Location/Address: 315 Minutemen Causeway, Unit 5, Cocoa Beach, Florida 32931
Hours: During exhibition openings and by appointment
Website: https://causewayfl.com
Founded by: Elizabeth Allen-Cannon
Operated by: Elizabeth Allen-Cannon
Opened: 2024
Most Recent Exhibition: The Cancer Sweet, a solo exhibition by Ivan Riascos, on view from November 8 through December 13, 2025.
Upcoming Exhibitions: Familiar without a name, a solo exhibition byAllison Spence, which will be on view May 2-30, 2026. An opening reception will be held May 2 from 3-5 pm.
Isabella Marie Garcia: I’d like to know more about how Causeway came into fruition. How did it begin and how is both Cocoa Beach, Florida as a community and the space serving the surrounding arts ecosystem?
Elizabeth Allen-Cannon: Causeway came out of the difficulties I faced when I relocated to Brevard County, Florida from the Midwest. Having lived in Kansas City and Chicago, I was spoiled for art museums, but also artist-run spaces—I totally took that infrastructure for granted. There was really nothing like that in Brevard County in 2017 when I arrived, and it’s not because there aren’t creative people here, it’s because there is such a severe lack of support for visual art. I am also an adjunct professor and I wanted my students to have more access to practicing artists—to bear witness to how they test ideas out and work within the confines of their resources. But mostly, I built it for myself, because I wanted something like this to exist, and nobody else was doing it here.
IMG: In researching more about how Causeway and the programming tied to contemporary artists, I want to learn about the utilization of the gallery space. How do you organize your programming throughout the year? Are artists encouraged to submit their work for consideration or is there a curatorial focus that is selection-based?
EAC: In Causeway’s first year, we focused on building a regional audience. The three artists who were exhibited in that year were selected for their experimental practices, and because they had a connection to Central Florida. I felt these artists, who are working in media like performance and installation, weren’t being provided with enough opportunities to properly present their work. But also, the topics that these artists are dealing with—healthcare access, housing affordability, climate change—are particularly pertinent to the Space Coast region of Florida. Causeway’s goal is to continue to present exhibitions that give the local community a chance to engage with novel formats, and to expand ideas about what art can be, what it can do, and where it can be found.
We typically host two to three solo exhibitions a year. In 2026, we will host two solo exhibitions, one of which is Allison Spence, an artist currently working in the Panhandle. So with that, we’re slowly expanding our reach and trying to strengthen ties to the greater Florida artist community. As the gallery builds a larger audience and gains support, I hope to conduct an open call process.
IMG: Regarding exhibitions, what are some recent showcases in the past year that were held at Causeway?
EAC: 2025 was our first year of programming, and we mounted three solo exhibitions.
We began the year with Crawling Out From Beneath a Fallen Tree, a solo exhibition by Jenna Marie Alderiso. Her installation included these incredible images from a performance she did in a pool, as well as ceramic vessels and paper clay sculptures. The work was visceral and very personal, moving through experiences of medical trauma, violence, healing, and the body’s capacity for resilience.
Next was Leah Sandler, an artist who builds intense parafictional narratives, many of which center a fictional archive, Center For Post-Capitalist History. At Causeway, she transformed into a kind of manic real estate agent who was trying to auction off the sunset. One of the things that makes Causeway unique is its proximity to the ocean, and so Leah utilized this feature by leading us on a sunset dérive which ended with her character disappearing into the ocean.
The Cancer Sweet, an exhibition of drawings and ceramics by Ivan Riascos, was our most recent exhibition. I asked Ivan to show a suite of drawings he had made about his experience with prostate cancer. The show was filled with unexpected levity and humor but also the uncertainty and fear that comes with disease and having to confront one’s own mortality.
IMG: How does Causeway center artists and creatives? How are barriers removed when it comes to contemporary art and the space as a whole?
EAC: As an artist myself, I realize how hard it is to get your work shown. There simply aren’t enough spaces to show all of the good work that is being made. We think of centers like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles as places where good art comes from, but a lot of that has to do with the support and infrastructure that those places can provide for artists. So Causeway is a project that is trying to use the resources that exist in the Space Coast to build that kind of support, albeit on a much smaller scale. The most immediate way we are removing barriers is to make contemporary art more physically accessible—to bring it into this out-of-the-way place. There will always be some friction, because good art is often unfamiliar. But people are curious, and I think they deserve the opportunity to sit with the work, be uncomfortable, and figure it out for themselves.
IMG: What’s on the horizon for Causeway? What are you excited to share in 2026?
EAC: We are gearing up to present two solo shows in 2026: Allison Spence will be exhibiting in May and Lindsay Deifik will be exhibiting in the fall. Look for those details to be announced on our Instagram @causewayfl and our website (www.causewayfl.com) as they are finalized. I encourage anyone considering making the drive out to attend an opening to do it—it’s a good time!
