Museum Of Graffiti Celebrates Its One Year Anniversary By Presenting Two Simultaneous Shows And A Week Full Of Activations
November 30 – December 6 | 2020
November 30: Opening of Museum of Graffiti’s Denim Bar inside Curio at Faena Bazaar, 3400 Collins Ave, Miami, FL 33140
December 1: Opening of Ahol Sniffs Glue’s Biscayne World featuring new work by Miami icon Ahol Sniffs Glue (David Anasagasti) at the Museum of Graffiti, 299 NW 25th St, Miami, FL 33127
December 2: The grand re-opening of Gustavo Oviedo: Symbiosis at the Shelborne Hotel, 1801 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139
December 3: Pool-side painting with graffiti artist 1DER, with a focus on themes of racial equality and justice, at the Kimpton Surfcomber Hotel, 1717 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139
December 4: Opening of Eye Candy featuring new work by New York City graffiti pioneer, LA2 (Angel Ortiz) at the Museum of Graffiti, 299 NW 25th St, Miami, FL 33127
December 5: Outdoor screening of Why the Spray documentary at the Museum of Graffiti, 299 NW 25th St, Miami, FL 33127

With the cancellation of Art Basel, Miami’s annual art fete, Wynwood’s Museum of Graffiti, is proud to announce a list of special events and highlights during Miami Art Week 2020. As Wynwood’s only museum, the Museum is committed to keeping Miami’s arts and culture alive for locals and domestic travelers who have spent much of 2020 sheltered in place. In celebration of Miami Art Week, which coincides with the Museum’s one-year anniversary, the Museum is breaking its own precedents by presenting two simultaneous solo shows within the Museum’s gallery space. In addition, the Museum will make several updates to its permanent Style Masters exhibition, including a comprehensive section that highlights the impact of female graffiti artists on the movement—made possible by Eat Me Guilt Free, a female-founded and operated business.

Monday, November 30 | 6PM
This year’s events will kick off on Monday, November 30 with the opening of the Museum of Graffiti’s Denim Bar inside Curio at Faena Bazaar (3400 Collins Avenue). The show will display original artwork on denim jackets from emerging young talent and world-renowned contemporary graffiti artists, all with ties specifically to South Florida. Guests will be able to purchase denim jackets with one-of-a-kind art, pins, and patches. The Museum of Graffiti Denim Bar at Faena Bazaar will feature the artists most active on the streets of Miami like Atomik, Abstrk, and Ze Florist. Open daily from 11am – 6pm from November 30 – December 30.

Opening Party: Join us for a toast as we celebrate the opening of the Museum of Graffiti Denim Bar at Curio at Faena Bazaar at 6PM. Artist Cyst1 will be on site doing further customization consultations with guests who purchase a jacket or bring their own.

Tuesday, December 1 | 2020
Museum of Graffiti (299 NW 25TH Street) will celebrate the opening of Biscayne World, an exhibition by Miami icon Ahol Sniffs Glue (David Anasagasti), known for his sleepy eyes that he has painted all over the streets of Miami for several decades. The new work is a love letter to Miami and its cast of characters, culled from three years of riding the bus up and down Biscayne Boulevard.
“From rich people to poor people and all the characters in between, Biscayne Boulevard is a petri dish with the perfect cross section of this awesome city. In the same Biscayne that’s typically underappreciated and taken for granted, I saw as a reservoir of untapped shit that served as unlimited inspiration. I listened to the conversations, the coughs, the cries, the many languages of the bus. I breathed in every smell possible, and I took the happiness along with sadness. We were all trying to get somewhere. That’s Biscayne World.” – Ahol Sniffs Glue
Ahol Sniffs Glue’s tenacity, talent, and hard work allowed his personal genre of art to transcend the streets into galleries and mansions where there is now a constant celebration and discussion of his artistry and craft. “The Museum of Graffiti was built to celebrate stories of people like David Anasagasti, one of Miami’s most recognizable public artists whose roots are entirely punk and street and whose pseudonym, Ahol Sniffs Glue, yells out anti-conformity,” said Alan Ket, co-Founder of the Museum of Graffiti.
In his show Biscayne World, and new book titled same, we get to understand Ahol Sniffs Glue. The book presents a close-up into his work ethic, his illustrations, his desire to share the drawings that make up his Miami. In his work we obviously see an artist taking risks, but if you look closely you also see a love for people and for humanity – scabs, bullet holes, dirty clothes and all. “His choice of subjects and illustration style are outrageous but so is Miami and its people,” said Allison Freidin, co-Founder of the Museum of Graffiti.
Published to coincide with the exhibition, the new limited edition book, Biscayne World: The Art of Ahol Sniffs Glue will be for sale exclusively in the Museum gift shop for $50, with only 100 copies made.
Biscayne Brunch: The “First Look” of the new show begins at 10AM by VIP invitation only, and open to the public beginning at 11am with timed ticketing strictly enforced. Tickets available at museumofgraffiti.com
Book Release + Signing: The artist will host a celebration and book signing at the Museum from 5pm to 8pm December 1, with timed ticketing strictly enforced. Tickets available at: www.museumofgraffiti.com/events

Wednesday, December 2 | 2020 @ 6PM
Due to the overwhelming excitement over the Museum’s most recent exhibition, Gustavo Oviedo: Symbiosis, the show will travel from the Museum to the Shelborne Hotel (1801 Collins Avenue). Join us for light bites and complimentary drinks from 6 – 8 PM to view the exhibit in a completely new space as it is reassembled in the maritime themed hotel. The artist will be on site, outdoors in the Oasis Garden, signing his book and premiering his brand new documentary film featuring his marine explorations and explaining the role of the Biscayne Bay in inspiring his graffiti style artwork. The screening will be followed by an Art Talk and Q&A with the artist. Gustavo Oviedo’s “Symbiosis” includes large paintings of loose sea-like forms, mixed-media collages, and visual representations of otherworldliness devoid of human language or graffiti letters, all starting at $1,000. The event is free with registration at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/opening-night-gustavo-oviedos-symbiosis-on-exhibition-at-shelborne-sobe-tickets-128909095575

Thursday, December 3 | 11:30AM – 6PM
In partnership with the Kimpton Surfcomber Hotel, The Museum of Graffiti presents Live Outdoor, Poolside Painting by Artist 1DER. Sit back and watch as Miami-basedgraffiti artist 1DER live paints a large-scale work featuring themes of equality and justice from 11:30AM – 4PM. Join us for light bites and complimentary wine during a special Social Hour (a signature Kimpton daily tradition) from 5 – 6PM. Social Hour will be open to the public for this special occasion only. A Moderated Art Talk with the artist will take place simultaneously from 5PM – 6PM, where guests will be able to learn more about 1DER, the Miami-based African American artist and illustrator of Bajan and Bahamian decent. 1DER’s time spent studying color theory at Florida International University shines through each of his vibrant works on canvas. With spray paint as his medium of choice, he has produced works for large organizations and institutions such as the Museum of Graffiti, Artists 4 Israel, and University of the West Indies. The event is free of charge for registered guests; to register please visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/kimpton-surfcomber-x-museum-of-graffiti-present-1der-tickets-128935374175.

