Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of the Arts Emerging Artist Class of 2025

GFA Emerging Artist banner and booth view from above

Story by Sarah Worth

Sprinkled among the many artists at The Raymond James Gasparilla Festival of Arts (GFA) are 15 people who are just entering the world of professional art.

They are part of the Festival through GFA’s Emerging Artists program, a unique opportunity that allows budding artists to transition from ‘hobbyists’ to art professionals. It’s a fast-track, of sorts, because it offers immediate access to an event at which thousands of attendees will see their work.

The 15 are a select group, chosen from among more than 200 applications from promising artists who show exceptional talent said Clay Hollenkamp, sponsorship administrator for GFA and a long-time member of the Emerging Artists committee.

“These are extremely talented artists who are at the very beginning of an art career, but haven’t yet participated in major festivals like GFA,” Hollenkamp said.  “On Festival Weekend, they’ll have the chance to present and sell their work to more than 25,000 art lovers, possibly connecting with patrons who will collect their work throughout their career.”

The Emerging Artists program, which has been offered by GFA for more than 15 years, draws applicants from throughout the Tampa Bay area, as well as from across the country – the class of 2025 includes artists from Oklahoma, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Alabama.

The Emerging Artists program, which has been offered by GFA for more than 15 years, draws applicants from throughout the Tampa Bay area, as well as from across the country – the class of 2025 includes artists from Oklahoma, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Alabama.

In addition to showing at the Festival, the Emerging Artists are also provided with other perks that can help guide them in their new ventures, including a series of meetings with established artists and arts administrators who provide mentoring and inside knowledge that will benefit them in their careers as professional artists. Gallerists, interior designers, and artists with festival experience, are some of the professionals with whom the Emerging Artists will meet during the weeks leading up to the Festival.

“These mentoring meetings are invaluable to these new artists for gaining advice on how to get their feet in the door of a gallery, for example, or how to get into a catalog of art offerings of an interior designer,” Hollenkamp said. “This is knowledge that may otherwise take years to learn.  It’s a great benefit that GFA is proud to offer and we’re so grateful to the professionals who are willing to share their experience.”

Other perks for the Emerging Artists include workshops that delve into the business side of being an artist, with experts providing information on tax concerns and how and when to form a business or LLC; grant writing workshops for finding and securing funding that supplements the new artists as they grow their portfolio; and marketing workshops (coming soon) that guide new artists in defining and promoting their brand and best practices for using social media.

All 15 Emerging Artists in this year’s cohort are scheduled to show their work at this year’s Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, March 1 and 2 at Julian B. Lane Park. Applications for the next class of Emerging Artists will be available in October 2025. For more information: https://gasparillaarts.com/emerging-artists/

Meet the 2025 GFA Emerging Artists

Eric Gonzales, GFA Emerging Artist 2025

Eric Gonzalez

From Tulsa, Ok, he paints his miniature watercolor paintings with a small fine tipped brush on acid free, archival watercolor paper, using no magnification, on subjects ranging from landscapes to pop art.

Kelllie Hastings, GFA Emerging Artist 2025

Kellie Hastings

From the Gulf Coast of Alabama, she explores color, line and composition to achieve intricate, abstract glass sculptures that reflect experiences of nature.

Allison Hilgert, GFA Emerging Artist 2025

Allison Hilgert

Raised in Crystal River, Fla, she conveys into her work her childhood memories of cypress trees, weaving crowns and scepters from palmetto branches, while exploring the traditional values from her upbringing in rural Florida and reflecting on ideologies and mental health.

Jay Hoff, GFA Emerging Artist 2025

Jay Hoff

From St. Petersburg, Fla, his sculptures are created with LEGO, providing 2-D portraiture, and new forms of 3-D expression.

Margaret Hutcheson, GFA Emerging Artist 2025

Margaret Hutcheson

Born and raised near New Orleans, her work in clay is inspired by her time with Cajun-French, German and Italian-American neighbors and the nearby French Quarter with its French, African and Cuban-American influences.

Ryan Kelly, GFA Emerging Artist 2025

Ryan Michael Kelly

From Venice, Fla, his successful career in photography shifted to fulfill his life-long dream of painting, and he now paints on hand stretched canvas using acrylic, enamel, charcoal, gesso and other paint and drawing mediums.

Boryana Kostova, GFA Emerging Artist 2025

Boryana Kostova

From Bulgaria, she came to United States 15 years ago, and works in hand painting oils on canvas.

