Exhibition Programs

The Center has a twenty year history of organizing and presenting museum quality exhibition programs of visual art and new media in South Florida. Exhibitions are presented at its permanent location as well as at other public locations in collaboration with governmental, educational and non-profit organizations. The Center’s exhibitions focus on visual art and new media, presenting high quality works by nationally recognized artists balanced with presentations of works by accomplished local and regional artists. Works presented include those in the traditional media of painting, printmaking and photography as well work incorporating new technologies and electronic media. To accommodate its expanding programs the Center relocated to a newly renovated 10,000 square foot space in Miami’s Wynwood Arts District in 2007. Exhibitions at its new location have included comprehensive retrospectives of works by Clyde Butcher, renowned master of the Florida Landscape; Clarence Laughlin, father of American surrealism; Robert Rauschenberg, one of the most important artists and innovators of the 20th century, and the Fiftieth Anniversary exhibition of legendary New York printmaking studio ULAE. The Rauschenberg show is currently on tour at museums in South America. The Center’s programs are reviewed by Miami’s major publications including The Miami Herald and Miami New Times as well regional magazines, often with full page articles.

The Center developed and produced the Annual Marjory Stoneman Douglas Invitational Art Exhibition showcasing Florida landscape artists and artwork by Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County Public School students. The Center’s success in achieving wide-ranging community support and media attention allowed the program to grow into a regional event which was handed over to the South Florida Water Management District after having been produced by the Center for five years. The program and its exhibition component celebrate Florida’s environmental legacy, and legendary author and environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas. The event has been attended by U. S. Senators and Representatives as well Florida’s Governors and County and City commissioners. Sponsors have included AT&T, Bacardi, Batchelor Foundation, Goldman Sachs & Co., Haff-Daugherty, Applica, WPBT Channel 2 and WSVN Channel 7.

Educational and Governmental Programs

The Center has produced programs for Miami Dade Art in Public Places, Miami Dade DERM, Miami Dade Transit Authority and for Biscayne National Park. Posters for these programs along with educational materials have been distributed through the National Parks System, to DCPS middle school science teachers for use in environmental education programs, and have been displayed on the Metrorail and Metrobus Systems. Artist designed banners twenty five feet long with images, text and phone numbers were displayed on the outside of the fleet of Metro Dade’s buses during National Domestic Violence Awareness month to encourage women in need to get help. The Center provides walk through tours of its exhibitions for students of the Dade County Public Schools and area colleges. Artists exhibited often make presentations to Dade County art students about their work as well as on technique. Special classes on incorporating digital tools and technology in traditional photographic media were presented by Clyde Butcher. During the most recent Art Basel the Center hosted a series of panel discussions by international experts in conjunction with Art and Antiques magazine.

Multimedia and Performance Program

The Center has established a multimedia, electronic imaging and performance program at its new location as a resource for visual and performing artists. The program supports the use of electronic and computer technology for the creation of visual art, performance and new media. During 2009 the Center helped launch the new performance group Seanik Arts and presented their first programs to the public. The Center hosts special programs to members of Miami’s major museums: Miami Art Museum (MAM), the Bass Museum and Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA). The Center’s multimedia studio encourages the use of new media for public service, and produced visual imagery and informational text for the “Neighborhood Help Centers” project (NHC). The Center produced and managed this multi location program which used new technology to bring real-time information and services to the residents of South Miami-Dade impacted by Hurricane Andrew as they recovered from the storm. NHC was supported by FEMA, Miami Dade County, IBM and Intel. NHC was adopted by the Miami Dade Clerk’s office as its current model to provide online services to the public.