Welcome to Whitewaller’s annual Miami edition! While things may feel very different this year, I am honored to return as guest editor for 2021 and share some tips for enjoying the fairs and experiencing my hometown.
YoungArts happenings are always close to my heart. This season, as the organization celebrates its 40th anniversary, I encourage you to stop by the YoungArts Gallery (2100 Biscayne Boulevard) to see “Choreographers’ Scores: 2020” curated by Kristy Edmunds of UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance. This rare collection of dance-on-paper works was created by 26 U.S.-based choreographers and commissioned by UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance in collaboration with Pomegranate Arts and YoungArts. Among the 26 acclaimed choreographers featured in the exhibition are YoungArts award winners Camille A. Brown, Shamel Pitts, and Caleb Teicher, and YoungArts guest artists and mentors such as Kyle Abraham, Ann Carlson, Nora Chipaumire, Rosie Herrera, and Ralph Lemon.
I also encourage you to check out new works by past YoungArts award winners around town. On my list so far are Priscilla Aleman, Naomi Fisher, Mark Fleuridor (whose mural is part of Fringe Projects’s “Public Color” outdoor exhibition at Miami Government Center), Ambrose Murray, Lee Pivnik, and Cornelius Tulloch.
I love the way Miami arts institutions and galleries show up for Miami Art Week and build upon the excitement of the fairs. The Rubell Museum is a perennial favorite, and the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) and El Espacio 23 will both be presenting exhibitions that draw upon works from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection. Be sure to catch the Betye Saar retrospective “Serious Moonlight” and the first U.S. museum exhibition of work by Indigenous Canadian artist Shuvinai Ashoona at ICA Miami, and “Perimeters” by artist Naama Tsabar at The Bass. Nina Johnson Gallery, Primary, Mindy Solomon Gallery, and David Castillo Gallery should be on your list of Miami galleries to see.
For relaxation, I recommend some time spent on the beach and a little shopping and lunch in the Miami Design District, which will offer a variety of public art installations and visit-worthy pop-up exhibitions. Take in as much art as you can get to, support artists by buying their work, enjoy the new friends you’ll meet, and if we cross paths, say hello!
—Sarah Arison
President, Arison Arts Foundation
