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Lynn NFT Art Museum 2025 at the BRIC
October 28th AT BRIC (Tuesday October 28th)
4:45 pm - 5:30 pm (cocktail hour)
5:30 pm - 6:45 pm (Panel discussion)-Collecting Culture: How Toys and Comics Shape Our Stories
6:45 pm - 8:00 PM (Exhibits at BRiC)-All Hands on Deck | Digitalism 2025 | Loop Art Critique | Zelda Wynn Valdes (1905–2001)
Cosplay Welcome!
Come Dressed as Your Favorite Character!
Panel Discussion:
“Collecting Culture: How Toys and Comics Shape Our Stories”
Panel Members and Moderator:
Irving Santiago: Founder of Ultracon of South Florida,
Prof. Mark Sparacio: A successful illustrator who studied sequential art under the legendary Will Eisner at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, where he earned his B.F.A. in Illustration and Sequential Art.
Prof. Gary Carlin: Over 25 years of marketing experience in the toy and game business. He served as vice president of marketing for Hasbro Toy Company managing brands such as Monopoly, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit and Clue.
Michael Williams(moderator): Nine-time Suncoast Regional Emmy Award winner who worked as a broadcaster for nearly 44 years, including 14 years as a WPTV NewsChannel 5 anchor, before bringing his experience to Lynn University as an adjunct professor in the College of Communication and Design and co-executive producer of iPulse News and iPulse Sports.
This year’s exhibition will feature several curated exhibits:
“All Hands On Deck” | Skateboard Deck Competition comprised of Lynn students and faculty showcasing over 150+ unique designs. The exhibit also includes students from local art high schools and Handy, a non-for-profit organization that provides life skills, education, and a supportive community for children and youth in foster or relative/non-relative care in Broward County. Judges include Marvel and DC comic book illustrator Prof. Mark Sparacio and Ultracon Founder and renowned toy collector Irving Santiago.
“Digitalism 2025” | Lynn University Faculty and Student Work juried exhibition judged by Leif Pedersen RenderMan Specialist and 3D Generalist at Pixar Studios.
“Loop Art Critique” | The Loop Art Critique-curated by: Ariel Baron Robbins. Loop Art Critique is run on the metaverse platform Onland, developed by the non-profit Art & Technology institution The MUD Foundation in Miami, FL.
“Variations: An AI Generated Art Contest” | Lynn NFT Art Museum has partnered with Loop Art Critique to showcase an individual artists on dedicated monitors inside the museum. This year, instead of featuring a selection of Loop artists, the monitors will display the winner of the AI art contest. The winning artwork will be featured on these monitors for one year, and the winner will also be invited to serve as a guest judge for Loop’s artist residency program.
“Zelda Wynn Valdes” (1905–2001) | Zelda Wynn Valdes, the daughter of Cuban immigrants, was a pioneering African American fashion designer, costumer, and entrepreneur whose visionary style reshaped 20th-century fashion. Born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, in 1905, Valdes trained as a seamstress and quickly gained recognition for her ability to create garments that celebrated the natural curves and confidence of women. In 1948, she broke barriers by opening Zelda Wynn, Inc., the first Black-owned business on Broadway in New York City.
Her glamorous evening gowns and body-conscious silhouettes drew a star-studded clientele, including Josephine Baker, Dorothy Dandridge, Marian Anderson, Ella Fitzgerald, Eartha Kitt, and Gladys Knight. In 1949, she was elected the first president of the National Association of Fashion and Accessory Designers (NAFAD), an organization founded with support from Mary McLeod Bethune to create opportunities for Black designers.
In the 1960s, Valdes began designing costumes for the Dance Theatre of Harlem, continuing this work well into her eighties. Her artistry fused her Cuban roots, African American heritage, and modern glamour, leaving a legacy that influenced both fashion and performance.
This exhibition of Valdes’s original drawings and sketches offers a rare glimpse into her creative process, where line and imagination became the blueprint for elegance. Each sketch reflects her ability to translate vision into form, revealing how she shaped not only garments but cultural identity. By showcasing her designs on paper, the exhibit celebrates Valdes not just as a designer to the stars, but as a trailblazer whose work continues to inspire new generations of artists and designers.
Event Links
Website: https://go.evvnt.com/3278138-0
