The Orlando Museum of Art is celebrating the Sunshine State in the most delightful way possible! Floridiana: Material Culture from The Sunshine State is now open at OMA, a joyful new exhibition that explores Florida’s playful mid-century identity through more than 130 vintage treasures — hotel ashtrays, rubber alligators, roadside attraction brochures, theme-park memorabilia and tourist souvenirs that tell the story of how Florida sold itself as a land of leisure, sunshine and exotic nature.
Drawn from the extensive personal collection of collector Gary Monroe and curated by OMA’s chief curator Coralie Claeysen-Gleyzon together with Monroe and Tom Cook, the show is a love letter to Florida’s quirky past. Visitors will find everything from citrus memorabilia and commercial photography to roadside ephemera and self-taught Outsider art — objects that reveal how tourism, fantasy and Seminole-heritage roots shaped the identity of the Sunshine State.
OMA even published an accompanying essay describing the show as a portrait of Florida told through objects that narrate “A” story of the state — a reminder that museums can be playful, nostalgic and deeply human all at once. The exhibition runs through January 10, 2027, giving families plenty of time to visit and share smiles across the generations.
Whether you grew up with Florida roadside attractions or you are discovering them for the first time, Floridiana is pure happy news for Orlando’s cultural calendar. Happy City News invites you to step inside and relive the magic of mid-century Florida.
Photo: Orlando Museum of Art
