The art and soul of black Miami shines during Art Basel and Miami Art Week
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If you are looking for the soul in Art Basel 2019, look no further.
This year’s Miami Art Week events include a range of offerings in Overtown, Little Haiti and North Miami, among other places, as part of the Art of Black Miami, a Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau program.
The Bureau also hosted the Sixth Annual Art of Black Miami’s Spotlight on Cultural Arts in Miami’s Heritage Neighborhoods. Held at Hard Rock Stadium, the reception featured Fort Lauderdale artist and sculptor George Gadson, who created two Super Bowl bronze commemorative sculptures — one called “The Quarterback” and the other, “The Kicker.”
The [Bureau] is committed to the Art of Black Miami marketing platform because it promotes the creative and organic influences of the African Diaspora, Caribbean influences, Latin Americans and other global artists who contribute to the fabric of Miami’s diverse artistic community,” said William D. Talbert, III, the Bureau’s president and chief executive.
“More awareness is spreading locally, nationally and internationally about the multicultural artistic gems that we have in Miami and the GMCVB is happy to be the organizer of a program that strives to include all of Miami’s neighborhoods and communities into the larger marketing footprint,” added Connie Kinnard, the Bureau’s vice president of Multicultural Tourism & Development.
Listed below are some of Art of Black Miami’s featured events. For more information, go to www.ArtofBlackMiami.com .
Historic Overtown Art Africa Miami Fair
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Art Africa’s mission showcased the art of the black diaspora throughout our local and global communities.
Neil Hall, visionary and founder of Art Africa Miami, purposefully established this fair in Historic Overtown, creating the largest showcase of contemporary artists from the African Diaspora during Art Basel. This is the ninth annual fair.
Many of the featured artists have become masters in their respective fields, showing in Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and the Caribbean.
Art Africa Miami Fair, Plaza at the Lyric Theater, 919 NW Second Ave., Miami. Noon-7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; Noon-5 p.m. Sunday.
Soul Basel
Experience Soul Basel in Historic Overtown. Through the efforts of the Southeast Overtown Park West CRA, everyone can eat, live, work and play in Overtown, through Sunday.
For details: http://experienceovertown.com/soulbasel/
Art Beat Miami Art Fair
The Sixth Annual Art Beat Miami fair will feature five days of art, culture, food, fashion and music inspired by Haiti and the Caribbean. Works of 40 emerging and renowned artists from the Caribbean and around the world will be on display at the Caribbean Marketplace. The Marketplace also will be filled with Haitian music and food from renowned Caribbean chefs.
Caribbean Marketplace, 5925 NE Second Ave. For times of events: https://www.miamiandbeaches.com/event/art-beat-miami/11450
MUCE ARTS & Culture Festival
“Who Owns Black Art?” is the theme of this year’s MUCE (My Urban Contemporary Experience) Festival.
A Zeal pop-up exhibit during Basel, it explores the intersection of art, culture, politics, identity and history in art institutions and cultural equity. Fifteen artists express their definition of black art, and the meaning of creative expression, culture, and heritage.
MUCE Makers Campus, 246 NW 54th St., 11-6 p.m. through Sunday. For information: https://www.miamiandbeaches.com/event/muce-arts-and-culture-festival/17977
Melanin Rendezvous — Artisans From The Diaspora
Ten artists will display fine and wearable art in the courtyard of the Little Haiti Cultural Art Center, 212 NE 59th Terrace, as part of the “Melanin Rendezvous.”
The exhibit will feature artwork, jewelry, accessories, pottery and fashion designs. The event is free and runs from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. through Sunday.
For information: https://www.miamiandbeaches.com/event/melanin-rendezvous/19597
Prizm Art Fair
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For its seventh edition, PRIZM will present the work of 39 artists within the exhibition, “Love in the Time of Hysteria,” curated and organized by William Cordova, Ryan Dennis, Naiomy Guerrero, Oshun Layne and Mikhaile Solomon.
Prizm is known for showcasing artists from Africa and the global African diaspora.
Alfred I. Dupont Building, 169 E. Flagler St. #5., through Sunday. Information: https://www.prizmartfair.com/
Art Basel Panel Discussion on African Art
The event, the 10th annual at the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami, will celebrate the rising interest in African Diaspora Art. The panel will focus on black aesthetics and culture, the economics of black art and African spirituality in art. It will include a discussion on famed Nigerian curator, Okwui Enwenzor.
The free event will be from noon to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 8, at the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami, 770 NE 125th St.
Dorothy Jenkins Fields, Ph.D., is a historian and founder of the Black Archives, History & Research Foundation of South Florida Inc. Send feedback to djf@bellsouth.net
This story was originally published December 6, 2019 at 12:36 PM.