Art of Black Miami Continues to Provide A Critical Platform To the Resilient South Florida Artistic Community

(Black PR Wire) MIAMI, FL - The rich cultural landscape of Miami's heritage communities is something that the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Art of Black Miami (AOBM) program has been intentional about promoting. The celebration of the vibrancy of the arts and history within Greater Miami's diverse neighborhoods is even more poignant this year. AOBM, led by the GMCVB’s Multicultural Tourism & Development Department, creates opportunities to showcase the community’s rich heritage.

The signature kick-off event to celebrate the art season will be virtual and will feature a chat with American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator Nikki Giovani on Monday, November 30 from 6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Giovani will discuss her latest body of work, “Make Me Rain: Poems and Prose,” as well as some of her struggles and triumphs which have inspired her love of the art of poetry. The conversation is free and will be moderated by Connie Kinnard, GMCVB's Vice President, Multicultural Tourism & Development. Following the chat, the AOBM Cover Competition winner will be unveiled, in partnership with MIA Legacy Magazine. The evening celebrates the artistic diversity of exhibitions, events and activations (virtual and in-person) happening in Greater Miami’s heritage neighborhoods and communities throughout Miami’s Art Season and the GMCVB’s Art, Culture & Heritage Months program. For information on registration visit AOBM Kick-Off.

“Arts and culture in Miami-Dade continue to serve a key role in the GMCVB’s tourism marketing and promotion initiatives. Showcasing the arts by working collectively with the creative minds and spaces that are a part of the Art of Black Miami marketing platform serves to connect to the community and tourism. There is a combination of virtual and in-person activations still taking place during these difficult times which shows the spirit and resiliency of our community,” said William D. Talbert III, CDME.

This year Art of Black Miami celebrates the hybrid and online exhibitions and cultural talks produced by arts organizations and creatives, highlighting communities that include Historic Overtown, Little Haiti, Little Havana, North Miami, Coral Gables, Downtown Miami, Miami Beach, and other surrounding areas. As online events become a viable option for exposure, organizers are able to expand artist engagement and reach. Annual events like PRIZM Art Fair will present an online exhibition featuring artists and galleries representing countries across the African continent, the Caribbean and Americas taking place from December 1 to 21, 2020.

"We are excited about this year's Art of Black Miami. More than ever, it was key for us to spotlight organizations and artists that use their art platform in a tangible way within their prospective communities. This is a year the artists have redefined the way they are showcasing their work and cultural assets," said Connie Kinnard, VP of Multicultural Tourism & Development.

A few Art of Black Miami featured events are listed below and a full list of events can be found on Art of Black Miami's website www.ArtofBlackMiami.com.

COCONUT GROVE

For Those Gathered in the Wind, A Solo Exhibition of T. Eliott Mansa at LnS Gallery,

Curated by Donnamarie Baptiste

The much-anticipated solo exhibition of T. Eliott Mansa, a Miami-based assemblage artist, will provide both a visually striking and emotionally touching experience to showcase his latest series of amuletic wall-mounted sculptors that capture ritual practices to honor, memorialize, protect, and defend Black Lives from state and extra-judicial violence. Throughout his work Mansa enriches a visual culture that serves these functions by using techniques within each assemblage that transcend bounds of geography, holding Caribbean and African roots.

For Those Gathered in the Wind will be open to groups of ten or less, regulated using time slots to allow visitors in and out of the space. December 2, 2020 - February 9, 2021 LnS Gallery in Coconut Grove 9:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

DOWNTOWN MIAMI

Black Diasporic Feminism, Intersectionality, and Solidarity in the Age of Protest

Black Diasporic Feminism, Intersectionality, and Solidarity in the Age of Protest is a panel that highlights the critical role of Black womxn artists and cultural producers within the current social and political landscapes and how Black womxn across the diaspora support and amplify each other's work and voices. The discussion will explore how Black womxn’s experience of racism, sexism, and classism are inseparable and how these “isms” and all other isms are being addressed by artists - specifically those on the panel. The conversation will take place in conjunction with the special exhibition Allied with Power: African and African Diaspora Art from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection and will include exhibition artists Genevieve Gaignard, Naudline Pierre, and Deborah Roberts, exhibition curator María Elena Ortiz, and will be moderated by Marie Vickles.

Panel Discussion – 2:00 p.m. December 2, 2020

Exhibition Date: Through - Summer 2021

Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) - 1103 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33132

DESIGN DISTRICT

Voices and Votes: Democracy in America

Voices and Votes: Democracy in America is a partnership between the Haitian Heritage Museum, the Smithsonian Institute and Florida Humanities. The exhibition is based on the current exhibition by the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. More than just waging a war of independence, American revolutionaries took a great leap of faith and established a new government based on the sovereignty of the people. It was truly a radical idea that entrusted the power of the nation not in a monarchy but in its citizens. Each generation since continues to question how to form “a more perfect union” around this radical idea. December 17, 2020 – February 6, 2021 Haitian Heritage Museum, 4141 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami 33137

HISTORIC OVERTOWN

Point Comfort: Uncover. Discover.

