Contributed
United Arts of Central Florida announced the recipients of its 2026-2027 Individual Artist Awards, recognizing 30 talented artists and creative entrepreneurs with a total of $150,000 to bring innovative, community-focused projects to life.
This year's program was especially competitive, with 100 local artists applying for funding. We're also proud to share that this year's investment marks a $50,000 increase over last year's awards.
Each recipient will receive a $5,000 grant to launch projects spanning immersive arts experiences, education, professional development, and community events across Orange, Seminole, Lake, and Osceola counties throughout 2026-2027.
Community Recipients: Seminole County Artists
Luca Molnar | Seminole County | Visual Arts & Design / Mixed Media
"Unfolding Planes: A Synthesis of Glass, Mosaic, and Oil" expands Luca’s artistic practice, transitioning Luca’s background in oil painting into a large-scale, multimedia folding screen or room divider composed of stained glass, mosaic, and paint elements.
Owen Buffington | Sanford | Visual Arts & Design
Coverband is an art project, a project space and a zine. Over an eight-month period starting in September 2026, the Coverband space will host 6 one-night exhibitions. To celebrate the end of the season in May 2027, they will also create and distribute a collaborative zine built around the theme of reimagining new modes of cultural production within existing frameworks.
Tasanee Durrett | Altamonte Springs | Visual Arts & Design
Form, Function, Folks is a mixed media painting series in which Tasanee will honor Black architects and African diasporic architectural traditions, exploring what it means to inhabit spaces built by Black hands. Tasaneee will be partnering with Black-owned firms including Adjaye Associates and Moody Nolan to bridge material craft, spatial history, and identity through works in raffia, adobe, and acrylic, culminating in a Central Florida exhibition and free public programming.