Friday, December 4 | 2020
The Museum of Graffiti turns one year old and reveals new works by Angel Ortiz, known by the tag LA II or LA2—a New York City veteran of graffiti art, best known for providing the lettering style and embellishments used in Keith Haring’s paintings in the 1980s.
LA2 came of age in the 1980s when tags adorned the trains, busses and walls of the City and like many kids of that era, he joined the movement and adopted a pseudonym: LA2. By the age of 14, his name permeated the walls of lower Manhattan garnering street fame that led to a chance encounter with another downtown artist, Keith Haring who was 9 years his senior. The two artists became fast friends and began spending their days painting in Haring’s studio and their nights partying at the downtown clubs. As an impressionable teenager, their friendship changed the artist’s life forever as he became introduced to Haring’s impressive art world and its stars: Warhol, Kostabi, and Basquiat. In exchange, LA2 and his TNS crew gave Haring the street cred he needed to navigate the streets with ease to create public art, even on subways, a surface typically reserved for the most daring graffiti writers.
Together, LA2 and Haring created hundreds of paintings and traveled the world exhibiting their art. While Haring drew cartoon characters like dogs, babies and other figures, LA2 would add in his style – tags, squiggles and bold lines that gave their collaborations extra energy, movement, and a street aesthetic. Tragically, Haring passed away in 1991, devastating LA2 and forcing him to find his own artistic path.
For the past three decades LA2 has applied spray paint and ink to canvas, clothing, and various found objects in his unwavering journey to push his personal graffiti pop style. Fluorescent colors rooted in his Puerto Rican heritage, bold lines and tags learned in the streets, and the cartoons as a tribute to his friend Keith, make each painting a sweet piece of candy for your eyes. The energy of the old dance clubs, of the Avenues filled with cars blaring music, and the children who grew up on this street art culture are channeled onto each canvas that explodes with positive energy and life – a life of art, color and celebration. This is LA2, this is real graffiti art.
Along with several joint exhibitions of his work and Haring’s, LA2’s own mix of contemporary symbols with graffiti lettering has been shown in galleries and museums across the United States, but the Museum of Graffiti will host the artist’s first ever solo exhibition in South Florida.
In celebration of its anniversary and LA2’s Eye Candy, the Museum of Graffiti will host a sketchbook swap, outdoor drawing party for collectors, artists, and VIPs, by invitation only.

Saturday, December 5 | 6PM
The Museum of Graffiti presents movie night under the stars featuring the private world premiere of “Why the Spray,” a full-length documentary that tells the stories of five Miami graffiti artist and why they chose this artform. Tickets to see the new film, already named Best Feature Documentary at the American Golden Picture International Film Festival, will be made available via the Events section of the Museum of Graffiti’s website for $25 each. The film will begin promptly at 6PM, with the cast of artists, writers, and directors in house to answer questions following the viewing. Popcorn provided! To view the trailer, visit: whythespray.com. Tickets available at museumofgraffiti.com/events

Handmade Pasta Twist Workshop
Saturday, 02/23/2019, 07:30 pm – 09:30 pm
2/2Taste Buds Kitchen
14740 SW 26 Street
Miami, Florida 33185
Website
Entry Fee: $60

Pasta, Pasta, Pasta! Do you know how to make fresh pasta by hand? Join us as we create our signature Pasta Dough and an oh-so-cool twist on the original. Learn the tips and tricks to becoming a pasta aficionado as we master kneading, rolling and shaping pasta like the pros into fresh Spaghetti and hand-rolled Garganelli. And no pasta is complete without the sauce, so we’re whipping up a zesty nut-free Pesto and Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo duo to dazzle our pasta creations. Bring your friends and your favorite wine for an evening of fun-filled pasta! BYOB. $60 per person.
**Registration required, space is limited. For more information, contact us at 305 903 2023.

Second Annual Earth Day and Holistic Lifestyle Festival
April 15, 2017- from 11:00AM- 3:00 PM
Griffing Park/ Griffing Center
12220 Griffing Blvd.
North Miami, FL 33161
Free Admission and Free Parking

Environmental Education, Environmental Music, Children’s Activities
Art, Craft, Vegan and Vegetarian Food, Sustainable Services, Environmental Agencies, Holistic Products, Demonstrations, Plants and Free Raffle

Entertainment Featuring: Lanny Smith –The Earthman, Drumming Circle,
Grant Livingston-on Guitar, Daniela Toro, Maryann Payne (MAP Dance)
and other special guests
For further information please call: (305)-416-6868, sustainavillage@aol.com

Victims will walk through three bloodcurdling haunted attractions, Asylum of the Dead, Nightmares-The Awakening and The Catacombs-Ancient Evil Unleashed!
Enter all three if you dare!

Xtreme Action Park presents “Xtreme Scare Park,” THREE haunted theme park attractions that will take place Thursday-Sunday and one Monday from Oct. 13, 2016 – Oct. 31, 2016 from 7:30 pm till Midnight.

Xtreme Scare Parks attractions are designed by experienced scare master, Brandon Von Kittendorf, the creator of Festival of Souls (Demon Mansion), voted Florida’s Scariest Haunted House by Hauntworld.com & Terror in the Jungle at Jungle Island. This Halloweens XTREME production will feature THREE gut-wrenching haunted attractions totaling over 20,000 SQFT of FEAR.
Attractions include: Asylum of the Damned – Deranged and Psychotic patients have taken over the Asylum and no one knows what happened to the staff. Nightmares – The Awakening – What if your nightmares awakened and became real life. Could you survive your worst nightmares? Catacombs – Ancient Evil Unleashed – Our ancestors buried Evil secrets, but someone dug up an Ancient artifact unleashing its wrath!
Xtreme Scare Park@ Xtreme Action Park
5300 Powerline Road
Ft. Lauderdale FL 33309
www.XtremeScarePark.com & www.XtremeActionPark.com

PRESS RELEASE
Knight Foundation names 68 finalists in Knight Arts Challenge Miami

MIAMI – Sept. 13, 2016 – Sixty-eight ideas were named finalists today in the Knight Arts Challenge Miami, a community-wide initiative funding the best ideas for the arts in South Florida.

