Artist’s Historic Home Hosts Cultural Evening

Talk about a perfect match of event and venue. 

United Arts Collier held an event on May 16 to launch their latest initiative, “Collier Arts Archive: The History of Collier County through Arts and Culture.” Looking at the history of the area from an artistic perspective and working with Florida Humanities, the project aims to “document the history, identity, and vision of Collier County through the lens of arts and culture.” 

Anticipated to span approximately three to five years, the ambitious program seeks to provide a virtual guidebook to the intersection of art and history in the local community. Objectives and outcomes to be produced include a GPS-guided tour of key arts and culture points throughout Collier County, a history archive capturing stories of patrons, artists, and community leaders, exhibitions and events featuring arts and cultural memorabilia, public outreach including speaking engagements or podcast series, and literary publications to be published in the Florida Humanities FORUM magazine. 

“We’re trying to find out about Collier art history,” said United Arts Collier (UAC) executive director Elysia Dawn. “This initiative invites our community to share their stories and memorabilia.” She announced that UAC was partnering with Florida Humanities and would be receiving a $25,000 grant each year for the next several years to assist in completing the arts archive. 

The kickoff event for the campaign was hosted at the Old Naples home of Naples artist Paul Arsenault and his activist wife Eileen, just one block up the street from the iconic Naples pier, adjacent to the Palm Cottage Museum. The Arsenaults’ house, itself a significant piece of Naples’ and Collier County’s artistic heritage, turned 100 years old in 1918, epitomizing the intersection of history and the arts.

The historic structure, built in the year that World War I ended, has lived through hurricanes, including having three feet of water in the living room during Donna in 1960 and again during Ian in 2022, and has gone from being one of a handful of houses in a pioneer town to being one of its oldest structures. 

Paul Arsenault has spent much of his career documenting the historic sights and buildings of Collier County, becoming along the way the dean of the Naples art scene. Taking his own home as a muse, Paul has painted the house numerous times – depicting it on canvas, not slapping on another coat of latex. 

Standing beneath the spreading boughs of the massive banyan tree on the grounds of the house, Naples Mayor Teresa Heitman welcomed the attendees and the invitation-only event. She was joined as a speaker by Florida Humanities Council board member Kerry Edwards, as well as UAC operations director Martina Long. The evening also featured a vocal performance by Maddy Brenner, 12, who was announced as the recipient of a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music summer program. 

Guests were entertained by the musical stylings of guitarist Keith Cute and refreshed by hors d’oeuvres, desserts, and wines provided by Tony’s Off Third, Naples Art Factory, and Olde Naples Chocolate. They had the opportunity to bid on a select few silent auction items, including a Paul Arsenault painting depicting a Collier County beachscape, a pearl necklace from Crown Jewelers of Naples, a two-night stay at Coral Cottage on the Arsenault compound grounds with dinner at Ridgway Bar & Grill and gemstone jewels from Bead It! 

United Arts Collier works to enrich the lives of residents and visitors through arts education, exhibitions, performances, events, community outreach programs, and more. For more information on the work of UAC, a 501(c)3 charitable organization, go online to unitedartscollier.org.