​On a warm day in March local artist Dan Taylor arrives at the new gardens at LeMoyne Arts in downtown Tallahassee.  In his hands are a large roll of commercial aluminum foil and foil tape.  Soon the sculpted trunk remains of a beautiful Japanese Red Maple which died after the freeze of 2022 is wrapped in foil and shimmering in the sunlight.  Another trip brings rainbow-colored wooden discs which Taylor attaches to the ends of the remaining trunk branches transforming the trunk into an intriguing sculpture. 
For Dan Taylor, this was an inspiration.  “It all started with the stump. A glorious maple tree did not survive but was not cut down completely by volunteer Laurie Dozier. What was left is this amazingly beautiful, and quite sculptural, stump. I’ve been thinking about what I might do with it for more than a year and the Chain of Parks Art Festival and Tallahassee Pridefest happening on the same weekend presented an opportunity for me to mash the two together,” said Taylor.  Dan’s vision for the popup sculpture had many through lines: LeMoyne’s founding in 1963, Taylor’s birth year is 1963, and Martin Luther King’s historic march on Washington in 1963. The artist also wanted to recognize that the historic march was largely organized, by an openly gay black man Bayard Rustin, who was on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial as MLK delivered his iconic speech.
 
Dan explained, “It just seems fitting that we would have a Pride sculpture steps from LeMoyne’s new African American Tribute Garden.  I call it Rainbow Renaissance: Thriving Through Tribulations. Quite a mouthful, but I wanted to acknowledge the many challenges faced by the LGBTQ community in the past with a look ahead to a bright future.
 
Dan Taylor is a Tallahassee artist best known for his paintings featuring bold, striking color palettes. His paintings have become highly sought-after and have been featured regionally at the Tampa Museum of Art, the Oak Hammock Gallery in Gainesville and locally with the Council on Culture & Arts, LeMoyne Arts where he is currently the board vice president, Venvi Art Gallery, Gadsden Art Center, Hotel Duval, 621 Gallery and FSU's Oglesby Art Gallery. He has volunteered countless hours of his time and been generous with his talents to raise funds for organizations and causes he cares about. Taylor also works in precious metal clay to create unique jewelry designs and he produces large scale garden sculpture in steel, wood, and various other materials.
 
“My paintings appeared in a gallery for the very first time at LeMoyne Arts!” Taylor shared.  I have since had paintings, sculpture, jewelry, and ceramics (which I learned at LeMoyne) in various exhibits in the gallery. I’m so fortunate to have an artistic home with a rich history of including all people.
 
In the past two years LeMoyne Arts has transformed its lush small garden, originally designed and tended by volunteer Helen Lind in the 1960’s and 70’s, into a beautiful spacious sculpture and botanical garden for the community celebrations.  The gardens have now seen four seasons pass since they were opened to the public and already thousands have enjoyed visiting and celebrating life’s milestones in the new gardens.  The vision and design of the new gardens is that of long time LeMoyne Arts volunteer and board member, Kelly Dozier.  You can find Kelly and her husband Laurie most weekends tending to the plants and adding more as the garden grows.  Dan waters on Wednesdays. 

Family, friends and nearly 300 members of the community gathered at LeMoyne for the 37th Mahaska Whitley Student Exhibition: High School Art and Senior Portfolio Competition on Thursday evening, March 7. This celebrated annual event gives high school students the opportunity to display their best work in an art gallery. 137 young artists participated this year in an eclectic display of artwork that included ceramics, paintings, sculpture, drawings, costuming, fiber arts, digital art, and photography. This year, 24 Leon County High School students are receiving a total of $10,600 in awards and college scholarships. The total award value is determined by generous community support.
Parents and friends captured pictures of the artists, celebrating their remarkable achievements. This annual event provides an opportunity for high school students from across Leon County to gain recognition for their hard work and talent.
Entering this exhibition introduces students to the process of professional presentation and gives them an opportunity to have their art portfolios reviewed by art industry professionals. In awarding scholarships and other prizes to competition winners, LeMoyne Arts’ annual Mahaska Whitley Student Exhibition supports and encourages local young artists to continue to develop their talents and to pursue a life-long interest in art.
Founder Mahaska Whitley, esteemed former Leon High School art teacher and art department director, together with LeMoyne Arts’ founding Executive Director Dick L. Puckett, envisioned this exhibit and competition as a way to inspire local young artists to further their arts education.
LeMoyne works closely with high school art teachers to coordinate this annual show, and recruits local arts professionals to serve as judges. Works are judged on originality, professional quality, and aesthetic quality. Entire senior portfolios were also evaluated for scholarship consideration. In this fair and equal process, judges do not know the name of the student, their school, or any identifying Information. LeMoyne is thankful to this year’s panel of judges; Carrie Ann Baade from Florida State University, Dr. Nan Liu from Florida Agriculture & Mechanical University, and Barbara Cohenour from Tallahassee Community College.
Over 250 parents, teachers and students gathered in the beautifully renovated garden and gazebo to attend the awards ceremony, surrounded by the fountains and sculptures from LeMoyne’s permanent collection. As dusk settled, lanterns throughout the landscaping illuminated the garden, sculptures, gazebo and paths.
Mahaska Whitley, exhibition founder; Rocky Hanna, Superintendent of schools for Leon County; Roseanne Wood, Leon County School Board Member, Michael T. “Mick” Callahan, prominent St. Petersburg attorney and founder of the Matt Callahan Memorial Scholarship Fund; and Scott McLuckie, LeMoyne Arts Board Member, President of Presenting Sponsor WestScott Construction, and founder of the WestScott Construction Scholarship Award, presented the awards to the excited young artists.
There are a total of four awards categories, with multiple winners in each category except for the Founder’s Award, which has only one winner personally selected by Founder Mahaska Whitley. Senior Portfolio Artist Award winners receive scholarship money for college. Winners in the other categories earn gift cards for art supplies.

