Art · Culture · Publishing

Art and Publishing

For Devidasa Kawal, art has never been separate from leadership. The same questions shape both: who is in the room, what is worth preserving, and how an institution earns lasting public trust.

Tampa Bay Art Salon

Devidasa co-founded the Tampa Bay Art Salon with Antonio Permuy, a curator with deep relationships across Florida’s arts community. The Salon revives a historic tradition, bringing artists, collectors, patrons, civic leaders, and cultural figures into one intimate room, with art as the catalyst for serious conversation. It is private and by invitation.

Volume I featured the French American artist Davia, with a thoughtful exploration of intuition and perception. Volume II featured Edel Alvarez Galban (AGalban), a Cuban American painter and physician whose work reflects memory, spirituality, and cultural identity and is held in the permanent collection of the Tampa Museum of Art. Volume III is in development.

Museum leadership

Devidasa served as Assistant Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Tampa Museum of Art, where she was mentored by Executive Director Dr. Michael Tomor. That work shaped her view of how cultural institutions build relevance, engage their communities, and align public value with long-term institutional strength.

Civic and cultural service

She serves on the fashion show committee for the Dunedin Fine Art Center, and remains closely engaged with the region’s museums, artists, and patrons.

The Publishing Institute at Parsons

Devidasa studied at the Publishing Institute at Parsons School of Design at The New School in New York City. The New School’s Publishing Institute is an intensive course on new modes of book publishing, offering an overview of the entire process, from rights to reaching readers, with visits from editors, publishers, and agents. That grounding informs her work as an author and her role with Red Desk Press.

Red Desk Press · Books