DORCAM celebrates Miami identity and culture in a new exhibition
The Doral Contemporary Art Museum (DORCAM) opened on Thursday evening, August 8, ‘Magic City: Contemporary Visions of Miami’, an exhibition that explores themes of identity, culture and the challenges of this “global city”.
“I’ve been planning this show for about three and a half months to show Miami from different lenses: its vibrant nightlife, its impressive architecture, the dynamic stories of immigration, the challenges and opportunities of economic mobility, the complexities of gentrification and the pressing concerns of climate change,” Ronald Sánchez, curator of the exhibition, told EFE.
‘Magic City: Contemporary Visions of Miami’ was meticulously selected by Sánchez, a creative entrepreneur and curator known for his dedication to fostering artist development and promoting innovative curatorial concepts, to present a comprehensive understanding of what defines Miami as a global city.
As director and co-founder of Laundromat Art Space, an organization committed to providing affordable studio space and curatorial opportunities for professionals in the Miami area, Sánchez has been instrumental in shaping the local art scene.
The Beauty and Struggle of Human Spirit
“I think Miami is a global city because it is a liminal space between North America and Latin America and the Caribbean and you could even say the Orient and Europe because it is a location where the world just crisscrosses through it,” told EFE Mark Herrera, an artist born in Queens (New York) to Colombian parents and raised in Hialeah (Florida).
Herrera is participating with a massive installation, titled “A Haitian Father and Son”, made from T-shirts, ropes, life jacket and other shipwreck materials, that showcases his ability to weave personal narratives with broader social issues.
His background in craft work and current role as a military enlistee (Coast Guard) make clear his vision of the human spirit’s struggle for harmony within oneself, the community and the planet.
“As a Latino American with a connection to the Coast Guard, there is an internal tension and conflict because my parents are immigrants, and if they managed to stay, I in my work have had to be part of having to safely bring people back to the nation they’re trying to flee,” he said.
“I feel very fortunate with my work, but I also feel a kind of guilt at times. So this art helps me process that,” he added.
Capturing the Essence of Place and Memory
On another wall of the exhibition, artist Stephanie Silver presented a set of miniature paintings that explores into the complexities of place and memory.
Silver’s artistry, which spans painting, sculpture, and assemblage, reflects on how identities are constructed from fragments of pop culture and how they can be eroded by the homogenizing effects of capitalism.
“Upon my return to Miami after seven years in New York, I saw a completely new place where all of this beautiful culturally buildings were been erased,” she said.
“That inspired me to document the impending disappearance of my hometown’s cultural heritage, particularly the replacement of businesses built by individuals with uniform corporate structures,” she said.
“I am documenting memories under threat of lose.”
Confronting Traditional Notions of Identity
For her part, Chantae Elaine Wright’s work confronts traditional notions of identity and representation. Wright’s exploration of disidentification and polymorphism addresses the complexities of being black, female, and Caribbean-American.
“My work is all about diversity. My work revolves around identity, but in the forms of this identification, which is like having multiple faces, multiple emotions, different experiences, and my job is to pick all of that, and I think Miami is the perfect place to do it,” she said.
Along with Herrera, Silver, and Wright, artists Dre Martinez, Pablo Matute, and Julia Zurilla also participated, inviting visitors through their creations to explore the rich tapestry of culture and identity of this City of South Florida.
‘Magic City: Contemporary Visions of Miami’ not only serves as a celebration of Miami’s diversity and resilience, but also as a call to action for meaningful dialogue and reflection.
Climate change and the fear of disappearing
Such is the case of Venezuelan Julia Zurilla, a multidisciplinary artist who through her multimedia project “Vacational Aesthetic of the Environment” presented a work that fuses the nostalgic past with the tangible reality of the present, exploring this convergence from the unique perspective of binocular vision.
“My proposal serves above all as a means to explore the intrinsic connections between our collective memory and the urgency of contemporary environmental challenges,” Zurilla Said.
“I am terrified of the climate, and that is what I work on and I try to go from the beautiful to this thing that takes everything away from you. I am terrified of what ends, of helplessness,” she concluded.
By presenting works that dig into critical issues facing the city today, the exhibition aims to inspire the citizens to consider their roles in shaping Miami’s future and invites them to join the conversation about the city’s past, present and future, said Marcelo Llobell, director of the DORCAM.
Visitors can immerse themselves in the ‘Magic City: Contemporary Visions of Miami’ exhibition at Doral’s CityPlace Plaza untill the end of the first week of November.
Extended version.
*(Original article was published in Spanish by EFE, the world’s largest Spanish-language news agency) (Here, Here and Here)
