The Art of Transformation: Arts VoCo Awards honors Ormond Beach artist Toni Slick

Jennifer McGill was also awarded the Distinguished Artist recognition at the second annual Arts VoCo Awards on Thursday, April 2, at the Ormond Beach Performing Arts Center.

  • By Michele Meyers
  • | 9:00 a.m. April 9, 2026
  • Ormond Beach Observer
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Arts VoCo Awards master of ceremonies Jack Cook strolled onto the Ormond Beach Performing Arts Center stage in his robe and slippers, inviting the audience to watch as he donned a tuxedo with the help of his Halifax Repertory Theatre cohorts.

On Thursday, April 2, performers Cook, Jennifer McGill, Sandra Cook, and Brett Ricci opened the awards celebration with a song and dance routine to “Cantata for a First Date,” revealing the theme of the evening — The Art of Transformation — as they assisted Cook with his costume change.

Theresa Lieberman, founder of Riverfront Arts District, held the second annual Arts VoCo Awards Celebration to recognize artists, educators, and nonprofit organizations who contributed to and are passionate about the local arts community. Proceeds from the event support arts and culture throughout Volusia County.

The first time Lieberman attended Art Basel, a premier art fair in Miami, she knew she wanted to do an event of that magnitude in the Daytona Beach area. Last year, she launched the Season of the Arts, a 21-day feast of art events, exhibitions and festivals, including the Arts VoCo Awards Gala scheduled in the middle of it all. For the second consecutive year, the celebration of the arts and culture in Volusia County continues to be a success.

“I said, ‘Why can’t we do this in Daytona?’,” she said. “We’re an events town. We took that model of Art Basel and morphed it into a county-wide art season. We’re trying to ignite the arts in Volusia County, and it’s starting to gain momentum. That’s kind of what the whole goal is. Let’s come together. Let’s show them that we are strong and we are a great art community.”

Cici Brown presented this year’s Cici Brown Legacy Award to Ormond Beach abstract painter and educator Antoinette “Toni” M. Slick.

“This is an amazing woman who is passionate about what she’s done, is doing, and will continue to do,” Brown said. “I think she is a very good example of what transformational is, because she has done it in spades. To know her is to love her, and we’re blessed to have her in this community. We call her one of our own.”

The Florida Women’s Art Association won the Outstanding Arts & Cultural Organization Award. President Amber O’Neal accepted the trophy.

“I really wasn’t expecting this,” she said. “This is for every female youth and adult artist who wants to progress and show their work.”

FLWAA also gave the inaugural Loretta Youngman Educational Legacy Award to Youngman’s son, Tim Wenger. Every year, the organization will donate $1,000 to an arts educator in the community to use for school supplies.

Ormond Beach artist and Art Spotlight studio co-owner Thays França was last year’s recipient of the Distinguished Artist Award. This year, she presented the accolade to performer Jennifer McGill.

“This recognition is not about achievement,” França said. “It’s about possibility. It’s about the impact each artist has on all the people and the world around them. And that’s what excites me so much, because to be right here, now in Ormond Beach in Volusia County, you can feel something special is happening, right? Our artist community is growing. Artists are showing up. They’re supporting one another, and they’re creating opportunities and building something meaningful together.”

Painter and neurologist Dr. Enzo Trapani, and Executive Director of the Ormond Memorial Art Museum & Gardens Stephanie Mason-Teague were the keynote speakers for the evening.

“Tonight’s theme, the art of transformation, beautifully captures something many of us see in our work every day,” Mason-Teague said. “For some of us, it is also the why we do what we do. Art transforms empty spaces into gathering places. Art transforms silence into expression, and perhaps most importantly, art transforms isolation into connection.”

Eleven-year-old Sarah Duncan performed the song “Don’t Rain on My Parade” followed by the presentation of the Volusia County School Awards.

VCS Performing Arts Specialist John Dupuis, VCS Visual Arts Specialist Bryce Hammond, and VCS Fine Arts Specialist Craig Uppercue announced the awards. DeLand High School senior Madison Leimer and Ormond Beach Elementary School teacher Emily “Kris” Light won in the performing arts, and Spruce Creek High School senior Liela Marty and Seabreeze High School art teacher Christine Colby took home the visual arts awards. The Daytona Beach Kiwanis Club awarded each student with a $500 scholarship.

Arts advocate Barbara Wolfson was recognized as the founding member of the Volusia County Cultural Alliance, and her continued advocacy for making the arts inclusive. Her daughter JS Nahani, read the poem “We Are Here for a Reason” to honor her mother.

Lieberman said she wants to see growth and can imagine the Arts VoCo Awards being like the Oscars of Volusia County.

“It’s not just about painting on canvas,” Lieberman said. “It’s about music, it’s about theater, it’s about dance, it’s about all arts. It’s about culture.”

 

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