Point Comfort Art Show 2020 will feature "Dennis Manuel: The Eye of Afropunk". Dennis Manuel is a performance photographer who has captured images of Black performance art for 20 years. Recognized as the go-to photographer of the New York musical performances, he reaches his apex in the genre as the official photographer of the Afropunk Festival. Afropunk is a cultural movement with its origins in the groundbreaking 2013 documentary that resulted in a movement featuring the clash of Punk and Afrofuturism. The documentary by James Spooner, explored the roles of African Americans within what was then an overwhelmingly white punk scene across the United States of America—and taking place as the world shifted with the galvanizing power of the internet. From its humble beginnings Afropunk Festival has become a global movement

December 3 – 6, 2020

12:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Historic Ward Rooming House, 249 NW 9th Street, Historic Overtown 33136

Music powered by Rich Medina

LITTLE HAITI

“Global/Borderless Caribbean XII: Focus Miami”

“Contemporary Visual Expression” and “Local Global” Exhibitions Highlighting Miami-based Artists

2020 marks the 12th anniversary of the Haitian Cultural Arts Alliance’s ongoing exhibition series, Global Caribbean/Borderless Caribbean produced in partnership with the Little Haiti Cultural Complex. This year, The Haitian Cultural Alliance in collaboration with the Little Haiti Cultural Complex will produce a large-scale outdoor exhibition Contemporary Visual Expression, curated by Edouard DuvalCarrié, celebrating Global/Borderless Caribbean’s 12 years of exhibitions. In tandem with the outdoor art exhibition, and as part of the Global/Borderless Caribbean programming, the gallery at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex will present the exhibition Local Global, curated by Marie Vickles. Local Global will focus on the specificity of Miami as a central point of geographic interest and confluence in the Global South. This exhibition will feature a selection of Miamibased artists that represent the multiplicity of histories, nationalities and ethnicities that define the region and connect it to the Caribbean.

December 2, 2020 – February 28, 2021

Little Haiti Cultural Complex - 212 NE 59th Terrace, Miami, FL 33137

MUCE Arts & Cultural Festival

MUCE ARTS & CULTURE FESTIVAL will feature a celebration of the African Diaspora art, culture and heritage, December 3-6, during Miami Art Week. The festival will feature the exhibition Dispersed, an artistic reverence to the lost souls at sea and the strange fruit of poplar trees and an astounding celebration of Black excellence and resilience. Dispersed is a visual gift from the ancestors curated by Bart Mervil at the MUCE Campus.

Curated by Bart Mervil Conceptualized by Ashlee Thomas Featured Visual Artists: Annick Duvivier, Sona, Nate Dee, Claudia Apaid, & Dolly's Florist Featured Performers: Ja'Nia Harden, The Harden Project, CC Glitzer & Randolph Ward and Lucner Bruno

MUCE CAMPUS - 246 NW 54th Street, Miami Exhibit Opening Celebration: December 3, 2020

Gallery Hours: 11am - 2pm: Free 2pm - 5pm:

Closed for lunch 5pm - 9pm:

Ticketed ($10) Site Specific performances: 6:30pm- 7:30pm + 8pm - 9pm

LITTLE HAVANA

Umbrellas of Little Havana Festival The 8th annual Umbrellas of Little Havana Art Festival will exhibit hand painted patio umbrellas which will line Futurama 1637 Art Building along historic Calle 8 in Little Havana. Umbrellas of Little Havana is a true platform for established and emerging artists, musicians, authors and performers. This year we will also enjoy free educational presentations as follows: Havana Collective will host 'The History of the Guayaberas', Salao Restaurant will showcase Cuban music with a violin ensemble and Mofongo Puerto Rican Restaurant will so a presentation on the history of their famous musical genre: Bomba y Plena with live music. A true roots organic festival for the whole family to come and visit!

December 4 – 6, 2020 Along 8th Street, Little Havana 33135

10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Daily

NORTH MIAMI

Life and Spirituality in Haitian Art

“Life and Spirituality in Haitian Art” brings together a selection of paintings from Haiti created between 1940 and 1970. Featuring works by Hector Hyppolite, Philomé Obin, Wilson Bigaud, Jacques-Enguérrand Gourgue, and Gérard Valcin, these renowned masters come from the first and second generation of artists associated with Port-au-Prince's Centre d'Art. The works reveal the artists’ diverse artistic styles influenced by strong African roots mixed with American indigenous and European elements. The merging of techniques, methods, and cultures is seen through their work, ushering forth a style that is uniquely and quintessentially Haitian.

November 18, 2020 – March 14, 2021

Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami (MOCA) - 770 NE 125th St, North Miami, FL 33161

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About the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau

The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) is an accredited, independent not-for-profit sales and marketing organization whose mission is to attract visitors to Greater Miami and the Beaches for leisure, business and conventions. For a vacation guide visit our website at www.MiamiandBeaches.com or call 1-888-76-Miami (US/Canada only) or 305-447-7777. To reach the GMCVB offices dial 305-539-3000. Meeting planners may call 1-800-933-8448 (US/Canada only) or 305- 539-3071 or visit www.MiamiMeetings.com. To get further engaged with Miami and the Beaches, join the conversation by following us on our social media channels at Facebook.com/visitmiami, Twitter.com/miamiandbeaches, Instagram.com/miamiandbeaches and Pinterest.com/miamiandbeaches.