Silvia Lizama, born in Havana, Cuba, moved to South Florida in 1960. She earned a BFA from Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida, and an MFA from Rochester Institute of Technology in New York.

 

She served as Professor of Photography and Chair of the Department of Fine Arts at Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida for 37 years and was awarded the distinguished title of Professor Emerita upon her retirement in 2023.

 

In 1999 she completed a Miami Dade Art in Public Places commission for the Exhibition room of the Trailhead Arrival Facility at Deering Estate in Miami, Florida.  For this project Ms. Lizama hand colored 12 panels of glass with sandblasted images of the flora and fauna of the Deering Estate.

 

In November 2001, Ms. Lizama published a book of photographs entitled Cuba 1930 – 1958, Photographs of Dr. Roberto Machado. She restored and printed images from this collection for exhibition and publication.

 

Having exhibited her hand-colored photographs locally since 1978, her work has gained national and international attention and has been included in prestigious exhibitions and collections. Major awards include the Southern Arts Federation/NEA Regional Visual Arts Fellowship Grant (1993), as well as the South Florida Cultural Consortium Grant in 1992 and 2015.