The 2024 Mahaska Whitley Student Exhibition Winners and their artwork are as follows.

Founder’s Award
Paige Guarraia (Leon)     "Chicken of the Woods"

Senior Portfolio Artist Scholarship Awards
Desiree Scorsone (Lincoln)     Matt Callahan Memorial     $1000     “Black Beauty”
Amelie Pelham (FSUS)     Ann Kirn Memorial     $1000     “Welcome”
Katherine Gorkov (Maclay)     WestScott Construction     $1000     “Coming Down”
Serendipity Thompson (SAIL)     Leon County Schools     $1000     “*Honk Honk* Please Stop Clowning!”
Samantha Cheatham (Leon)     Leon County Schools     $1000      “Same Old Thing”
Nabrea Hardy (Lincoln)     Leon County Schools     $1000      “Divine Comedy”
Blake Simmons (Lincoln)     Leon County Schools     $1000    “Balthazar”
Mary Allen (SAIL)     Founder’s Scholarship     $1000     "Starry Eyed"
Mark Roberts (SAIL)     Mad Dog Construction     $500      “Saint Guinefort & The Infant”
Citrus Thomas (SAIL)     Prime Meridian Bank     $500      "What You See (Is What You Get)"
Lexi Fairbanks (Lincoln)     Apalachee Center     $500     "Scrump Bonnie"
Liana Rieger (Leon)     Capital City Bank     $500      "The Great Migration"

Emerging Artists-Awards
      Andrew Cox (SAIL)                             "W.B.B."
      Rithmika Machery (Lincoln)              "Places of Meaning - Past, Present, Future”
      Naijah Zimmerman (FSUS)               “Fourteen”
​
General Artist Awards
      Yohan Hopgood (Lincoln)                 “Eczemice”
      EmmaLin Starnes (Leon)                   “A Lazy Afternoon”
      Srivani Sankuratri (FSUS)                  “Untitled”
      Ivy Carlson (FSUS)                              “Untitled”
      Laila Alexander (Chiles)                     “Emerging”
      Brandon Greenwalt (SAIL)                 “Page 1”
      Emily Hawkins (Maclay)                     “Walk in the Woods”
      Jackson Brann (SAIL)                         “The Pale Flame Beast Emerges”
 
The 2024 Mahaska Whitley Student Exhibition was made possible by support from: Matt Callahan Family & friends, Laurie & Kelly Dozier, Leon County School District, WestScott Construction, Mad Dog Construction, Ann Kirn Memorial Fund, Capital City Bank, Apalachee Center, Target Print & Mail, Uptown Café, BLICK Art Materials, and many others. A list of all the donors and sponsors that made this exhibit possible can be found on LeMoyne’s website, at lemoyne.org/mwse.
The exhibit is open to the community until March 30th, so please come out to support the amazing talents of our local young artists. The LeMoyne Arts Gallery is open to the public from  11 AM to 6 PM, Monday through Saturday.
For exhibits, events, classes and more, visit www.LeMoyne.org. To get regular updates, subscribe to LeMoyne’s email newsletter and “like” its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/lemoynearts/ or connect on Instagram at www.instagram.com/lemoynearts/
About LeMoyne Arts:
LeMoyne Arts has been at the heart of Tallahassee’s cultural and visual arts for over 60 years.  Its signature events are an important part of our community’s cultural life. LeMoyne has made the arts more accessible to people of all ages and economic levels, promoted and supported the work of local artists, and generated millions of dollars for our local economy. LeMoyne’s education programs have nurtured the artistic talent of four generations of Tallahassee families.  LeMoyne Arts is thankful for programming support from COCA, Leon County, Visit Tallahassee, Florida Arts & Culture, and the City of Tallahassee.
​