This Artist From Florida Keys Wins Best of Show at Central Park Art Fest
by James Coulter
Michel Delgado is a mixed-media artist. He lives in Chicago and the Florida Keys. His art is inspired by his West African heritage. As a self-taught artist, the inspiration behind his artwork is his own life. He considers his art a way to chronicle his journey through life as viewed through his own, unique perspective.
“For me, I create my artwork, and that is how I document my journey here in this lifetime,” he explained. “So, it is a variety of different experiences that I try to take, to create the work it is based on and how I view my perspective, my reality. So, the work comes from the reality of my lived experience.”
His unique African-inspired artwork earned him the honorary title of Best of Show at the Central Park Art Fest in Winter Haven last weekend. Overall, he was more honored to be one of the 65 other artists attending the event that day to showcase their work.
“I am very grateful,” he said. “There is a lot of variety of artists here and the people who run the show have been a plus to put on events like this for everyone, to have a place to showcase their work. So, that is very considerate. This community is new [to me]. [It is] the first time I have been here, but people have been very warm and interested in my work.”
More than 65 artists attended this year’s Central Park Art Festival, hosted by the Ridge Art Association, and presented by Victor Smith Law Group. For more than 30 years, this annual art festival has served as a venue for artists from across the county and even the country to showcase their arts and crafts.
This year’s event, with more than 65 artists attending, experienced an increased turnout of 15 more artists compared to last year’s event, explained Daphne Manning, Executive Director of the Ridge Art Association.
“Overall, the quality is up and that is more important,” she said. “In the end, it’s about quality of the artists over quantity.”
