about

Occupying a space in between the traditional realms of museum, private gallery, and community art center, Girls’ Club is uniquely disposed to educate the public about new trends in art-making as they arise.

Thematic, curated exhibitions feature works from the Good/Horvitz collection, works loaned from other collections, and works from local, national and international contemporary artists. The exhibitions at Girls’ Club are open for a full year, free and open to the public, accessible to a wide audience. Informal guided tours and discussions are always available. We welcome museum and university groups by appointment.

The works of contemporary art collected by Francie Bishop Good and David Horvitz encompass cutting edge visions from artists working in painting, drawing, photography and video from the 1960s to the present. Good’s sensibility as a photographer and multimedia artist is reflected in the Girls’ Club collection, which features works by seminal photographers Diane Arbus, Cindy Sherman, Nan Goldin, Gregory Crewdson and Lorna Simpson, as well as up-and-coming photographers Katy Grannan, Nikki S. Lee, and Loretta Lux. Important works in painting and sculpture are represented by Ingrid Calame, Petah Coyne, Tara Donovan, Inka Essenhigh, Ellen Gallagher, Elizabeth Murray, Wangechi Mutu, Cornelia Parker, Amy Sillman and Kiki Smith. Girls’ Club nurtures the careers of South Florida artists such as Carol Brown, Teresita Fernandez, Naomi Fisher, Pepe Mar, Beatriz Monteavaro, and Frances Trombly.

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Throughout the year Girls’ Club presents special events, artist talks, film screenings, panel discussions, and performances that invite the public behind the scenes of the creative process to understand the inspirations and forces shaping artists today.

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Events focus on themes, artists and ideas related to the current exhibition and include reoccurring programs:

Art Fallout | To celebrate National Arts and Humanities Month, Girls’ Club launched Art Fallout in 2009 as an annual interactive event, celebrating contemporary art in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Connecting the area’s contemporary art venues, Art Fallout invites the community to engage and interact with the museum, art galleries, artist studios, alternative exhibition spaces, and contemporary art venues that populate our neighborhood.

Artists in Action! | Launched in 2010, Artists in Action! is a series of artist talks and limited edition multiples commissioned by Girls’ Club. Each year four local artists are invited to present a public talk and design/create an affordably-priced limited edition artwork.

Brown Bag Lunch Talks | Girls’ Club hosts several Brown Bag Lunch Talks through out the year to engage with our audience about news, information and opportunities available for artists, writers, curators and students. Brown Bag Lunch Talks are an informal lecture/discussion on a myriad of subjects related to the arts, with a focus on professional development for artists.

Visiting Artist Series | The Visiting Artist series invites artists from outside of Florida to Girls’ Club for a public talk, workshop and visits to local artist studios and art spaces.  By fostering dialogue between South Florida artists and their counterparts throughout the country, the program seeks to build strong connections that transcend geography, regionalism and address the national sphere.

Beyond our exhibition program, Girls’ Club offers specialized workshops for women and girls in Broward County. Collaborating with partners Susan B. Anthony Recovery Center, Women in Distress of Broward County, PACE Center for Girls and Young at Art Museum, and MOCA North Miami’s Women on the Rise program, Girls’ Club offers multimedia and digital imaging workshops that build self-esteem while developing creative skill sets using art and technology for women and girls navigating transitions in their lives.

Affordable technical and professional development workshops are offered to artists at Girls’ Club. Using the model of artists teaching artists, workshops have covered pinhole photography, solarplate etching, website design, and 16mm film.

internship program

Girls’ Club’s welcomes college students, recent graduates and young professionals to apply for our growing internship program. The program provides an introduction to the inner workings of managing a non-profit space and training in arts administration, collection management, public relations, marketing and education development. We encourage applicants from a wide range of disciplines, a background in art, art administration and art history preferred. Program participants receive on-one-on training, often heading special projects and working directly with artists and local arts professionals.  Internships are available each semester and can be designed to fit each participant’s schedule. Department-specific internships are available in Graphic Design, Web Development/Social Media, Videography/Photography documentation and Education Programming.  Writing samples and example of work may be required.

Interested applicants are encouraged to send an introductory email explaining your interest in the program, including your contact information and resume/CV to admin@girlsclubcollection.org. Please use the subject “Girls’ Club Internship Program.”

fellowship program

Girls’ Club welcomes advanced undergraduate students or recent graduates to apply for the semester-based fellowship program to gain a substantive understanding of arts administration and contribute to Girls’ Club public programs with independent projects relating to curatorial, collection management, education, publications and/or online media.  Fellows are employed 15 hours a week for a 5-6 month period and receive a stipend of $3000.

Next fellowship application period: TBA

Girls’ Club’s facility is a dynamic, multi-functional building designed by Margi Nothard, principal of the award-winning Glavovic Studio in Fort Lauderdale. Glavovic Studio converted the existing warehouse via the use of layered materials, light and movement to create a unique, art-oriented environment for the collection of contemporary art of Francie Bishop Good and David Horvitz.

Pale green translucent fiberglass panels are mounted on a steel frame over the existing building facade and windows. This material diffuses natural light into the gallery during the day, and at night, when illuminated from within, it glows an emerald shade of green, adding vivid color to the street. This transparency informs the building’s interior as well. Partition walls of industrial recycled materials are embedded with LED lights. Resins, plastics, polymers and colors are layered to define private and public spaces. Access to a mezzanine is denoted by an intense orange zone. A pair of pivot walls create a flexible installation space.

Glavovic Studio has received numerous awards for the design of Girls’ Club and other projects, including World Architecture’s Annual Community Award in 2012 and a 2008 AIA State Merit Award. Read about the conception and the evolution of Girls’ Club’s architecture here.