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    WMODA | Wiener Museum > Past Events > Nov. 22 – Art Deco Fantasies

Nov. 22 – Art Deco Fantasies

October 7, 2025

Saturday, November 22
10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Join us for a day of Art Deco Fantasies at WMODA as we celebrate the Centennial of the Paris Exposition, where the Art Deco Movement was born. Discover the magic of the Fired Arts in the Roaring Twenties and Glamorous Thirties, when fairies flourished and war-weary Europeans escaped into a dream world inhabited by pixies, dragons and ghosts.

Silent movies and the first talkies provided another escape route for flappers and vamps pursuing exotic fantasies, decadent revelries and romance in Gatsby-style fashions during the golden age of Hollywood.

Hear how movies serve as accidental witnesses to the story of Miami Beach during the Art Deco era, and honor the community activists leading the preservation effort to save the architectural heritage of South Florida.

Celebrate Sharon Koskoff, the Duchess of Deco, at the opening of our new Art Deco Library, which she has generously donated to WMODA on behalf of the Art Deco Society of the Palm Beaches.

Tickets are $50 ($40 for WMODA members) and include expert presentations, a boxed sandwich lunch, a champagne cocktail, and admission to WMODA.

Seats are limited, call 954.376.6690 to make your reservation. 

Meet our presenters…

Louise Irvine - Executive Director & Curator of WMODA. Louise will showcase the museum’s fabulous Wedgwood Fairyland Lustre collection populated with imps, dragons and ghosts, and introduce European porcelain portraits of the bright young things who frolicked at masquerade parties, wearing mysterious costumes, to escape the realities of daily life.


Joel Levine - Tour Guide, Collector and Board member of the Miami Design Preservation League. Joel will present movie clips, picture postcards and entertaining behind-the-scenes commentary to explain the history and cultural significance of the Art Deco District portrayed by the Hollywood dream factory.

 

Sharon Koskoff - Founding president of the Art Deco Society of the Palm Beaches. Sharon is a public artist who works on large-scale community and preservation projects. She has painted hundreds of murals in Palm Beach County Public Schools. The “Duchess of Deco” will share her experiences at the 2025 Paris Art Deco World Congress.

George Neary - Interim Executive Director of the Miami Design Preservation League. George will also share his experiences at the International Coalition of Art Deco Societies in Paris. When George moved to Miami from New York in 1991, he began volunteering at the MDPL to help preserve Miami Beach's Art Deco heritage.

Schedule of Events

10:00 am Museum Opens

10:30 am Art Deco Fantasies – Louise Irvine, Executive Director & Curator of WMODA

11:30 am Movie Lovers Guide to Miami Beach – Joel Levine, Miami Design Preservation League

12:30 pm Boxed sandwich lunch – Turkey Club or Falafel Wrap (Vegetarian). Please select your choice when booking the program.

1:30 pm Ribbon Cutting for the Art Deco Library and a Champagne Toast to celebrate Sharon Koskoff’s generous gift.

2:00 pm Guided Tour of the Art Deco Gallery and a selling exhibition of gorgeous Art Deco-inspired jewelry by Esther Gold.

2:30 pm Highlights from the 2025 Paris World Congress on Art Deco Sharon Koskoff and George Neary will share their experiences at the International Coalition of Art Deco Societies in the Centennial Year and the invaluable work they are doing to preserve our Art Deco heritage in South Florida.

4:00 pm Museum Closes

Catered boxed lunch provided
by Sidecar Kitchen.

Lunch choices are required
by November 14

Cancellation Policy: We offer guests a full refund for cancellations made at least 48 hours before the scheduled event. As this is a catered event, there are no refunds within 48 hours of the event.