Emerging from nearly 1,000 submissions, the finalists propose a range of projects to help make art general in Miami, a place where high-quality arts and cultural experiences can be found throughout the many neighborhoods. They include creating the country’s only contemporary art gallery in a national park, blending art and technology to engage transit riders, embedding artists in city planning departments and launching a Native-American film festival.

“The Miami of today is radically different from the Miami of 2008 when we first launched this challenge. Artists and cultural organizations have pushed this community to seek high levels of excellence, while continuing to experiment with new ideas. Our belief in this city, and our investment in its people, is born out every day in the performance halls, galleries and streets of Miami, and again by the 68 finalists in this year’s challenge,” said Victoria Rogers, vice president for arts at Knight Foundation.

A full list of finalists is below and at knightarts.org.  Knight Foundation will announce the winning ideas, which will share $2.5 million, on Nov. 28, 2016.

This is the ninth year of the Knight Arts Challenge Miami, which offers matching funds for the best ideas for the arts. Applicants must follow only three rules: 1) The idea must be about the arts; 2) the project must take place in or benefit South Florida; 3) the grant recipient must find funds to match Knight’s commitment.

Since 2005, Knight Foundation has invested $122 million in the South Florida arts, supporting both large institutions, to help them better engage the public, and smaller, grassroots groups through the challenge. Previous Knight funding for local institutions created a new media program that includes the signature “Wallcasts” at the acclaimed New World Symphony campus, helps present Ibero-American films at the Miami International Film Festival, and is bringing every Miami-Dade third-grader to the Pérez Art Museum Miami. 

For more on Knight Foundation’s arts program, visit knightarts.org or follow Knight Foundation on Facebook, or #knightarts and @knightfdn on Twitter and Instagram.

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit knightfoundation.org.

2016 Knight Arts Challenge Miami Finalists

III Points Festival
To provide a platform for local artists by commissioning them to create large-scale installations on the festival grounds with the prospect of moving them to other locations throughout the year

Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
To introduce South Florida’s hip-hop culture to an international audience by bringing the Breakin’ Convention, a festival of dance and theater, to Miami

Ali Cultural Arts
To expand the presence of women in the audio engineering industry with a training program for young women and girls in a historic Pompano Beach building that once boarded African-American jazz musicians

Alma Dance Theater
To use contemporary dance to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s disease and dementia and to engage people afflicted by them

Amir Baradaran
To rethink how people produce knowledge and share memories with a large-scale, participatory art project that uses augmented reality and artificial intelligence

Angel Fraser-Logan Dance Company
To inspire a love of dance by bringing Miami native and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Jamar Roberts to South Florida to mentor and teach students, and to choreograph and perform new work

ArtCenter/South Florida
To bring art into public planning by embedding artists in city governments as part of a residency program that helps to develop solutions to policy concerns

Artists Within Reach Collective
To foster the next generation of artists by having well-known artists offer professional guidance to young creatives by addressing the question, “If you could go back in time, what advice would you give your younger self?”

Artists in Residence in Everglades (AIRE)
To tell the story of the cultural and ecological forces that shape South Florida by opening a permanent gallery at Everglades National Park’s Ernest Coe Visitor Center, the only space in the country devoted to contemporary art within a national park

The Barnyard
To bring Coconut Grove together with an art and culinary event inspired by Judy Chicago’s famous 1979 art installation, “The Dinner Party”

Bas Fisher Invitational
To experiment with new models for presenting art through Nomadic Miami, a series of roving exhibitions, performances and programs in specific locations determined by cutting-edge artists

Nerissa Street
To train South Florida’s teen girls to become leaders in film and media by immersing them in the production of a short film from script to screening in four weeks

Alexey Taran
To explore the dark side of desire, disorders and inner struggles through an experimental theater performance incorporating artists from both sides of the Florida Straits

Boca Raton Museum of Art
To commemorate the 70th anniversary of Everglades National Park by commissioning glass artist Koen Vanmechelen to meet with residents and scientists in South Florida and create an exhibition based on the environmental issues facing the region

The Bridge
To provide artistic support for musicians by building out an event space and recording room with free production and streaming services

CANVAS Art Charities
To infuse a neighborhood with art with the CANVAS Outdoor Museum, which connects five underused blocks along the West Palm Beach waterfront with installations, including one powered by solar panels that will light the area for nighttime use

Carl Juste
To explore the many layers and similarities between Cuban and Haitian cultures through
a book of photographs and essays, and an accompanying exhibition

CINTAS Foundation
To celebrate Cuban writers through new fellowships in creative writing for Cubans living on the island and in exile

City Theatre
To create a new format for musical theater with the 10-Minute Musical Initiative, a platform for short pieces by the producers of the Summer Shorts series

KROMA
To engage the community in restoring the art installations in Coconut Grove’s Elizabeth Virrick Park to reflect the original vision of architect Kenneth Treister

Combat Hippies
To encourage public conversations about the trauma of war by touring a new spoken word performance based on the stories of local veterans and refugees from the Middle East

Community Justice Project
To engage new audiences in the literary arts by bringing workshops led by poet Aja Monet to grassroots leaders involved in social justice issues

Dana De Greff
To foster a love of words at an early age with PageSlayers, a weeklong summer camp for Opa-locka fourth- and fifth-graders that exposes them to writing beyond the standard school curriculum

Dance NOW! Miami
To engage South Florida audiences with the restaging of “Ritmo Jondo,” a pioneering work of modern dance created in 1953 and set to the music of Catalan composer Carlos Surinach

Dania Beach Creative Arts Council
To enliven neighborhoods and provide employment for artists by creating murals across the city

Design and Architecture High School
To develop the skills of young animators by offering student workshops with local professionals on scriptwriting, storyboarding and more, in addition to screening student films

Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator
To connect Caribbean communities and artists by commissioning 20 artists to spend time in South Florida neighborhoods, conduct community-focused research and create public artworks that respond to people’s stories and histories

Everett Osceola
To highlight the words and works of indigenous peoples by launching the first southeastern Native American film festival

April JAMM Festival
To celebrate jazz by expanding the April jazz festival at a local club to venues around Miami and including master classes and school lectures

Florida International University
To honor Miami’s Cuban heritage by creating cultural exchanges between Havana and Miami guitar orchestras at the Miami International GuitART Festival

Florida International University
To celebrate contemporary approaches to art and design by bringing experts in Germany’s Bauhaus movement and Leonardo da Vinci’s art to present exhibits, lectures and courses in 2019

Fringe Projects
To stretch the bounds of public art by partnering with R&R Studios on BEAUTY FOR ALL!!!, an LED-activated mural in downtown Miami that counteracts the ever-present messages of consumption on signs in the city

Guitars Over Guns
To use art to oppose violence by collaborating with police to melt bullet casings and guns and recast them into musical instruments that will lead a peace rally involving local musicians and artists of all ages and backgrounds

Historic Hampton House Community Trust
To build on the legacy of the Historic Hampton House, the segregation-era motel in Brownsville once home to a popular jazz club, with a music education program for local youth

HistoryMiami
To connect South Floridians to the impact and emotion of 1992’s Hurricane Andrew with a large-scale exhibition on the 25th anniversary of the hurricane’s landfall

Hotbox Art
To create a catalyst for transforming a West Palm Beach historic district by turning the shotgun homes there into spaces for artist residencies and community engagement

IFE-ILE
To link Afro-Cuban culture in Miami and Havana by providing dancers and instructors from the island to participate in a cultural exchange project as part of the group’s annual summer dance festival

Interactive Initiative
To engage neighborhoods in art by transforming building facades with large-scale projections of interactive video and animations by local artists

Juggerknot Theatre Company
To explore Miami’s many layers by presenting immersive, real-time theater experiences in three motel rooms that tell the stories of three of Miami’s emerging neighborhoods

Karen Peterson Dancers
To promote Miami as a leader in inclusive arts by launching the first International Physically Integrated Dance Festival featuring dancers with and without disabilities performing together

Key West Literary Seminar
To instill pride in Florida’s place in American literature by providing a free, five-day summer program for Key West High School students on the literary and cultural history of the island

Sosyete Koukouy
To immerse more South Floridians in Haitian culture by recreating a Haitian village on the streets of Miami where visitors can experience the country’s culture

Locust Projects
To provide artists with the tools they need to do their work by creating a lending library of items such as power tools, a 3-D printer, video production equipment and more

Michael Graves Education Inc.
To heighten public awareness about the importance of the Everglades to Miami’s future with life-size sculptures of endangered animals made through origami

Miami Beach Cinematheque
To bring a rare collection to the community by digitizing and displaying the cinematheque’s archive of film memorabilia and ephemera.

Miami Classical Guitar Society
To elevate Miami’s classical guitar culture through concerts by internationally renowned guitarists, an international competition, educational master classes and live stream of the society’s annual festival

Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs
To engage the community in the Dance Theatre of Harlem’s first local performance in a decade, with activities surrounding the event at the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center

Miami Hispanic Ballet Corp.
To bring a world-class dance experience to Miami’s multicultural audiences through
the International Ballet Festival of Miami, which presents more than 20 companies from around the world in addition to workshops and classes

Miami Light Project
To explore the art of cabaret by bringing the Philadelphia-based Bearded Ladies Cabaret to Miami for workshops that culminate in a performance with local and Philly-based performers

Miami Music Club
To create a space for underground musicians and artists to come together by producing a series of concerts at traditional art spaces

Miami Music Institute
To explore race relations in American history by presenting two operas at the Miami Music Festival, “Appomattox” by Philip Glass and “Let Freedom Sing” by Bruce Adolphe, coupled with community programming

Miami New Drama
To find common ground for diverse audiences by creating bilingual adaptions of classic plays including “Our Town,” “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “Miss Julie” at the Colony Theatre

Nathaniel Sandler
To introduce more people to the collections of museums through essays, tours and events focused on the many interesting items the institutions have but aren’t able to display year round

ProjectArt
To immerse neighborhoods in the arts by placing emerging artists in five libraries where they will have studio space in exchange for teaching arts classes in low-income communities

Children’s Hope Chest of Dreams
To bring the best in African-diaspora cinema to Overtown through a new film series at the Lyric Theater and nearby Gibson Park

Ramiro Almeida
To provoke conversations about downtown Miami today, and what it could be in the future, by building a replica of the area using Legos and having artists exhibit their work throughout it

Reading Queer
To bring more queer voices to South Florida by expanding the annual Reading Queer Literary Festival with a series of main stage performances, writers’ workshops and literary installations

Storefront for Art and Architecture
To demonstrate how South Florida can adapt and flourish in times of rising sea levels by having artists and designers propose solutions at an ideas festival

Rhythm Foundation
To create a cultural dialogue with communities hit by terrorism and war through “Axis of Love,” a concert series featuring instrumental music from conflict zones

RudduR Dance
To inspire the next generation of dancers with a mentorship program that culminates with a site-specific show at a historic landmark

Susan Karie Braun
To connect Miamians through immersive storytelling with “Metronovelas,” a weekly short-film series that “premieres” on Miami-Dade Public Transit when riders cue it using an augmented reality app

Symone Titania
To tell the stories of the barbecue vendors of South Dade’s Goulds neighborhood with a photo documentary project and community celebration

Tarell Alvin McCraney
To create the 305/One Festival, which celebrates the unique storytelling and solo performers coming out of Miami with a series of performances, film screenings and cultural activities

The M Ensemble
To promote a new home for theater in Liberty City, Sandrell Rivers Theater, where M Ensemble will be a resident company, with a yearlong engagement initiative

Torrance Carter
To foster the love and knowledge of film among students by bringing AdHoc Cinema, a traveling film and music series, to local schools

The Screening Room
To expand multimedia artistic programming in Miami through new installations at Wynwood’s The Screening Room

Wifredo Fernandez
To develop a space for creatives in the Overtown/Miami River District that provides lodging, a café, and creative work and commercial space space for artists and entrepreneurs

YoungArts
To showcase artistic talent by expanding the free, outdoor Outside the Box series featuring new and reimagined multidisciplinary mash-ups created by talented YoungArts alumni at the organization’s iconic space

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit knightfoundation.org/.

