Bernard Weinraub retired from his job as The New York Times' Hollywood reporter in 2005, but the longtime Times man hasn't been idle. When his 2007 first play, The Accomplices, opens this weekend at GableStage, Weinraub will be among those in the audience.
After Sunday's 2 p.m. matinee, the journalist-playwright will lead a discussion of his play, a World War II drama about America's lack of action in the face of Nazi genocide. The play runs through May 25 at GableStage in the Biltmore Hotel, 1200 Anastasia Ave., Coral Gables. Performances are 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday (additional shows 7 p.m. Sunday after opening weekend). Tickets are $42.50 Friday-Saturday evening and Sunday matinee, $37.50 other shows. Call 305-445-1119 or visit www.gablestage.org.
-- CHRISTINE DOLEN
FROM LONDON TO MIAMIVicente Todoli, director of London's Tate Modern, speaks at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 4, at the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami.
Todoli will discuss new models for museum collections with MOCA executive director Bonnie Clearwater. Last year, MOCA and Tate received a shared gift of groundbreaking contemporary artworks donated by Rosa and Carlos de la Cruz.
The donation, to be owned jointly by both museums, included the multimedia installation, Zero Hero by John Bock, and No Ghost Just a Shell, a collaborative project by 17 artists and originated by Pierre Huyghe and Philippe Parreno. Both are on view at MOCA in the current exhibition Pivot Points, Part 1: Defining MOCA's Collection, through May 11.
The lecture at the museum's Joan Lehman Building, 770 NE 125th St., is free with MOCA admission and to members, North Miami residents, city employees and children younger than 12. Admission costs $5 adults, $3 seniors and students with ID. Seating is limited and reservations are requested at 305-893-6211, ext. 23.
-- FABIOLA SANTIAGO
HOTEL AS ART GALLERYThe Sagamore in South Beach, which likes to call itself ''The Art Hotel,'' is taking its interest in art a step beyond collecting and showcasing works. It's teaming up with the Bernice Steinbaum Gallery in Miami and the Julie Saul Gallery in New York to co-curate and present Dreaming of an Island, an exhibition of video and large scale color Polaroid works by artist Magdalena Campos-Pons.
The exhibition, which opens Thursday, marks the first time that the Sagamore teams with galleries from different cities to showcase the work of one artist. Campos-Pons lives in Boston. A retrospective of works exploring her AfroCuban identity was exhibited last year at the Bass Museum in Miami Beach.
-- FABIOLA SANTIAGO
FUNDS FOR PUBLIC ARTMiami-Dade's vaunted yet troubled Art in Public Places program will receive a nearly $2 million budget supplement this year to help maintain and keep track of the vast collection of sculpture, paintings, installations and other works.
The collection of 640 works, valued at $28.2 million, has been plagued by shoddy record keeping, lost or stolen art, poor maintenance and improper removal and destruction of works -- problems first reported in September 2007 by The Miami Herald.
The budget supplement, which doubles the program's 2007-08 budget, was approved this week by Miami-Dade's Board of County Commissioners and will receive a public hearing at the commission's May 20 meeting.
Michael Spring, director of Miami-Dade's public art program, said he intends to use the money to address priorities raised by county auditors in January following a one-year investigation. Among the priorities were better maintenance and inventory, and improved collection of public art fees, which are derived from a 1.5 percent tax on construction of public buildings such as courthouses, airport terminals and libraries.
''We're going to be very deliberate, conservative about its use,'' Spring said of the money. ``We're unlikely to spend even the majority of the money this year.''
-- DANIEL CHANG
