Take a behind-the-scenes look at this new Coral Springs Museum of Art exhibition
“Transitions,” a new exhibition from the Coral Springs Museum of Art, debuts Friday night with 40 pieces from members of Broward County’s SOBRA Collective exploring themes of profound personal and collective change.
Curator Daniel Listwan saw an opportunity to challenge artists when he pitched the idea months ago. He told the Coral Springs News that he wanted to put a show together with a less concrete theme, something that would be relatable for broad audiences.
“I was just thinking about, ‘What are these things that tie us all together?’” he said. “That idea that we are always changing, and everything is always changing, and taking the time to be present and have the perspective on that moment was how everything clicked together in my mind,” Listwan said.
He was excited to challenge artists to introspect, bringing deeply meaningful work to the table.
”It’s not an answer that’s given to them — it’s a question,” he added.
Artists in their own words
Cheryl Maeder, a conceptual photographer and videographer, will present her art film “Super Natural Orbs” as part of the exhibition.
“As climate change disrupts balance, the film offers a moment of stillness and transformation, a portal into the unseen,” she read from her artist statement. “It urges us to embrace the invisible threads that bind all life and rediscover our place within them.”
She hand-picked the locations where each portion of the film was shot, including a beach in Palm Beach County’s Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, in an effort to highlight beautiful, breathtaking moments in nature.
Other featured artists, including Arlet Gomez, took the opportunity to reflect on their personal experiences.
Her painting “Bubble-Graphy of Time” draws from her childhood experiences growing up in Cuba, where moments of play and imagination often coexisted with the weight of collective rituals.
This is visually represented through children blowing bubbles contrasted with marching in unison or carrying signs, gestures of innocence and imposed order, she told the Coral Springs News.
“For me, ‘Transitions’ is about learning to see beauty in impermanence and to find meaning in the in-between,” she said. “Each artist reflects a different aspect of movement, identity, and renewal.
“Together, the works create a conversation about how we evolve individually and as a community.”
Putting an art exhibition together
Artists had two to three months to submit a piece. SOBRA Collective members submitted about 150 works, according to Listwan, and of those, 40 were selected.
It takes an immense amount of behind-the-scenes work to make a show like this happen — coordinating artists, gallery setup, marketing and other details, he said.
“I am constantly in kind of communication with these artists as we go along, to make sure that everyone’s aware of deadlines, everyone’s got their needs coordinated,” Listwan said. “There’s a lot of little things that museums do that you don’t see in the end result.”
Listwan praised SOBRA members for their help making the process go smoothly, and said he hopes that the show will be a launching pad for other galleries to pick up the collective’s work.
“This group has been exemplary of being communicative, and punctual, and helpful — every single one of them has been open to dialogue,” he said.
“Transitions” is scheduled to run through Jan. 3, 2026, at the Coral Springs Museum of Art.
This story was originally published October 16, 2025 at 5:37 PM.
