Image: Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach
The Norton Museum of Art will stage its next ‘Art After Dark’ on July 24, 2026, under the banner ‘Florida Roots,’ bringing together a short-film program, live music, hands-on art-making and gallery tours for an evening that runs from 5 to 10 p.m. in West Palm Beach. The museum’s schedule lists discounted admission for the event, with tickets priced at $10 for adults and seniors, $5 for students and free for members.
According to the museum’s event listing, the evening is built around a special short-film curation presented with Subtropic Film Festival, along with an experimental short play by Ayi. The film program is described as a selection of Florida stories by Florida filmmakers, followed by a conversation with filmmakers and artists in attendance. The listed titles include ‘Hija De Florinda,’ ‘I Care About Your Mailbox,’ ‘Manatees Strike Back,’ ‘Underground River,’ ‘Initiation,’ ‘Beach Towel Art Show’ and ‘The Calm Under The Water.’
Music during the evening will come from Low Key, a band scheduled to play in the Great Hall from 7:30 to 9 p.m. The museum says the group performs original tunes and covers across rock, blues, country, zydeco, bluegrass and swing. The same event page also notes that the Arts After Dark program generally pairs live performances with film screenings, workshops and tours as part of its Friday-night format.
The hands-on component of the night will be an Open Studio session led by teaching artist Lymari Cuevas from 6 to 9 p.m. in Classroom 2. Cuevas is inviting visitors to create a ‘summer vibes’ wind chime using colorful materials, patterns and found objects. The workshop description frames the activity as a celebration of the colors, sounds and joy of summer, with finished works designed to move with the breeze and make gentle sounds.
Gallery access will be built into the event through docent-led and spotlight tours. At 5:30 p.m., visitors can choose a docent tour of either ‘60 Seconds: Polaroids from the Collection’ or ‘Recognition of Art by Women: In Retrospect.’ Additional options are listed for 6 p.m., 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., including spotlight tours with summer graduate interns Corinne Roethke and Madeline McCullar. The museum notes that tours are limited to 25 visitors and that wristbands should be picked up at the Membership Table one hour before the tour.
Both exhibitions featured in the tours are current at the Norton. ‘60 Seconds: Polaroids from the Collection’ runs through August 16, 2026 and focuses on the immediacy of Polaroid and instant film, drawing from the museum’s collection. The museum says the show considers why instant film has remained appealing to artists and viewers, while highlighting the technology’s role in spontaneous experimentation and inventive manipulation.
‘Recognition of Art by Women: In Retrospect,’ on view through September 27, 2026, marks the 10th iteration of the Norton’s long-running series, which began in 2011 to recognize and promote living women artists through solo exhibitions. The museum says the retrospective exhibition honors the past nine RAW artists and features work by Jenny Saville, Sylvia Plimack Mangold, Phyllida Barlow, Klara Kristalova, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Svenja Deininger, Nina Chanel Abney, María Berrío and Rose B. Simpson.
