About

What we do:
Southwest Florida residents and thousands of tourists benefit from the programming offered at The von Liebig Art Center each year. This cultural resource is run by the Naples Art Association, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to engage viewers, nurture creative development and promote appreciation for the contemporary visual arts. Nestled behind 5th Avenue South in downtown Naples, this facility is a local treasure!

Come see us!
Guests feel among friends in the art center’s  welcoming ambiance. A highly engaged audience, they often ask questions of both art and things to do in the area. Students of all levels can learn from experienced instructors. Vistors from near and far seek out the opportunities to share their talents and meet artists who are imagining and creating with contemporary art techniques.

Annually, we:
-Educate more than 1,000 children through the summer art education program, ARTScool.
-Provide more than 30 scholarships to less fortunate children to attend ARTScool.
-Provide nearly $15,000 in scholarships for children and college-bound seniors.
-Teach more than 2,000 hours of adult art classes and workshops.
-Attract more than 50,000 guests to downtown Naples and the Mercato Shopping District through art and crafts festivals held November through April.
-Introduce more than 600 nationally known artists to our community who sell work at our art festivals.
-Host more than 15,000 visitors to the Gallery and Art Studios each year.
-Provide the means by which Southwest Florida residents can view and appreciate a wide variety of art by holding 10+ exhibitions of well-known and local artists.
-Host an informative lecture series with internationally known art experts

Our History, abridged:
The Naples Art Association was founded in 1954 by a group of 30 local artists. The group exhibited artwork and met regularly to share ideas and paint. Many of the members volunteered with the local schools until the public school’s art program was established in 1956.

In 1957, the Naples Art Association organized its first outdoor art show which is still running today as “Art in the Park,” thought to be Naples’ oldest outdoor art show.
In the 1970s, the group collected funds to restore The Naples Depot. There they built art studio spaces and held the group’s first art exhibition in 1978. The following year, the organization began to offer adult art classes. They continued providing classes, workshops and lectures in that facility until 1998.

In 1980, was their first annual spring art show in Cambier Park. As it’s known now, the Naples National Art Festival has become the association’s largest fund raiser and is rated among the top 10 art festivals in the country by Sunshine Artist Magazine.

In 1992, the Association began meeting with the Naples City Council for a lease agreement to provide 8,000 square feet of public land in Cambier Park to build a community art center. In 1995, a lease agreement was signed and $3.5 million was raised through private donations including a gift from Suzanne and William von Liebig, for whom the art center is named.

On November 22, 1998, the Naples Art Association officially opened The von Liebig Art Center. The 16,000 square foot, two-story facility features six studios, a main exhibition hall, one of the area’s largest art resource libraries, a gift shop, and hallways to exhibit work.

Today, the art association’s primary goal is to serve as a working art center where the community can access activities and events for all ages and learn about art through exhibitions and educational outreach.