Inspired by the tragedy of what happened to Sandra Bland and so many others, Zack Bush, co-owner of the wonderful Ball & Chain in Little Havana, has penned a new song called “Fresh New Start” encouraging an end to bigotry and hatred.

Listen and share. Let us spread the word of acceptance and love.

PRESS RELEASE
Date: April 29, 2015

Casa De Montecristo by Prime Cigar & Whiskey Bar Announces Opening and Charity Program

Casa De Montecristo by Prime Cigar & Whiskey Bar, is about to open in one of Miami’s most dynamic neighborhoods, where commerce and nightlife combine seamlessly. The 4,700 square foot location at the new Millicento tower, 1106 S Miami Ave Suite 202, is soon going to show the public what “sophisticated relaxation” really means. The term coined by owner-operators Jason Reznik and Ryan Leeds is actually a culture they developed at the first Boca Raton location. Very soon, Miami cigar enthusiasts, and active movers and shakers, will experience the Prime- lifestyle.

Prime Cigar’s first location set them apart as the premier cigar bar in South Florida. This second location will be in partnership with Altadis USA, one of the world’s top premium cigar manufacturers. In just two weeks, this one of kind cigar and whiskey lounge will officially open its doors to local VIPS, city officials, and special celebrity guests.

Knowing they were setting up shop in Miami’s business district, at Brickell’s newly built 1100 Millecento residential tower; Reznik and Leeds have upped the ante. Upon entering the very chic bar and lounge, to their walk-in humidor, lounge, private board room, private members lounge, custom furniture and elegant design elements, this location will speak to the individual wanting much, much more.

Prime Cigar is commitment to providing only the best for true cigar aficionados and power players, via a multitude of elements including: rare whiskeys, craft cocktails, premium and vintage cigars. Not stopping there, Ryan Leeds and Jason Reznik have committed to the community they are now in. The duo is proud to announce their community partnership program which will launch with their multi-day grand opening this May.

Commencing with the grand opening, Casa De Montecristo by Prime Cigar & Whiskey Bar and Lifestyle Lounge will partner up with, and support twelve local charitable organizations as a way to give back to the South Florida community that has helped them since they began the Prime Cigar brand. They carefully selected organizations that need support, local awareness and strong local partners.

Some of the amazing foundations include: Neat Stuff for Kids, Easter Seals of South Florida, United Way, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Boys and Girls Club of Miami-Dade, Zoological Foundation, Miami Children’s Health Foundation, Children’s Home Society, Kiwanis Club of Little Havana, Latin Builder’s Association’s LBA Children and Families Foundation, St. Jude and Ronald McDonald House Charities’ of South Florida. The community partnership program will consist of awareness, driven directly via the marketing, promotional and publicity efforts by Casa De Montecristo by Prime Cigar & Whiskey Bar, and its partners. This will include and not limited to fundraisers at the venue and product donations. They hope to inspire other neighboring locations, to embrace this program and launch similar efforts.

Ryan Leeds stated: “We are coming into a new [community], we want to support the needs of local organizations. We understand we must do our part in supporting those around us as well. Our hope is to create amazing relationships that will make a difference.”
For more information on Casa De Montecristo by Prime Cigar & Whiskey Bar, please contact Creativas Group at: info@creativasgroup.com. Photographs and interviews are available by request. Follow on social via @ Casa De Montecristo by Prime Cigar & Whiskey Bar.
ABOUT PRIME CIGAR & WINE BARFounded in 2010, Prime Cigar & Wine Bar is a cigar bar and lounge featuring premium cigars, top-shelf spirits, and fine wines. Prime Cigar delivers a “sophisticated relaxation” experience to all its guests and boasts a state-of-the-art air control system, ensuring a comfortable smoke-friendly environment.

About Altadis U.S.A.
Founded in 1918, Altadis U.S.A. is one of the largest cigar manufacturers in the world, and is responsible for many noteworthy and celebrated premium cigar brands including Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, H. Upmann, Trinidad, and VegaFina among others.. Altadis U.S.A operates premium cigar production facilities in the Dominican Republic and Honduras with production affiliations in Mexico and Nicaragua. For more information about Altadis U.S.A., please visit their website at www.altadisusa.com

In their passion of connecting fans with their favorite artists AT&T Latino hosted a night with Becky G, including meet & greet, and an intimate aquatic performance, at the exclusive Versace Mansion in South Beach. The night culminated with Wisin‘s live performance at Bâoli Miami.

We all have big dreams and seemingly insignificant pero important dreams. One of the latter for us was to one day find a dress like the pink velour one Hallie wore in “My Date with the President’s Daughter”—the one dramatically revealed at minute 7 of this YouTube clip from the movie. After years of passively searching, we finally found it (albeit a more hipster tunic version but perfect nonetheless)! The long-awaited dress was waiting for us inside of the Hyden Yoo Boutique on Abbot Kinney where we came across it last Saturday while shopping with our friend Sarah. Finding this dress was one small part of a five day-long marathon of amazing juju that carried us through our recent Los Angeles trip (of which you will hear more about on ThankYouMiami.com next week) because it turns out it is impossible to find Hyden Yoo’s women collection anywhere on the internets.

Because this outfit was a miracle a long time in the making, we naturally bumped all other OOTDs planned for Sunday Brunch to make room for this fabulous dress. So, on Sunday, armed with our new dress, our favorite sunnies, and our favorite ASKA Collection booties (you may remember them from our last #ThankYouMiami for Fashion post because we love them so much we wear them everyday) we headed to The Rockefeller in Manhattan Beach with our sister Lucy and her friends. The tunic cut was perfect for brunching—ergo, extremely applicable to Miami life—because it allowed our bellies to expand for unlimited mimosas, a massive plate of chilaquiles, zucchini fries, and donut holes and still looked flattering. And, afterward when we went on a post-brunch buzz drive down the California coast blasting Mariah Carey’s “Emotions” with the windows down, it turned out to be the prettiest, most comfortable outfit for that too. #winning.

