Product 81 Curatorial Lab with IHP

IHP Curatorial Lab (a project of FAU libraries) held a Curatorial discussion at Product 81/Creative Lab on April 7, 2017 [located at 2930 NW 7th Ave, Miami, FL 33127].

IHP Curatorial Lab holds informal gatherings at artist studios, galleries and museums to facilitate dialog relating to contemporary art practices. By gathering a group of professionals from different disciplines; the conversations act as a visual learning lab and facilitator to understanding current art practices; how curators or museum administrators view artists and work; and more importantly how the public interprets what creatives do.

Our discussions are meant to promote cross-sector dialogue about the arts; but also how we as artists and cultural curators can contribute to solving societal problems. Each Roundtable focuses on a specific topic or artist. This meeting focused on the solo show by artis Birds are Nice. The lead topic was environmental art. Other topics included activist art, Didacticism in this genre of art, as well as the commercialisation of art. 

Attendees included:

IHP officers: Diane Arrieta, Dana Donaty , Gianinna Dwin, Sibel Kocabasi

Product 81 Arts program coordinator, Karina Hayes Blakeley, Miami, FL

Elisa Medrano, Relationship mangaer with CIC Miami.

Artists Maria Martinez-Canas, Mary Ellen Scherl and Alessandrl Mondolfi

Art historian Mary Jo Aagerstoun

Below are a few images from the gathering. As you can see the topic stirred some emotion and as always a sense of fun and community.

[The Birds are Nice exhibition was part of the Wayne Ackers Ford #stART program.

THIS MONTH AT THE FORDISTAS GALLERY

This July 9th during Art Walk, Wynwood’s favorite off-Art District gallery space will once again open for an interactive evening of surfboards, art and creative healing.

Fordistas Gallery presents The Pop-Up

A collection of six Miami artists’ visions reflected on surfboard canvases to raise awareness of autism and benefit the Surfers Healing foundation.

The Pop-Up is the iconic surf move that denotes the switch from paddling to surfing stance. It is a pivotal turning point for anyone practicing the sport and encapsulates the subtle adrenaline building at Surfers Healing Camp that leads to the empowering moment children with autism stand up on their board.

Surfers Healing enriches the lives of children living with autism by exposing them to the unique experiences of surfing. It is one of the latest initiatives hosted by Fordistas, a program with roots embedded deeply in South Florida culture, namely the arts. The platform has commissioned and supported resident artists and initiatives that enhance our community.

Six artists will engrave their local talent and perspective on a freshly shaped surfboard by industry legend Matt Kechele. The board is a work of art in and of itself, and this is their canvas. The Pop-Upsurfboards will later join The Bowery Project, the larger New York-based collection of surfboard art works that are part of an annual benefit auction to raise funds for the Surfers Healing Foundation.

Dana Donaty • Reality Check

A collection of contemporary works by an innovative conceptual artist widely recognized for provocative canvases with unusual narratives. Donaty began exhibiting her work as a selected artist for StArt, an art program at Wayne Akers Ford helping local artist showcase their work, enriching Palm Beach culture and benefitting important philanthropic causes, like Autism Speaks.

Donaty’s goal is to create works that go beyond that which is immediately visible, real and imagined. An auto associative memory process frames her approach to figuration and abstraction.

The work explores the relation between memory (individual and collective) and perception, emphasizing the role of memory. Memory as a space where the past and present coexist in the form of images. The images are activated through the artist’s perceptions that the work ignites through process.

Donaty’s examination of past experiences disrupts sequences, allowing for fluidity of time and the transition of one perception to the next without any clear dividing lines. The artist explores memory as content and medium, examines the role of color while traversing how the past persists in the present.

The viewer is presented with grammar arising from a process of complex memory construction, issues of their interpretation of the work and the artist’s dedication to messing with perceptions. For more information on Donaty’s work, visit danadonatyfineart.com 

Join us for an evening of complimentary drinks, bites, live music and original art supporting a project that has uplifted and empowered South Florida culture. RSVP for the free event here.