Miami Beach Art & Style

No, I’m not talking about politics here…

Although it seems that the procedure may have taken as long as an American Presidential campaign, the Bass Museum of Art has finally made a choice for a new leader.

It took 14 months and 10 finalists for the museum trustees to make a final selection for an executive director. This is after their former director, Diane Camber, retired back in June 2007. But the search for a new leader is now officially over as they have welcomed their “chosen one,” Silvia Cubiñá.

Cubiñá, a curator of The Moore Space studio in Miami’s Design District, impressed the board with her credentials, qualifications, and her overall knowledge of the art community in Miami.

The museum has become an institution in Miami Beach for the past 50 years, and Cubiñá merely wants to expand the opportunities by making possibilities a reality. She wants to promote the museum’s art collection worldwide, but still looks forward to being involved in local events like Art Basel Miami Beach.

''I would love for the Bass Museum to be a meeting point during Art Basel, where people can come to see art, talk about it and exchange ideas,'' she said.

The museum currently holds a wide collection from Rembrandt and Botticelli to contemporary artists.

The Bass Museum of Art is located at 2121 Park Avenue (between 21st and 22nd Streets), Miami Beach, Florida 33139

A Saturday evening is meant to be spent surrounded by cocktails, food, entertainment, and after-parties. This is exactly the way the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts plans to spend it at their third season opening with its Take Center Stage Gala themed Coming Up Roses.

You may have heard the popular song “Coming Up Roses” which… yes, from the musical Gypsy… fits perfectly and significantly into what the Gala Honorary Chair Adrienne Arsht wants to depict for this important event: a new beginning in hopes of continuing the Center’s commitment to entertaining performances and educational programs. Did I mention the proceeds of the event will benefit the education and outreach programs of the Center? Their programs provide new hope to families and children aspiring to make art part of their lives.

The delightful event will start off with a cocktail reception at 7pm. Gala Honorary Chair Adrienne Arsht along with 20 Conducting Committee Members will host the main event and the gala dinner. The night will introduce a solo performance by the Center’s Resident Artist and recent star of Miami Libre, Jencarlos Canela. The Center is well-known for showcasing the work of the Miami City Ballet, New World Symphony, America’s Orchestral Academy, Florida Grand Opera and Concert Association of Florida. So expect some of that too!

But like any good event in Miami, the party will keep rocking the evening with an after-party hosted by South Florida’s leading VIPs and nightlife impresarios, such as Brian Antoni, Michael Capponi, Ingrid Casares and Hello Castroneves and featuring renowned DJs. A good dinner means nothing without good dessert and that’s what the after-party will offer (literally speaking) once the gala transforms itself into a nightclub with more cocktails… and I wasn’t kidding about the dessert either!

The event will take place on October 11 at the Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House and the after party at the Peacock Foundation, Inc. Studio.

Tickets and sponsorship opportunities for the Adrienne Arsht Center Annual Anniversary Gala are available by calling 786.468.2249 or by emailing gala@arshtcenter.org. Separate after-party tickets are also available. Additional information regarding ticket prices and details can be found by visiting the their site.

Alain Esteva Ramirez

A Design District staple that aided in the area’s rebirth is to close in October. In its nearly eight-year stint as a local and international art destination, the Moore Space has been committed to enriching Miami’s contemporary art scene. Local art collectors Rosa de la Cruz and Craig Robins opened the gallery in 2001 with its first exhibition titled Humid, under curator Dominic Molon of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago as a way to showcase Miami artists. As its location, they chose the historic 1920’s Moore Furniture Company building, from which the Moore Space got its name.
The Moore Space boasts an impressive list of artists, including Yang Fudong, Allard Van Hoorne, Hernan Bas, and performer Patty Chang. From its inception, the Moore Space has concentrated on experimental performances and exhibitions, such as French Kissing in the USA, which opened in December 2007 as a reflection on the emerging contemporary art scene in France. Since Fall 2007, the non-profit gallery has been providing lectures, guided tours, internships and many other educational programs, including a full collaboration with D.A.S.H, the Design and Architecture Senior High School.
The Moore Space also offered an arts residency program in Miami, and has sent Miami artists abroad for cultural exchange. It is easy to say that among Miami artists and art-lovers alike, the Moore Space will surely be missed.

This year marks the 10-year anniversary of the Locust Projects. According to their Mission Statement, “Locust Projects is an alternative, not for profit, Miami-based exhibition space dedicated to providing contemporary visual artists the freedom to experiment with new ideas and methods without the pressures of gallery sales or other limitations of conventional exhibition spaces.” In celebration of ten years, they are presenting an exhibition by Miami filmmaker Clifton Childree.
Clifton Childree was the first winner of the coveted Annual Hilger Artist Project Award. Childree was selected for the award out of 32 applicants to receive a $2,000 cash prize and the opportunity to create a seminal work within the artspace. His work, DREAM-CUM-TRUE, is a recreation on the Locust grounds of an abandoned adult-themed entertainment and amusement park. Childree has spent the past months scouring junkyards and dumpsters after dark, looking for anything he could use to transform the vast warehouse space into “an inner life of freaky self-sufficient automata.”
The Hilger Artist Project Award is intended to support artists who create expansive and responsive work create an infrastructure for work that may not necessarily be commercially viable. Clifton Childree’s exhibit opens with a reception Saturday, September 13 from 7-11 p.m. with Childree giving live performances at 8 and 10 p.m.

Art Basel, Miami’s marquee art event, is already off to a rocky start, despite the actual event being five months away. Construction improvements to Collins Park and an adjoining parking lot have residents complaining that the work will not be finished before the beginning of the popular art fair in December. At a City Hall meeting, residents protested to the construction improvements citing fears that the repaving and landscaping to the parking lot on the east side of Collins Avenue between 21st and 22nd streets will present visitors to Art Basel with an unsightly view, as well as create more parking congestion and traffic due to fewer spots. In addition to the repaving and landscaping done to the east side of Collins Park, workers will add new landscaping, benches, walkways, sidewalks and lighting to the west side of the park. Workers will also create a promenade from the Bass Museum to Miami Beach Drive, as well as an interactive public art installation designed by New York artist Brian Toll titled “The Maze”.
Despite the positive additions the new amenities will provide, residents and local business owners in the area are worried about the potential revenue and tourism losses that could incur if the construction is not completed in time. Keith Mizell, the city's project manager for the Collins Park renovations, assured everyone that the east side renovations would be finished before Art Basel and additional parking spaces would be created to compensate for potential traffic issues. Additionally, Mizell reminded residents that access to the beach on 21st Street and both lanes of Collins Avenue would stay open throughout the project. Despite these hopeful promises, residents are wary that the contractor’s words are nothing more than pipe dreams. Bobby Goodman, a spokesman for Art Basel Miami Beach, plans to voice his complaints to the top officials of city government in hopes that more concrete progress can be made.