Mission :

To promote, encourage and teach the expression and appreciation of the visual arts.

A non-profit, admission-free education and exhibition center for the visual arts, the Art League of Daytona Beach is Volusia County's oldest art organization, founded in 1932.  Supported by membership dues, donations, grants and endowments, it has grown to become a complex visual facility offering a wide variety of art services.

History:

The Art League of Daytona Beach, the oldest arts organization in Volusia County, was founded in 1927 by a group of local artists interested in sketching at locations in and around the county.  In 1932, the group became a more formal club under the direction of Donald J. Emery and John A. Rogers.  Soon the group began to exhibit  and teach visual arts in classes and workshops.  .

The group’s first exhibition was at the former Ivey’s store at the corner of Magnolia and Beach Street; forty-five artists participated.  Their enthusiasm lead to the formation of the League, which became chartered on May 28, 1932.The group’s goals included “promoting and encouraging all graphic and plastic arts and their appreciation”, and providing exhibition opportunities to the growing number of artists in the Halifax area.  These goals provided the cornerstone of our current mission statement.

In 1934 the Art League joined the Florida Federation of the Arts and members attended meetings and conventions throughout the state, and hosted the annual juried exhibition.  The Art League held its meetings at various locations until 1948, when it opened a small building located at 433 S. Palmetto Avenue in the historic district of Daytona Beach.

In 1994, an addition and renovation project was completed, giving the Art League an additional 4000 square feet of gallery, administrative offices, and classroom space.  Later an additional studio was added, and both studios were refitted to add exhibition space.  In 2008, with the assistance of an ECHO grant, the Art League added a new parking lot on the side of the building.