Dress – Standard Issue NYC by Hyden Yoo
Booties - ASKA Collection Trooper Booties in B&W Snake
Sunnies - Razön (similar)

PRESS RELEASE

Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau Brings Back The Art of Black Miami African Diaspora Arts, Culture and Diversity Celebrated

Following a successful launch last year, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) brings back Art of Black Miami, a platform that shines a spotlight on local, national and international art and artists representing the African diaspora. Art of Black Miami takes part during the destination’s premier art event, Art Basel Miami Beach. This signature initiative is a celebration of the abundant artistic diversity found within Miami’s mosaic and heritage-rich neighborhoods. Residents and visitors will experience new artwork and projects while attending special events, meeting artists, visiting pop-up art galleries and more. A dedicated website – www.ArtOfBlackMiami.com – provides real-time updates and more information on the African diaspora art representing African-American, Caribbean, Latin American and African cultures.

“The GMCVB’s newly formed Multicultural Tourism Department is proud to bring back Art of Black because it combines two leading pillars in our community: the diversity of our heritage-rich neighborhoods and our global position as a premier art and culture destination,” says GMCVB President & CEO, William D. Talbert, III, CDME. “Having just announced another record-breaking year in tourism welcoming 15.1 million overnight visitors to Greater Miami we know that visitors extend their vacation and stay longer to experience art and culture in our multicultural neighborhoods.”

The City of Miami will extend their iconic trolley routes in order to provide free transportation for Art of Black Miami participants around heritage neighborhoods. Community pockets within Miami and The Beaches are embracing the event with specially programmed exhibits such as “Soul Basel” in historic Overtown and TIZITA (Ti-zee-ta) a fine art group exhibition featuring Ethiopian and African Diaspora art on Miami Beach.

More than forty-seven (47) events in Miami’s heritage neighborhoods (including Little Haiti, Coconut Grove, Liberty City, Opa-Locka, Historic Overtown, Wynwood, MiMo District, Miami Gardens, Coral Gables and Downtown) and throughout the destination include: The Art of Black Miami Kick-off Soiree: A celebration and preview of what’s planned will take place on Wednesday, November 18, at the Historic Lyric Theatre Cultural Arts Complex, from 6:30pm-8:30pm.

At the Historic Lyric Theatre Cultural Arts Complex, present Soul Basel from December 2 – 6, Art Africa Miami Arts Fair will feature a multidisciplinary exhibition of fine contemporary art from the global African Diaspora. The central idea of Art Africa Miami is to present an array of visual works that pay homage to the centrality of Africa and its descendant’s contribution to the modern art world.

Miami’s Yeelen Gallery in Little Haiti feature “What’s Inside Her Never Dies… A Black Woman’s Legacy” – Being a black woman is a journey oftentimes taxed with a history of ruined and objectified bodies that recall and carry on complex legacies of suffering and struggle. Through painting, drawing, photography, and sculpture, “What’s Inside Her Never Dies… A Black Women’s Legacy” presents the dignity, distress, and character of these heroes who affect us generation after generation.

In celebration of Art Basel Miami Beach (December 3-6) at the Futurama Building, local artists will paint patio umbrellas which are displayed along historic Calle 8 in Little Havana.

“Through the Eyes of Others” presented by the Opa-Iocka Community Development Corporation aims to provide a critical platform for re-imaging the past, present and future possibilities of blackness as something more complex than race. What words, actions and images can interrogate the culture of violence, distrust and hatred applied to black people? While stereotype images of black people continue to reinforce negative attitudes, work in the exhibition resists and defies easy consumption of these subjects.

PEREZ ART MUSEUM MIAMI Presents “No Boundaries: Aboriginal Australian Contemporary Abstract Painting” brings together the work of nine Aboriginal Australian artists who are leader within their community and while they began painting late in life, their works explore complex and innovative modes of abstraction. Relating to cultural systems, religious beliefs, and social structures, these intricate works are at once distinctly grounded in the context of Aboriginal life and profoundly resonant with abstract painting of the 20th and 21st centuries.

The Little Haiti Cultural Center will feature The Borderless Caribbean exhibition which is part of the larger Global Caribbean art program started by the Haitian Cultural Arts Alliance in 2009. It has been designed to create an artistic dialogue, and to encourage exchange between Caribbean and Miami-based artists, which have emerged from the Caribbean Diaspora. (December 4 – January 17)

Toscana Divino’s General Manager Mauro Bortignon was honored Friday evening July 24, 2015 in Brickell.  Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado presented Bortignon with a “Key to the City” in a lively celebration attended by friends, patrons, and other distinguished members of the community. The Mayor thanked Mr. Bortignon for his contributions to the culinary ecosystem of the city and for being an important part of the renaissance of Brickell and Downtown.

“I am sincerely honored to receive a Key to the City on behalf of Toscana Divino and the Italian-American community here in Miami,” said Mr. Bortignon, “This is really a recognition to the rich culinary and viticultural contribution that Italian-Americans have made since the mid 1700’s when the first Italian vintners arrived in Florida. The opportunity to promote the unique culinary traditions of Italy in the midst of the spectacular transformation of Miami’s Brickell-Downtown area is both humbling and exciting for me, my partners Stefano and Tommaso, and the entire Toscana Divino team,” continued Mr. Bortignon.

Demonstratively touched, Mr. Bortignon highlighted that he was specially moved by the attendance to the event of our longtime patrons and friends Chelin and Alfredo Duran. “Their presence is not only a celebration of our friendship but it is also symbolic of the strong community bond Toscana Divino has forged since opening its doors in 2012,” he added.

Toscana Divino was built in partnership with the Consortium of Italian Business, Wine and Fashion in Florence, Italy, with the intention of promoting Tuscan cuisine and products in Miami. The restaurant is owned and managed by native Italians and restaurant industry veterans Stefano Cavinato, Tommaso Morelato, and Mr. Bortignon. When asked to comment on what it meant for a member of the Toscana Divino team to receive a Key to the City, Mr. Cavinato said: “Mauro really embodies the passion of Italian cuisine and culture and he brings it alive in the restaurant. The city’s acknowledgment is really an honor to all of us.”

In the same spirit, his partner, Mr. Morelato underscored that Mr. Bortignon was the perfect cultural ambassador for everything Italian. “Before joining our team,” he said, “Mauro spent several years in New York working for famous Italian chef Mario Batali. Here in Miami, he spent 6 years working for the iconic and world-renown Casa Tua. We are really proud to have him as part of our team.”

When describing the Toscana Divino experience, Mr. Bortignon states that: “We want our patrons to feel they are entering a world that is thoroughly Tuscan, but also thoroughly contemporary. We are creating a link between the Tuscan region and the Miami area, thereby building a bridge between our two cultures.”

