“Monarch: Retrospective” Exhibition Opens at Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts

The Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts will host Monarch: Retrospective from September 7 through October 23, 2025, featuring fifteen ceramic works from the KDAC permanent collection. The exhibition highlights a decade of the Monarch Tile National Ceramic Competition, which ran from 1990 to 1999 and grew from a national to an international event, showcasing the achievements of contemporary ceramists.

Monarch Tile, Inc., a leading ceramic wall tile manufacturer, founded the competition to celebrate artistry in clay. KDAC began exhibiting select works annually in 1990, and by 1995, the competition had moved to Florence, Alabama, with KDAC coordinating the event. The competition helped advance the careers of innovative artists, from sculptors to creators of delicate functional pieces, while enriching KDAC’s permanent collection.

Tours at the Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts are free and open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 1-4 p.m. The center is located at 217 E. Tuscaloosa St., Florence, AL. For more information on exhibitions and workshops, visit www.florencealmuseums.com/calendar or call (256) 760-6379.