Elisa Turner is an award-winning art critic and journalist based in Miami. She was inducted into the 2025 Miami-Dade County Arts Hall of Fame. In October 2025 her book Miami’s Art Boom: From Local Vision to International Presence will be published by the University Press of Florida. It chronicles the city’s art scene from 1987 to 2007, with updated material. A former primary art critic for the Miami Herald (1995–2007), she has covered international events like the Havana and Venice Biennials and Art Basel. Her accolades include the Rabkin Prize, multiple awards from the South Florida Society of Professional Journalists, and grants from Oolite Arts and the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. Turner has written for numerous art publications, taught at Miami Dade College, and regularly participates in panels and lectures. She is a member of the International Association of Art Critics and ArtTable.
Book cover artwork above courtesy Carlos Betancourt.
Written Works
At Spinello Projects, Antonia Wright Pushes Back on Abortion Ban
Moca’s ‘Hamacas’ Exhibition Invites Visitors to Make Hammock, Use Hammock, Talk Immigration
Portraits that Honor the Men Who Participated in the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike
Inter | Sectionality: Diaspora Art From the Creole City’: Compelling, Thought-Provoking, Timely
Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara: Dispatches from Imprisoned Dissident Artist in Cuba
Wendy Wischer at Oolite Arts, Miami
“Diago: The Pasts of this Afro-Cuban Present’ Aims to Show How Past Inequities Remain in the Present
Surfside Resident and Design District Gallery Owner Takes Champlain Anniversary to Heart
William Cordova: Now’s the Time for His ‘New Type of Perspective’
"A captivating account of essays and writings that witness the exciting historical growth of Miami's arts community. It recounts the many artists, foundations, galleries, museums, and not-for-profit spaces that laid the groundwork for one of the most exciting and globally focused arts communities in the United States. The author's commitment and focus on the diversity of artists foreshadow the importance and influence of Latin American and Caribbean art and artists in the United States and highlight the African-diaspora artists community that called South Florida home."
—Jeremy Mikolajczak, Sybil Harrington Director and Chief Executive Officer, Phoenix Art Museum.
Advance praise for Miami's Art Boom: From Local Vision to International Presence by Elisa Turner
"There is no one who is more talented, perceptive, and knowledgeable than Elisa to portray this important and exciting era of Miami's cultural growth. This is a book that needs to be done--not only for the extraordinary value of Elisa's first-person chronicles of this era but also for conveying the wonderful and wild story that is Miami's astonishing growth in the visual arts. Elisa is the perfect person to chronicle decades of nonstop innovation and diversity that epitomized Miami's rise to join the ranks of leading cities in the arts." —Michael Spring, Director Emeritus of Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs.