Two Fine art jurors with a wide range of experience and knowledgeable in all categories are chosen each year. Jurying starts at 10AM Saturday and the winners are awarded their checks and ribbons late Saturday afternoon.
2022 Judges
John Wilton
As a mixed media artist, John Wilton has participated in over 100 group and 40 solo shows, winning a number of awards along the way. Wilton maintains a studio in DeLand and has served as a judge for more than 80 art shows throughout Florida. In 1995, he was awarded an Individual Artist’s Fellowship from the state of Florida.
Over the years, Wilton has completed a number of public art commissions for Volusia County and the State of Florida, including (locally) the Volusia County Justice Center in DeLand, the Marine Science Center in Ponce Inlet, Daytona International Airport, the pedestrian crossover at Ocean Walk in Daytona Beach, the Beach Headquarters building at Sun Splash Park, the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, a collaborative sculpture project for the DeLand City Hall building and the DeLand Butterfly Mural.
After a twelve-year career as an art director in South Florida, he taught Visual Arts and Digital Media at Daytona State College for 27 years, where he also served as program manager and department chair. Additionally, Professor Wilton taught digital media classes at Stetson University and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. He has a degree in design from Florida State University and has done graduate work in printmaking, visual communication and education. Along with curating several exhibitions around central Florida, Dr. Wilton has published various art education essays and a dissertation on desktop video art.
Dr. Wilton served on the Cultural Council Advisory Board of Volusia County for the past 10 years and currently serves as the Secretary for the Board of Trustees at the Museum of Art – DeLand; chair of the Public Art Committee, Museum of Art – DeLand; Artistic Standards Committee for the DeLand Fall Festival of the Arts; Mural Art Committee for the City of DeLand; as well as serving on exhibition committees for the Ormond Art Museum and the Hub on Canal in New Smyrna Beach. He was awarded the 2018 Volunteer of the Year by the Museum of Art – DeLand and the 2019 Brady/Coolidge Ambassador of Art Award by the Volusia County Cultural Alliance.
Current projects include the DeLand Sculpture Walk (since 2010); the DeLand Utility Box Art Wrap Project; the annual Off the Beaten Path Central Florida Studio Tours; a utility box art wrap project at One Daytona; the DeLand Miniature Art Adventure; a utility box art wrap project for the City of Sanford and development of ACED – the arts, culture and entertainment district for the City of DeLand, for which he serves as vice president of the board of directors.
Additional information can be found at www.johnwilton.com.
Jennifer McInnes Coolidge
Jennifer McInnes Coolidge is an arts and non-profit consultant and curator working with artists and non-profit arts and social service organizations. Selected clients have included: The Center for Human Rights and Civil Liberties at University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS; Dance Alive National Ballet, Gainesville, FL; Asheville Area Arts Council, Asheville, NC; Studio 41, LLC, representing artist, Harold Garde; Matthew 25:40 (education and service organization for impoverished children guided by Christian values in Guatemala); Rochester Contemporary Art Center, Rochester, NY; The National League of American Pen Woman, Washington, DC among others.
Coolidge serves as the Director of Philanthropy for the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra in Orlando, FL. Coolidge also serves as the Lead Curator for Mills Gallery in Winter Park, FL. During her 30 years of experience as an arts administrator, Coolidge has served as Director of Development for the University of Florida, College of the Arts raising over 9.5 million during her tenure; Executive Director for the Museum of Florida Art in DeLand, FL; Executive Director of the Florida Alliance for Art Education and in arts education and curatorial positions for the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, FL, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art and The Arts Council in Winston Salem, NC, and others.
She has served on the Board of Directors for the Florida House in Washington, DC; Florida Art Education Association, Florida Music Education Association and served as a member of the Florida Chamber Foundation, Strategic Visioning Caucus. She is past president of the Florida Alliance for Arts Education (FAAE) and the Volusia County Cultural Alliance and currently serves on the FAAE Advisory Board as well as serves as a member of the Florida Cultural Alliance, Board of Directors and the secretary and founding board member for the Florida – Wakayama, Japan Cultural Association. Coolidge has received numerous awards for her leadership in the arts with a Distinguished Service Award from the Florida Music Educators Association and was recognized as a Florida Ambassador of the Arts by past First Lady of Florida, Columba Bush. The Volusia County Cultural Alliance named an award for her and Ann Brady and presented annually to an individual the Brady Coolidge award for grassroots arts advocacy.
Coolidge has served as a judge for outdoor arts festivals having judged the Winter Park Art Festival, Mt. Dora Arts Festival, Ocala Art Festival and others. She has also worked as a project manager and writer for selected publications including: Harold Garde: 50 Years Painting; Dan Gunderson: Collector Creator; Barbara Sorensen: Topographies; Anna Tomczak: Sanctuary and Tony Eitherong: Paradoxes Portrayed.
Coolidge holds a BA with a concentration in painting from Guilford College in Greensboro, NC and a Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship from H. Heinz II School of Public Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University and completed a fellowship with the Denali Initiative on Social Enterprise through the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.
