Culture Among the Vultures: Art in the Everglades
Tuesday, February 12, 2013, 6:00pm
Books & Books
265 Aragon Ave.
Coral Gables, FL 33134

RSVP: arttuesdaysmiami@gmail.com  
Free Entry

6:00 pm           Networking in the courtyard
6:30 pm           Announcements inside
6:45-8:00 pm    Panel and Q&A

We often associate the Everglades with its abundant natural vistas: The river of grass, mangrove islands and glorious skyscapes. But for 6,000 years people have made culture in the Everglades. Calusa shell architecture, Seminole textile design, Charley Harper’s work for the National Park Service and an Artist in Residence program situating contemporary artists and writers deep in the Everglades for a month at a time. The panel will discuss these (and more) expressions of culture in the Everglades.

About the Panelists:
Miami-based artists who have been inspired by the Everglades, Tori Arpad-Cotta, video artist, and Ana Mendez, dancer and performance artist will be joined by the current Artist in Residence in Everglades Jane Abrams, a painter from New Mexico, as well as Laura Ogden, Associate Professor of Anthropology at FIU and author of SWAMPLIFE: People, Gators and Mangroves Entangled in the Everglades. Christy Gast, artist and Artist in Residence in Everglades board member will moderate the discussion.
 
AIRIE
South Florida is home to the only subtropical wilderness area in the country, Artists in Residence in Everglades (AIRIE) is the only program bringing artists to the Everglades. AIRIE’s purpose is to inform, connect, and support artists, writers and musicians who wish to be inspired by the Everglades and then become ambassadors for the Park and its resources. AIRIE partners with Everglades National Park staff to offer month-long artist residencies in the Park. At least twelve AIRIE Fellows per year live and create new work in the Park, and in return lead interactive activities with visitors and donate artwork to the Park.
 
This panel is presented by ARTtuesdays/Miami
ARTtuesdays/MIAMI is spearheaded by a group of volunteers who donate their time and resources to ensure that meetings are professionally organized and well attended. The program committee is comprised of Elisa Turner, Liana Pérez, Helen Kohen, Carol Damian, Ilana Vardy and Lilia Garcia.

Following the panel, ARTtuesdays guests enjoy a 10% dinner discount in the cafe, graciously donated by Books & Books.