Art Apart, Art Together: How a miami power couple in the arts world is spending their quarantine time

Oh how things have changed in little over a year. Last February, this pair of handsome newlyweds were toasting each other at their posh nuptials at the Standard Hotel, surrounded by family and friends. Today, Miami arts execs Gino Campodónico and Joseph Quiñones are homebound, making the most of life in quarantine.

Quiñones is the Vice President of Marketing and Communications at the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science, while his handsome hubby Gino heads up Public Relations the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. We caught up with the artsy power couple and one thing’s for sure: the admittedly A-type pair of Virgos aren’t letting a pandemic halt their important work in the Miami Arts world.

What are you currently enjoying virtually/digitally in the Miami arts scene?

Gino: There are so many great options out there! At the Arsht Center, we recently launched our Arsht@Home online program which is an amazing way for our community to stay connected and inspired by the arts – all free and from the comfort of their own homes. Another plus, is that the program is hyper local with original content from South Florida-based artists as well as contributions from beloved organizations such as Miami City Ballet, Florida Grand Opera, New World Symphony, Zoetic Stage, City Theatre, Nu Deco Ensemble and more. Tip: Check out Culture Shock Miami for a variety or arts-related virtual listings.

Personally, I’ve really enjoyed the Live From Our Living Room concerts on Friday nights by the New World Symphony. My favorite local DJ, DJ Hottpants, has also been doing nightly music hours every weekday at 5 p.m. via Zoom which has been so much fun to let out energy and burn up the dance floor (and those extra calories) at home.

Joseph: We’re big museum buffs! I’ve really been enjoying all the incredible virtual tours from museums across the city. For example, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens developed a fascinating Secret Doors online tour that explores the hidden doors and passes throughout the estate. We recently saw the Happy! exhibition at NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale and it was incredible to relive the experience again through the virtual tour.

What kinds of virtual arts programming do you think works (or that people want) right now?

Joseph: The arts is something that connects us all. This unprecedented situation has pushed arts and cultural organizations to make more of their content accessible digitally. And the public has responded so positively. All of a sudden, you can experience symphonies, ballet classes, operas are more, all for free. I hope this is something that continues once this is over.

Gino: People want to be exposed to new things and new mediums. I think classes have really resonated. For example, music and dance classes, where people have been able to do it at home but with the help of instructors digitally. From a community standpoint, it’s been great to see so many regular events which have transformed digitally. For example, Viernes Culturales, one of Miami’s longest running monthly events in Little Havana, is now hosting their events live on Instagram.

What are you doing with your time these days? Has the isolation inspired any new projects?

Joseph: This isolation has inspired so many projects! Most of my time during the week is devoted to work, as I’ve been working hard on launching our Frost Science@Home digital learning platform with tons of great resources, activities, videos and more. When not working, we’ve been tackling home projects, like setting up our home office and spring cleaning. A lot of projects I’ve been procrastinating with forever, like organizing my Playbills from Broadway shows and alphabetizing our vinyl records (I’m a Virgo, can’t you tell?!?).

Gino: We’re always on the go, so an upside of being in quarantine has been that it has given us an opportunity to slow down and take a step back, recharge and focus on our mental health. It has also given us an opportunity to stay in touch with our family and friends much more often. We look forward to Zoom dates all week! It’s also been really important for us to support all the local organizations and restaurants that we love by ordering from favorites such as Boia De, Eating House, Ember, Bar Lab, and Phuc Yea, just to name a few. We’ve also been doing a lot of home cooking which resulted in testing out our baking skills for the first time ever – shout out to Chrissy Teigen and her delicious banana bread recipe.

What’s the best way for people to give back to the local arts scene right now?

Joseph: The local arts scene needs our support now more than ever. If you are able to donate, there are some amazing local organizations that support artists, including the Artist Relief fund being led by national arts funders like National YoungArts Foundation. You can also show support by becoming members, renewing subscriptions and simply tuning into the performances and classes. Of course, once things do return, it will be up to all of us to show up and support in person!

Gino: A great way to support our local arts scene is to buy or commission pieces of work if you’re able to do so. I also hope people will hold on to their performance tickets for postponed shows and consider donating back the value of tickets to canceled shows back to the organization. There are so many smaller arts organizations that are really struggling now, and I hope as a community we do everything we can to keep them alive so they are able to continue their work once this “intermission” ends.

*Erica Corsano is a multimedia journalist with almost two decades of experience as a storyteller. She currently serves as the head of content at The Jewish Museum of Florida and The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum at Florida International University. Follow her @ericacorsano.

This story was originally published April 25, 2020 at 7:00 AM.