DENA STEWART write.2.dena@gmail.com | cell: 786 269-3606 | Website: DenaStewart.us
2011 – current: Videographer/Video Editor, Producer/Blogger
1992 – current: Program Director/Project Facilitator: Center for Folk and Community Art
A native New Yorker, Dena Stewart graduated from Pace University with a degree in business education. She taught High School in New York, was an editor for a large textbook publishing company (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich), and personnel manager for a national department stores chain (E.J. Korvette – “Korvettes”). None of these career paths were gratifying. So when Korvettes closed its doors, as she looked for another job, Dena filled her time by painting.
Dena used her artistic energy to paint colorful canvases that express her life experiences, dreams and beliefs. When one of her paintings, “Christmas Tree in the City” became part of the 1982 UNICEF Greeting Card Collection, Dena decided to make ART her profession. When it was reissued in 1983 and 1984, Dena knew she made the right decision. In addition to painting on canvas, she also painted “Atmospheric Wall Illusions” (murals), and one-of-a-kind clothing. As a self-taught Artist, she exhibited her paintings in Galleries and juried Art shows. [1]
Along with her husband, artist/actor Stewart Stewart, in 1987 Dena relocated from NYC to Miami Beach, FL. As painters with studio/exhibition space on Lincoln Road and a salon at the Island Club (nightspot), Dena and Stewart were immersed in the pioneering spirit and camaraderie of the early South Beach scene.
In 1989, again, UNICEF released “Christmas Tree in the City”. With more than three million “Christmas Tree in the City” cards sold world-wide, that year Dena served as an Honorary Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, and was awarded her first Miami Beach Proclamation declaring November 16, 1989, Dena Stewart Day.
After Hurricane Andrew hit, missing Miami Beach by a mere few degrees, with appreciation for their good luck and a desire to pass it forward, Dena and Stewart founded Center for Folk and Community Art (CFCA – non-profit organization) and created a nationally recognized program that uses the combination of writing & visual art as tools for intervention, prevention and education to address community issues and improve the human condition. Telling Stories Through Visuals is a Lesson Card in the SRA/McGraw-Hill reading and language arts program–Imagine it! a comprehensive literacy tool used in schools in more than 50 countries.
Dena was honored by the Miami Beach Commission on the Status of Women as a “Woman Worth Knowing” with another City Proclamation declaring March 28, 2001, Dena Stewart Day.
Since 2011, Dena and Stewart have been producing Alive on South Beach®™, an entertaining online video show for Syndicated News Network (SNN.bz) an International News and Entertainment gathering site. Dena is the videographer and video editor. As the content for the show grew, they moved to a new platform AliveonSouthBeach.com that is toggle-linked to SyndicatedNews.Net “SNN.BZ”. In 2019, “It’s Just a Conversation” was launched – Interviews (on Zoom) with accomplished individuals in diverse creative fields are designed to be educational and inspirational.
Dena Stewart Is Also a Published Author: Her Books Are Available On Amazon.
- “The Book Of Story Rhymes – Tales of Unpredictable People and the Baggage They Carry” – published May 2021
- “Inner Peace … It Isn’t Out There!” – published October 2014
- Contributor to “Miami … off The Page!” an anthology of personal short stories about life in the sun city, by the Women Writers Group of South Beach – published Jan. 2020;
- Contributor to “Transitions” a second anthology of personal short stories about life changes, by Women Writers Group of South Beach – published May 2022.
In 2025 SHOUTOUT-MIAMI published an Interview featuring Dena Stewart
https://aliveonsouthbeach.com/shoutout-miami/
In 2020, Dena Stewart’s “Miami Story” was included in the History Miami Museum and is preserved in the Museum’s archive.
For her civic involvement, Dena (and Stewart) received over a dozen Miami Beach and Miami-Dade County Proclamations, as well as the Key to the City of Miami Beach. Appointed by the City of Miami Beach Commissioners and Mayor, Dena’s service includes:
2025-current, The Miami Beach Commission for Women.
2009-2011, The Miami Beach Mayor’s Women’s Conference.
1992-1994, The Miami Beach Art in Public Places Committee.
1997-1999, The Miami Beach Fine Arts Board.
[1] Art Resume – Gallery Representation and Exhibitions:
America’s Folk Heritage Gallery, NYC;
“Eight Woman Show”–Interart St. Amand Gallery, NYC;
“Two Person Show”–Amdur Gallery, Miami Beach, FL;
Gallery of the Eccentric, Coral Gables, FL;
Sokolsky Gallery, Miami Beach, FL;
“Portraits”–Metro Dade Library, Miami, FL;
“A Salute to Outstanding Florida Artists”–State Capitol Building, Tallahassee, FL;
The Sher Gallery, Aventura, FL;
South Florida Art Picks, Miami Beach, FL;
Miami Beach City Hall, Office of the Mayor (Seymour Gelber)
Personal Proclamations and Honors:
Mar. 28, 2001, “Dena Stewart Day – A Woman Worth Knowing”, Office of the Mayor, City of Miami Beach
Oct. 11, 1994, “Dena Stewart and Stewart Stewart Day”, Office of the Mayor, City of Miami Beach
Nov. 16, 1989, “Dena Stewart Day”, Office of the Mayor, City of Miami Beach
Sept. 11, 2013, Alliance for Aging Positive Living Award presented to “Dena & Stewart Stewart in recognition and appreciation of their outstanding commitment to making our community a better place to live.”