About Toscana Divino

Since opening its doors in 2012, Toscana Divino, recently voted the best restaurant in Brickell by the Miami New Times, is known for presenting both the most contemporary and traditional Tuscan and Italian cuisine, including the world-famous Fiorentina steak. Toscana Divino’s menu, draws its inspiration from classic dishes found throughout Tuscany featuring pastas made fresh in house, fresh seasonal ingredients from local markets or directly imported from Italy.  Toscana Divino continues to inspire unprecedented praise and rave reviews from such publications as the Miami Herald, Thrillist, Zagat, Miami. Toscana Divino is located 900 S. Miami Ave, Miami, FL in Mary Brickell Village.   For additional information, visit www.toscanadivino.com.

Locust Projects selects twenty South Florida high school students to participate in the 2015 LAB (LOCUST ARTS BUILDERS) program:

Matthew Alvarez, TERRA Environmental Research Institute; Tony Bernardo, New World School of the Arts; Ezekiel Binns, Miami Edison Senior High; Isabella Bru, Miami Arts Charter School; Catherine Camargo, New World School of the Arts; Joseph Canizales, Design and Architecture Senior High; Juan Cardona, Design and Architecture Senior High; Andres Cazalis Hudec, New World School of the Arts; Jennifer Dupotey, New World School of the Arts; Kelly Eriksen, Palmer Trinity School; Glenn Espinosa, G. Holmes Braddock Senior High; Valeria Fernandez, Dr. Michael Krop Senior High; Nicole Giraldo, Design and Architecture Senior High; Anastasia Khlioustov, Dr. Michael Krop Senior High; Tommy Maharlika, North Miami Beach Senior High; Max Mayoral, Miami Beach Senior High; Theo Rodino, TERRA Environmental Research Institute; Nicolas Stapel, TERRA Environmental Research Institute; Niki Stebbins, Design and Architecture Senior High; Andrea Tabora, Ransom Everglades.

Locust Projects presents the 6th year of LAB (Locust Arts Builders). This year, 20 South Florida high school students were selected from an open call and had the opportunity to create a collaborative exhibition at Locust Projects in Miami’s Design District.

Under the direction of Miami-based contemporary visual artists Monica Lopez de Victoria (of the TM Sisters) and Clifton Childree, students were given the opportunity to create a collaborative exhibition at Locust Projects and manage all aspects of the show’s production during a three-week summer intensive. Students also visited art institutions on guided field trips and interacted with invited members of the local art community at Locust Projects. The LAB program extends Locust Projects’ longstanding commitment to experimentation and innovation in artistic practice to the next generation of South Florida artists. LAB promotes contemporary art and project-based learning as a means to encourage creativity, critical analysis, and problem solving, while also helping participants to develop their communication skills. This unique initiative allows young artists to learn the practical aspects and experience the excitement of creating a public exhibition in collaboration with their peers.

Locust Projects is excited to welcome California-based MFA student Christina Mesiti who has been selected to develop and produce her project Port for the LAB MFA exhibition in the Project Room. Mesiti is studying for her MFA at Claremont Graduate University in California, and received her BFA in Painting from Arizona State University. This is the first year that Locust Projects has held a national open call for the LAB MFA program, and we are thrilled to have received proposals from students attending a broad range of schools across the United States.

ABOUT LOCUST PROJECTS Locust Projects is a not for profit exhibition space dedicated to providing contemporary visual artists the freedom to experiment with new ideas without the pressures of gallery sales or limitations of conventional exhibition spaces. Local, national and international artists are encouraged to create site-specific installations as an extension of their representative work. Locust Projects supports the local community through educational initiatives and programming that are free to the public.

LAB is funded by the Alvah H. and Wyline P. Chapman Foundation, The Cowles Charitable Trust, and The Children’s Trust. The Children’s Trust is a dedicated source of revenue established by voter referendum to improve the lives of children and families in Miami-Dade County.

Locust Projects’ exhibitions and programming are made possible with the support from: The Alvah H. and Wyline P. Chapman Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; Cowles Charitable Trust; FAENA, The State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture; The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; the National Endowment for the Arts Art Works Grant; Locust Projects Exhibitionist Members.

Where to Be: Here at InTheLoop, we know there are always places to be and events to attend. Each Friday, we feature a special “where to be” post on our blog to make sure every day of the week has some sort of cultural event to check out. We hope that you all can come out into the community and learn and commemorate some influential people and events around Miami!

Blue Full Moon Party at The National Hotel Miami Beach 7/31/15

Miami turns down free art. A city known for art and for culture suffers the absence of a $30 million investment to improve the city’s reputation as a capital for art in the US.

Originally posted in the Miami Herald editorial section. Click here for the original article.

It’s baffling when an opportunity arises for taxpayers to benefit from the generosity of a wealthy investor and art patron – and the city of Miami acts like it doesn’t care.

That appears to be what happened to Miami resident and successful hedge-fund manager Bruce Berkowitz, founder of Fairholme Capital Management.

Mr. Berkowitz wanted to build an Arquitectonica-designed office building, but not just any building — an area-unique, anvil-shaped 10-story headquarters for his business and also his foundation on a lot on 26th Street and Biscayne Boulevard in Edgewater. The exterior of the nearly windowless building will be a new type of concrete embedded with glass fiber optics that renders it translucent. At night, the building should glow. Yes, grandiose plans, but all privately funded.

The perk for the public was that it was Mr. Berkowitz’s intention to install in two massive sculptural modern art masterpieces by art stars Richard Serra and James Turrell, which the investment manager purchased and are valued at $30 million, in the lobby. The pieces could only improve Miami’s art cred.

All Mr. Berkowitz needed from the city of Miami was zoning approval. He was willing to bend, and to amend his architectural plans to conform to the Miami 21 zoning code. No problem. But Mr. Berkowitz told the Miami Herald he got the bum’s rush from the city. After months of willingly trying and failing to get a clear-cut response from the city as to whether he could proceed, a frustrated Mr. Berkowitz has pulled the plug on the project. “All work has been suspended,” he told the Editorial Board Thursday.

Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, whose district includes Edgewater, is now taking a personal interest in rescuing the effort. “I don’t want to lose this project,” he said.

Mr. Sarnoff said the project’s cancellation would be a big loss. We agree. To miss out on being the city that displays these art pieces, especially during Art Basel, would be a mistake. Best of all, it would not cost local residents a penny.

