2022 Halifax Art Festival Judges
Lisette Otero-Lewis
Lisette Otero-Lewis currently lives in Palm Coast, Florida. She started as a photographer presenting and speaking about her images to community members at the North Miami Museum of Contemporary Art. That small opportunity gave her the confidence to pursue her passion and develop her signature style. During that pursuit, she earned a BA in Art. “Art may not have been what most photographers would aim to acquire, but it gave me the insight and skills to see the light, color, perspective, and design in a new way,” she says. In December of 2021, she earned MA in Photography, which allowed her to hone her photographic intention and focus on a lyrical documentary thesis. She plans to continue her education in the fall of 2022 and obtain her MFA in Photography. Doing so will allow her to focus her studies directly on the genre of self-portrait relating to the dualism of identity.
Talking about art with others in the community and beyond is what Lisette enjoys. When it comes to speaking about photography, this is where she shines. “Photography is misunderstood, and helping the viewing audience understand, learn and gain a different perspective makes it all worthwhile,” she states.
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John Wilton
As a mixed media artist, John Wilton has participated in over 100 group and 40 solo shows, winning a number of awards along the way. Wilton maintains a studio in DeLand and has served as a judge for more than 80 art shows throughout Florida. In 1995, he was awarded an Individual Artist’s Fellowship from the state of Florida.
Over the years, Wilton has completed a number of public art commissions for Volusia County and the State of Florida, including (locally) the Volusia County Justice Center in DeLand, the Marine Science Center in Ponce Inlet, Daytona International Airport, the pedestrian crossover at Ocean Walk in Daytona Beach, the Beach Headquarters building at Sun Splash Park, the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, a collaborative sculpture project for the DeLand City Hall building and the DeLand Butterfly Mural.
After a twelve-year career as an art director in South Florida, he taught Visual Arts and Digital Media at Daytona State College for 27 years, where he also served as program manager and department chair. Additionally, Professor Wilton taught digital media classes at Stetson University and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. He has a degree in design from Florida State University and has done graduate work in printmaking, visual communication, and education. Along with curating several exhibitions around central Florida, Dr. Wilton has published various art education essays and a dissertation on desktop video art.
Dr. Wilton served on the Cultural Council Advisory Board of Volusia County for the past 10 years and currently serves as the Secretary for the Board of Trustees at the Museum of Art – DeLand; chair of the Public Art Committee, Museum of Art – DeLand; Artistic Standards Committee for the DeLand Fall Festival of the Arts; Mural Art Committee for the City of DeLand; as well as serving on exhibition committees for the Ormond Art Museum and the Hub on Canal in New Smyrna Beach. He was awarded the 2018 Volunteer of the Year by the Museum of Art – DeLand and the 2019 Brady/Coolidge Ambassador of Art Award by the Volusia County Cultural Alliance.
Current projects include the DeLand Sculpture Walk (since 2010); the DeLand Utility Box Art Wrap Project; the annual Off the Beaten Path Central Florida Studio Tours; a utility box art wrap project at One Daytona; the DeLand Miniature Art Adventure; a utility box art wrap project for the City of Sanford and development of ACED – the arts, culture, and entertainment district for the City of DeLand, for which he serves as vice president of the board of directors.
Additional information can be found at www.johnwilton.com.
