Armando Droulers flew Boeing 727s for a decade. Now he fills seats at the Key Biscayne Community Center with stories about Impressionists, fashion icons and 20th-century masters.
Droulers, a Venezuelan-born art historian who grew up in Lebanon, Paris and Switzerland, delivers regular art history lectures through the Community Center's Senior Services program. His most recent talk, a lunchtime lecture on Marc Chagall on Friday, drew a crowd that has become typical for his sessions.
"Armando is very charismatic and entertaining," Senior Services Coordinator Roxy Lohuis told the Islander News. "He provides a level of entertainment about art history topics that I've never seen from anyone else."
A Decade in the Cockpit Before a Second Career in Art
Droulers discovered art at age 10, when his family moved from Venezuela to Lebanon. Ancient sculptures and frescoes captivated him. But he didn't pursue art immediately. He spent 10 years as a commercial pilot for a Venezuelan airline, hauling art books into the cockpit between flights.
After leaving aviation, he studied visual communication at the New World School of the Arts and the University of Florida, and also attended Bard College and the Academia de Arte Federico Brandt in Caracas. He worked as a graphic designer in Los Angeles before settling in Miami, where he began offering private art lectures. Getting an audience wasn't easy at first. He once drew his first attendees with free wine.
About 18 years ago, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Miami invited him to lecture. That connection led to an offer from Celebrity Cruises to build an art program aboard one of its ships. For five years, Droulers split his time evenly between sea and land.
How He Ended Up Lecturing on Key Biscayne
Chris Biggers, a Key Biscayne resident who had taken Droulers' courses at the University of Miami, brought him to the Community Center. She recognized his lectures would fit the island's audience.
The spring season included talks on French Impressionist Berthe Morisot and Yves Saint-Laurent's art collections. Droulers also continues lecturing at the Norton Museum in Palm Beach and the NSU Art Museum in Fort Lauderdale, and leads small-group art tours to Vienna, Madrid and Paris.
He speaks fluent English, French and Spanish. At OLLI, he teaches two courses: "Western Art Masters and Masterpieces" and "Drawing with the Masters," serving students over 50.
How to Catch His Next Lecture
The Community Center's summer Adult and Senior Programs season is underway. Specific dates for Droulers' next lecture have not yet been posted. Residents can call the front desk at 305-365-8900 or stop by to ask about upcoming lectures and RSVP.
