Florida has always been a place of layered stories, bold creativity and cultural exchange. The Sunshine State is constantly being shaped by the artists, writers, chefs, musicians and community builders who call it home.
Across the state, living artists are redefining their mediums and expanding the ways people experience Florida through creative expression. To celebrate this, we’re spotlighting some of these creators who are shaping how Florida’s stories are told today and how they will be remembered tomorrow.
Tallahassee-born author and educator Tananarive Due is one of the most influential voices in contemporary speculative fiction and horror. As the daughter of civil rights activists John Dorsey Due Jr. and Patricia Stephens Due, her Florida roots run deep. For more than two decades, Due has used fiction to explore memory, history, survival, fear and resilience, helping expand what genre writing can encapsulate.
Due’s award-winning body of work includes national recognition from the American Book Awards, NAACP Image Awards, British Fantasy Awards, Bram Stoker Awards, Shirley Jackson Awards, World Fantasy Awards, and more. Through novels such as The Living Blood and The Reformatory, Due she has helped elevate speculative fiction as a powerful literary space for examining history, justice and the human experience.
For more on Due, check out her website.
Jacksonville-based artist Chris Clark is redefining portraiture through powerful visual storytelling. As a painter, illustrator and muralist, Clark uses portraits to examine cultural memory, shared history and lived experience.
His work has been recognized in exhibitions and public art spaces across the country, but his creative voice remains deeply connected to Jacksonville and Florida’s arts landscape. His practice demonstrates how visual art can explore, celebrate and invite people to see their communities with a fresh perspective.
To view some of his work, visit his Standing in the Dark exhibit on the Artfield's Exhibition website.
Nikesha Elise Williams is a two-time Emmy Award-winning producer, award-winning author, journalist and podcast host whose work spans fiction, media, cultural criticism and literary advocacy. Her writing has appeared in national outlets including The Washington Post, The Bitter Southerner, Essence and Vox.
As the producer and host of Black & Published, Williams has created a platform that amplifies writers and expands conversations about authorship, publishing and storytelling. Now based in Florida, Williams brings together journalism, literature and audio storytelling to explore how stories are created, shared and remembered.
Don’t miss Williams' latest novel, The Seven Daughters of Dupree, available now on her website.
Miami chef Akino West is part of a new generation of culinary artists reshaping how people experience Florida’s food. As chef and restaurant owner, West has earned national attention for bringing Southern food with a unique twist to the Miami dining scene.
Chef West’s culinary work centers on blending traditional Southern Black dishes with the global culinary techniques he learned while training in some of the world’s most respected kitchens, including Noma in Denmark. Named one of America’s top emerging talents by the James Beard Foundation in 2023, West is helping redefine modern Florida cuisine as global, inventive and community-centered.
Chef West recently announced that he is transforming the historic People’s Bar-B-Q in Overtown into his own Black Pit BBQ, honoring over 50 years of Black culinary history. Learn more about his new culinary venture on Instagram.
Kandy G. Lopez is a multidisciplinary portrait artist and educator transforming traditional portraiture through her use of mixed media. While traditional portraits lie flat on a canvas, Lopez's inventive use of fiber challenges expectations and turns portraits into a dimensional, immersive and connective experience. Born to Dominican parents, Lopez’s art explores cultural identity, human connection and power through tactile pieces that simultaneously feel intimate and expansive.
Lopez is now an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication, Media and Arts at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, where she helps prepare the next generation of artists to think critically about material, intention and creative practice.
Explore more of Lopez’s creations by checking out her website.
Broadway Harewood is the founder of Broadway Art District and the 305 Hip-Hop Museum in Miami. Known as a dedicated community advocate and local visionary, Harewood established the 305 Hip-Hop Museum to preserve Miami’s contributions to hip-hop and create new opportunities to experience its history firsthand.
The museum serves as a cultural hub honoring Florida’s influence on music, art and neighborhood identity. Through his work with the 305 Hip-Hop Museum and Broadway Art District, Harewood is elevating the state’s creative voices and telling
Discover what the 305 Hip-Hop Museum has to offer on their website.
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