Hannah Lansburg, GFA Emerging Artist 2025

Hannah Lansburg

From New Orleans, she grew up with her mom doing shows for a living, helping her gather and explore a creative voice of her own in mixed media, with work made from mostly driftwood and found objects assembled with self-taught and learned woodworking skills, including mortise and tenon joinery.

Mark Lembo, GFA Emerging Artist 2025

Mark Lembo

From the Tampa area, his abstract “Impressions” series has explored mark-making, relief printing and stamping, making use of varied materials, tools, shapes and media, including acrylic inks, India ink, markers and watercolors, as well as metallic watercolor and pearlescent ink.

Michael McCoy, GFA Emerging Artist 2025

Michael McCoy

From Tampa, his photographs are compositions of color created in reality, yet expanding the limits of imagination with surreal landscapes, and then meticulously imprinted onto metal, blending the ethereal with the tangible.

Deianis Ortiz-Aponte, GFA Emerging Artist 2025

Deianis Ortiz-Aponte

Born and raised in the mountains of Puerto Rico, he makes nature and organic forms essential parts of his jewelry designs, using beading, metalsmithing, texture and metal colors.

Morgan Pallas, GFA Emerging Artist 2025

Morgan Pallas

From Lancaster, PA, she focuses on creating fantasy and nature themes in her work in watercolors, using both wet-on-wet and wet-on-dry techniques.

Shannon Prier, GFA Emerging Artist 2025

Shannon Prier

From the Tampa Bay area, she has been compelled to paint her entire life, with her current work in abstracts created from fluid acrylics, sand, salt, and other mixed mediums, some using a method known as pour painting.

Carmen Rosa, GFA Emerging Artist 2025

Carmen Rosa

Born in Puerto Rico, she uses oil paints and Austrian crystals on canvas to express her ideas, emotions, colors mixed with fantasies and daydreams, many showing her love for fantasy, science fiction and anime films, and an influence from her career in healthcare.

Blanket Approval

Blanket Approval is a 4-piece indie rock band from New York City. They formed in 2021 when lead singer Jack Matteucci took a collection of demos recorded in the basement of his physics lab, moved to Brooklyn, and met drummer/singer Joey Hadden. The two were later joined by bassist Max Mena and keyboardist/guitarist/singer Rahul Chakraborty.  The group has played dozens of shows around New York City and the Northeast, from Burlington to Baltimore. They’ve released 10 singles to date, blending hard rock with tight melodies and groovy bass lines; drawing from influences like Portugal. The Man and Franz Ferdinand.

The Savants

The Savants are a nine piece southern soul group from Gainesville, FL. They perform original soul music inspired by the Muscle Shoals Sound as well as the iconic and legendary music that came out of labels like Stax Records and Atlantic Records during the 1960s & 1970s.

Formed in 2011 in Gainesville, FL, the group has undergone several personal changes over the years but settled into its current lineup around 2020.

The band has made its presence felt around the southeast, notably playing Red Gorilla at SXSW in 2017, Suwannee Hulaween in 2016 and Changeville in its hometown in 2018 and 2016. Along the way they have been featured alongside groups such as; Gary Clark Jr., Durand Jones and the Indications, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Kendra Morris, Charles Bradley and His Extraordinares, George Porter Jr of the Meters, The Original Wailers, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Postmodern Jukebox and more.

TV Breakup Scene

Tv Breakup Scene is an indie pop punk band from Tampa, FL inspired by Paramore with a gaze-y twist. After a year of writing they finally made their debut with their new release Troubled Mind!

Nick Ewing

Music’s ability to release energy within us is overwhelming. Capturing moments of emotion and expression to elicit that reaction is such a joyful honor. It’s allowed me to connect, create, and cultivate so many beautiful experiences. Let this be with you… Cheers!

Mia Marlene

Danish-American, California-born, and Florida-raised multi-instrumentalist Mia Marlene offers a vibrant sonic world through her indie pop music, which is infused with hues of 1980’s synth pop and lush, captivating melodies. Her self-produced debut album, “good for my art,”  features songs about living abroad, creative aspirations, and terrible exes (because, well, you know).

Mia Marlene’s music is anchored in her many experiences living in London, Copenhagen, Colorado, and Washington D.C.; places that shaped her sonic vision and imprinted onto her the wealth of the human experience, and how all of these experiences can serve as creative fuel for songwriting and music-making.

