Cuban artist Héctor Molné, whose colorful paintings depict scenes of Cuban folklore, was honored at St. Thomas University with the Presidential Award of Excellence for outstanding achievements and cultural contributions to fine arts.
The university's Sardiñas Gallery is hosting a 50-year retrospective of the artist's work through May 15. Molné, who lives in Miami, was born in the eastern Cuban province of Camagüey in 1937. He studied at the Escuela de Artes Plásticas in Camagüey and was awarded a scholarship to study at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris.
Molné's artwork at St. Thomas is for sale, and a portion of proceeds will be used to support the campus gallery, which is on the Main Library's second floor. The university is at 16401 NW 37th Ave., Miami Gardens.
-- FABIOLA SANTIAGO
COLLABORATIVE PLAYChildren of Conflict, a collaborative project of Manalapan's Florida Stage, the G-Star School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, the Children's Center for Theatre Development in Kosovo and the Mashirika Creative and Performing Arts Group in Rwanda, has its culminating performance at 7 p.m. Monday. The South Florida students have been communicating since August with their peers in Kosovo and Rwanda via al website, creating art, learning about growing up amid conflict and developing a theater piece.
The performance is free. Florida Stage is at 262 S. Ocean Blvd. in Manalapan. Call 800-514-3837 or visit www.floridastage.org.
-- CHRISTINE DOLEN
NATURAL ARTThe Coconut Grove Arts and Historical Association celebrated the grand opening of its gallery in the Shoppes at Mayfair this week with an exhibition of the nature photography of Clyde Butcher. The gallery, at 3390 Mary St., is showcasing Butcher's black-and-white photographs through May 14. Butcher, whose latest book is titled Nature's Places of Spiritual Sanctuary, is known for using large-format cameras to capture the details of Florida's unique landscapes.
-- FABIOLA SANTIAGO
DRUCKER HONOREDOn Thursday night, Judy Drucker was honored by Miami Today with a Lifetime Achievement Award as part of the newspaper's 25th-anniversary Gold Medal Awards.
''I'm extremely honored that Miami Today is giving me this award,'' Drucker said earlier this week. ``My life isn't over yet, but I'm happy to receive this honor.''
Drucker was founder and president of the Concert Association of Florida for 40 years. She currently serves as senior artistic advisor to Florida Grand Opera.
-- LAWRENCE A.
JOHNSON
TRIP TO PARISAfter wrapping its Miami Beach season in May, the New World Symphony will fly to Paris for a unique venture in which the musicians will take part in a production of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. The historical American opera will be presented at the famed Opera Comique from June 2-20.
The 10 performances, to be conducted by Wayne Marshall, will feature several superb American singers -- among them Kevin Short, Daniel Washington, Angela Simpson and Laquita Mitchell -- and the Atlanta Opera Chorus. The production also will be presented in a concert version and then will travel to Caen for performances on June 26, 28 and 30.
Visit www.nws.edu or www.opera-comique.com.
-- LAWRENCE A.
JOHNSON
