The Society of American Mosaic Artists (SAMA) has chosen Orlando as the location for its 2025 annual conference—and the benefits to art lovers should at least equal the momentary boost to tourism.
In advance of SAMA’s private gathering, a juried collection of works by society members will be unveiled in Timeless Mosaics at the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens in Winter Park.
The organization’s 25th anniversary exhibition—which will run through December 7—will include more than 40 pieces, by artists both emerging and established, and will reflect the current state of an art form that has been around for some 5,000 years.
Featured categories in Timeless Mosaics will include fine-art wall mosaics, freestanding mosaics and site-specific mosaics. (The latter will be represented by photos and videos since they’re by definition impossible to decouple from their surroundings.) The exhibition will also feature such special events as artist talks, workshops and lectures.
This is the first time the Polasek has been involved with SAMA (which, despite its name, has members across the globe). The hookup came about via Cherie Bosela, owner of the Luna Mosaic Arts store in Orlando and a SAMA member, who pitched the idea to Polasek curator Tamie Diener-Lafferty.
Judging for Timeless Mosaics was performed virtually last July with Diener-Lafferty as a participating juror. “I’m coming at it from the point of view of a curator,” she says, “knowing what would work well in our space and what our audience would appreciate.”
Diener-Lafferty’s co-juror, Ahmed Ibrahim, will also be represented in the exhibition as an invited artist. His contribution, titled Hope, is an assemblage of polystyrene, fiberglass, amethyst, seashells and other materials meant to represent a wind turbine and thus the promise of renewable energy.
The piece comes to Orlando with a built-in pedigree, having already been named the winner of the 14th International Mosaic Meeting in Chartres, France.
Notes Diener-Lafferty: “There are a lot of pieces [at the Polasek] that are mosaics but of mixed media with all different kinds of materials used in very clever and original ways. But the ability to portray a beautiful picture with tiny tiles is really incredible.”
The Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens is located at 633 Osceola Avenue, Winter Park. For more information, call or visit the website.