WEBSITES:
https://www.aliveonsouthbeach.com/category/alive/dena-stewart-art/
https://aliveonsouthbeach.com/paintings-by-ds/
https://aliveonsouthbeach.com/dena-stewart-as-seen-in-the-media/
https://AliveonSouthBeach.com
Twitter: DenaStewart @IAmDenaStewart
Instagram: Write2Dena
Facebook: facebook.com/dena.stewart.1232
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/dena-stewart-AliveonSouthBeach
TikTok: @aliveonsouthbeach and @Dena.stewart
NOTE: Paintings are acrylic on canvas and are available for sale. write.2.dena@gmail.com
Beliefs, fantasies, and experiences are the essence of the paintings created by Visionary Artist, Dena Stewart. The first time she picked up a paintbrush, with no formal training in art, she used it to express her feelings, hopes and dreams. Her heavily detailed street scenes with hundreds of people, her caricature-like portraits with personalized backgrounds, her lush landscapes, her breathtaking seascapes, and her tropical paradises include meaningful messages within beautiful surroundings.
Another Dimension – her latest group of vividly colorful, florally framed paintings, open a window of the imagination to look into or look out of and wonder about the inner spirit of those individuals portrayed, together or apart, as they enter a dimension of pleasure or leave a dimension of pain. Many of Dena’s works include her vision of a guardian angel, an illusive image of an all-knowing spirit taking the form of a face in a cloud or a figure swinging from a rainbow hovering above to watch over and keep “souls-in-need” from life’s harm.
Dena’s paintings have been shown in: America’s Folk Heritage Gallery, NYC; “Eight Woman Show”–Interart St. Amand Gallery, NYC; Galerie Bonheur, Greenwich, CT; Cuban Museum, Miami, FL; Gallery: Why Not?, Miami Beach, FL; “Two Person Show”–Amdur Gallery, Miami Beach, FL; Gallery of the Eccentric, Coral Gables, FL; Sokolsky Gallery, Miami Beach, FL; “Portraits”–Metro Dade Library, Miami, FL; “A Salute to Outstanding Florida Artists”–State Capitol Building, Tallahassee, FL; The Sher Gallery, Aventura, FL; South Florida Art Picks, Miami Beach, FL; Miami Beach City Hall; The Stephen P. Clark Government Center, Miami, FL; The Capital Children’s Museum, Washington, D.C.; The New York Public Library, NYC; The North Miami Public Library, No. Miami, FL
One of Dena’s most well-known early works, “Christmas Tree in the City” was selected for the 1982, ‘83, ‘84 and ‘89 UNICEF Greeting Card Collection. More than three million “Christmas Tree in the City” cards were sold world-wide and raised over $300,000 for UNICEF. Ms. Stewart served as an Honorary Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF in 1989.
Born in Manhattan, Dena graduated from Pace University with a degree in business education, and took graduate courses in psychology at the New School for Social Research. Dena taught High School in New York, was an editor for Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishing Company, and personnel manager for E.J. Korvettes, a national department stores chain, before becoming a professional artist.
Along with her husband, artist Stewart Stewart, Dena relocated to Miami Beach, FL in 1987. Together they founded Center for Folk and Community Art, a non-profit organization with a mission to use a combination of writing and illustrating as tools for intervention, prevention and education. Dena’s artistic talents, along with her teaching and administrative background have been a compelling force in creating and implementing the unique art programs for the organization. Her nationally acclaimed Telling Stories Through Visuals program was selected by the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities (the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities) as a model outreach program that impacts communities and helps enrich people’s lives.
Dena is an honored recipient of the 2001 “Woman Worth Knowing” award bestowed upon her by the Miami Beach Commission on the Status of Women. Her bio is included in Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who of American Women, and Who’s Who in the South and Southwest. Along with Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami Beach proclamations in recognition of her community outreach, Ms. Stewart received the Key to the City of Miami Beach in 2006.
As an author, Dena’s book “Inner Peace…It Isn’t Out There!” is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble sites.
Available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Several of her short stories are published in the book “Miami…Off the Page”, an anthology by the Women Writers Group of South Beach.
Dena’s most recent book, entitled, “The Book of Story Rhymes – Tales of Unpredictable People and the Baggage they Carry”, will be available in the Spring of 2021.