Prizilla

PRIZILLA is a pop-soul whirlwind, where horns wail, melodies sparkle, and every beat feels like an invitation. With a microphone in one hand and a saxophone in the other, she leads her band through a kaleidoscope of pop, funk, and soul, crafting music that’s as bold as it is unforgettable. It’s a sound that dances between the playful and the profound, wrapping stories in irresistible rhythms that refuse to stand still.

 Since releasing PEOPLE PERSON, their debut EP, the band has been turning heads and moving feet. With over 50,000 fans following along online, PRIZILLA has earned a reputation for live shows that are part concert, part catharsis, and entirely unmissable.

  The band has shared stages with Nick Hakim and Madison McFerrin, lit up NYC with Couch and The Retrograde, and shaken the rafters with St. Paul & the Broken Bones and Flipturn at FL Fin Fest. PRIZILLA shows no signs of stopping, proving that music isn’t just something you hear—it’s something you feel. And they feel it. This is music for anyone who craves the unexpected, the unforgettable, and the kind of energy that makes you lose track of time. Come for the sax solos; stay for the magic.

Pusha Preme

The Bronx New York-based singer-producer Pusha Preme has been making waves with his delicate blend of heartfelt melodies; Goal-oriented lyrics, and harmonies that reel you in like a fish on a hook. Above all, Pusha’s music is often praised for its high intimacy and familiar themes that find their way to a special place in the listener’s heart.

MK Blessed

Mk Blessed was born in Congo Kinshasa in Sep 18th  He is a singer/songwriter and a speaker who started writing songs at the age of 7 and taught them to His Church worship team, which enjoyed singing His songs.

He formed His first Music group at the Age of 10 and was doing secular music.

When He was 13 he fled his home country and went to a Refugee camp due to war, He lived there for 10 years and then immigrated to the USA in 2016, though He has been writing for a while Mk Blessed released His first single on Dec,  4 2021 entitled Faithful God.

MK blessed is a husband of one wife and a father of two girls, He went to Kampala High School and later attended Bible college in Uganda East Africa, He is a founder of a non profit organization named Fociom that shares love with the underprivileged of the world like himself, Mk Blessed passion is to help others.

Izzy Bradburn

Singer, songwriter, guitarist. I aim to write emotional music that addresses the world we live in and how it makes us all feel.

Boho Sideshow

This unique & unscripted collection of Sideshow characters are of various talents and backgrounds to make for a spectacle of amazing musical entertainment. Experience the anecdotal mishaps from the wild to the fantastical. Boho Sideshow comes from parts unknown, but are known for performing an exhibition of Eclectic Americana Music.

Fabiola Méndez

FABIOLA MÉNDEZ is a Puerto Rican cuatrista, singer, educator, and Emmy-nominated composer. Her artistic vision and original music focus on the exploration of her culture, her ancestry, and her identities.

Native to Caguas, PR, Fabiola began playing the cuatro, Puerto Rico’s national instrument, at the age of six. She got her early music trainings at the Antonio Paoli School of Music in Caguas and her Bachelor’s in Music from Berklee College of Music, where in 2018 she made history as the first graduate to play the Puerto Rican cuatro as principal instrument.

Fabiola’s mission has always been to share and celebrate the cuatro, folk music, and collective story-telling. In doing so, she’s had the honor of performing at venues such as the NPR Tiny Desk, Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, Celebrity Series of Boston, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Fred Rogers Productions, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, among many others. She has also collaborated with many local and international artists, including the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, Totó La Momposina, Pedro Capó, Andy Montañez, Danny Rivera, Chicago Philharmonic, and the Boston Landmarks Orchestra.

Her list of recordings include: Herencia Criolla (2009), Al Otro Lado Del Charco (2019), Afrorriqueña (2021), and Flora Campesina (2024). In 2022, she produced her first
documentary “Negrura”, showcasing Afro-Latinx stories in topics around colorism and discrimination within our own communities.

In recent years, she’s had the honor of receiving recognitions such as the Quincy Jones Award, ambassador for the Puerto Rican Day Parade in NYC, the Brother Thomas Fellowship, the Whippoorwill Arts Fellowship, and the ASCAP Foundation Lucille and Jack Yellen Award 2022. She was also nominated for a Children’s and Family Emmy in the category of Outstanding Interactive Media and won the “Latin Artist of the Year 2023” by the Boston Music Awards. Her music is featured on the film Beautiful, FL (Disney+), on the tv shows Alma’s Way, Work It Out Wombats (PBS Kids), and Mecha Builders (HBO Max), as well as indie films, jingles, and TV commercials.