Written by: Quincy Kirn
This month, in Downtown Pensacola, Seville Square held a unique opportunity for the community to become better acquainted with the local artists. The 55th annual Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival was held from the seventh to the ninth in November. This free community event was powered by more than 40 sponsors and run entirely by volunteers. The area was enveloped in all art mediums, from handblown glassware, fiber, and leather art to 6-foot woodcarvings, and more paintings than seen in most museums; while the locals and visitors streamed down the walkways, conversations about color, texture, composition, and meaning started to take place.
More than 500 artists applied to this year’s juried show, yet only 200 artists made the cut, turning Seville Square into a dispersed outdoor gallery. While the visuals were impressive, the festival’s deeper pull came from the moments of connection through a collective admiration of creativity. One of the first conversations I had was with Sidney Carter, the acrylic painter behind Sidney’s Creations. His booth was covered with bright colors, bold lines, and looked like it was dipped into jazz music. Carter has been a professional painter for more than 27 years and creates abstract and cubist pieces that often have a musical structure, occasionally featuring dancers. As I was examining one of his new pieces, he greeted me, and we began to discuss the many layers of paint Carter had built on his canvas. I listened to him describe his process with pure joy. After he spilled his methods, he urged me to try them, humbly stating, “You could make this too!” while pointing to his masterfully developed piece.
A few booths away, I stepped into an entirely different atmosphere, the soft, playful, nostalgic world of oil painter Monica Iversen. Her piece, Never Going to Knock Me Down, stopped me dead in my tracks. The sock monkey and Fisher-Price Little People were posed in a whimsical King Kong reference, insinuating resilience. Iversen explained that she often begins with a staged still life or reference photo, but the story shifts as she paints. As she described the evolution of her piece, the simple composition started to echo themes of confidence, perseverance, and friendship. Her booth remained crowded throughout the day, drawing in viewers with its sentimentality.
This year’s invited international artist was Shinya Ishida of Wakayama, Japan. Ishida’s sculptures are made from driftwood and other marine debris; they added an ecological aspect to the festival that encouraged viewers to consider the beauty of discarded materials and where they originate from. The event showcased not only a variety of artistic media but also an entire spectrum of how stories can be fleshed out through an illustration or sculpture. The 2025 Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival succeeded because of its intimacy; it’s a place where strangers linger in front of works that move them, and artists talk openly about composition and strategies. More importantly, the occasion offered a reminder that art isn’t just something to look at; it’s something to share and bond over. The Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival is organized by the Pensacola planning committee and made possible by almost 100 volunteers who dedicate their time to participate in the area’s most popular festival, and Gulf Coast tradition. The 2026 dates are expected to be announced early next year. Email info@ggaf.org for details on volunteering during the next festival or joining the planning committee.