the Judy and Michael Cheteyan Educational Charity, and Nancy W. and George R. Woltz.