“I think things will get back on track,” Mr. Sarnoff told the board. But Mr. Berkowitz vehemently disagrees. “There are no ongoing discussions and the only thing I’ve heard from the city is that I’ve been fined $300,000 for the way we cleared and secured the lot.”

If Miami wants to be a world-class city, it can’t commit a blunder like this. It should try to save this enhancement to the local art scene, not to mention beautification of Biscayne Boulevard.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/article28475401.html#storylink=cpy

Obviously Miami is known for never fading sunshine, sandy beaches, and crystal blue water–but that’s certainly not enough to keep people in Miami. Miami has always been a gateway to Latin America, but now people from all over the US and Europe are coming, staying, and investing in Miami…and not for the beaches and sunshine. Miami boasts an environment ripe for entrepreneurship and opportunity, a one of a kind cultural melange, and a gateway to the globe. In his article featured in “Ocean Drive”, Jon Warech touches on the people who have decided to move to Miami and why.

The full article is below and can be found here.

When Dr. LaWrence Schiffman was an undergraduate at the University of Miami, he fell in love with this city for the same reason that most people do—the year-round sunshine, the glistening ocean waters, and the vibrant nightlife. A New Jersey native, Schiffman dreamed of returning and calling Miami his permanent home, but at the time, starting a successful dermatology practice in a vacation town seemed impossible. “I went back up north for all of my medical training, and when I finished my residency requirements, I looked into returning,” says Schiffman. “I knew that if I went to work for a group practice in New York or Philadelphia, I could make a lot more money, but I wanted more out of life.”

Schiffman’s thoughts might have been typical for professionals just a few years ago, but more and more people are deciding there’s no reason to wait to live in paradise. Schiffman himself headed south, worked for a group practice in Miami, and in July 2012, he broke out on his own and opened Miami Skin Doctor. “I set up shop in Doral, where there were very few dermatologists, and in three years the town has grown exponentially around me,” he says. “It’s expanding so much that I can’t even get into the office sometimes.”

Doral, which is home to corporate headquarters for Carnival Cruise Lines, Univision, the Miami Herald, and many other major companies, is just one area of Miami that is booming, and Schiffman’s success story of a practice that “is growing faster than I can keep up with” is one of many in a developing city where sun and fun are taking a backseat to entrepreneurship, big business, and a plethora of opportunities for people in all professions.

“No longer is Miami simply known as a place where the rich come to play,” says Alyce Robertson, executive director of Miami’s Downtown Development Authority, an independent public agency helping business boom downtown. “It has emerged as a sophisticated financial hub where real money is being put to work. Dozens of hedge funds and other financial firms are flocking to Miami’s urban core from New York, California, and parts of Latin America.”

Miami’s evolving design and culture scenes act as a magnet now more than ever. Santiago Smulevich’s family moved from Argentina to the Magic City more than a decade ago and opened AM Profile, a furniture and custom-closets store in the Design District. Smulevich moved back to Argentina after school, chasing what he thought was a better opportunity. But with the Design District morphing into one of the country’s top high-end shopping destinations over the past few years, he knew Miami was the place to be.

“I moved back here four years ago because Miami offered an opportunity to grow as a businessman in a way that Argentina did not,” says Smulevich, who now owns and operates AM Profile. “For South Americans, it’s a lot easier to be in Miami than anywhere else because of the language and the culture. We can be successful here without having to change too much of our daily lives.”

Though the Latin influence makes Miami an American city like no other, the growing cultural and intellectual landscape lends a gravitas that Miami lacked in decades past. The Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, and the arrival of the Faena Forum, the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science, and even smaller projects like the Wynwood Greenhouse put Miami on par with any major US city. “Specifically in the art world, everyone is watching Miami,” says Leann Standish, who came here from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in 2011 to become the deputy director of external affairs at PAMM. “Everywhere I travel, people ask about the museum. Miami is in a very unique position in that it’s an important international city, yet it is also a young city that moves at an incredibly fast pace.”

While the quick advancements have more people planting roots in Miami, tourism is still going strong. New hotels continue to pop up all over town, and new restaurants are opening their doors on what feels like a daily basis, coming from Canada, Europe, South America, and, of course, New York. Celebrity chefs are either opening outposts of their famed eateries here or using the city as a launching pad for new establishments. Tourism is thriving, but now it’s no longer Miami’s only source of income. In fact, many of those tourists end up staying after their vacation. On average, 50,000 New Yorkers relocate to Florida every year. More than 537,000 people from all over the world moved here last year, according to 2014 Census figures, making Florida now the third-most-populated state in the country, behind California and Texas.

“People are shocked to learn that the tourism component of the Miami economy accounts for just 12 percent of employment—the third-largest sector of employment, behind professional and business services (16 percent) and education and health services (15 percent),” says Jordan Niefeld, a CPA, certified financial planner, and investment advisor at Raymond James in Aventura. “With companies like ExxonMobil, Sony, IBM, Cisco Systems, Caterpillar, and Johnson & Johnson locating their Latin American headquarters in Miami, that number will continue to shift.”

And, of course, there have been those rumors about Facebook setting up shop in Wynwood.

Miami’s development in recent years into a well-rounded city has attracted big spenders looking to get in on the action. The Knight Frank 2015 Wealth Report’s Global Cities Survey recently revealed that only two US cities ranked in the top 10 for global investment—New York and Miami, which, according to Jacob Roffman, principal of 13th Floor Investments, means that investment in Miami should remain. In fact, 28 of Florida’s total 42 billionaires list South Florida specifically as their primary residence, according to Forbes’s World’s Billionaires list of 2015. Billionaires tend to know something about where to live, invest, and work.

“Miami continues to mature as a city and is, today, far more than simply a gateway to Latin America—it is a gateway to the world, and a magnet for highimpact investment,” says Roffman. “Miami is a safe and secure place for foreign investors to put their money.”

On a small-business scale, though, Miami is a land of opportunity as well. Stacy Josloff, owner of Pure Therapy and designer of Inca Swimwear, opened a retail store in Miami Beach six years ago but planned to move back to New York after the first year. “One year passed. Two years passed. Now we’re on year seven,” she says. “I always thought that New York was the place that I’d live and die in, but in Manhattan, if your last name isn’t Rockefeller, it’s hard to be an entrepreneur. If you retain the work ethic and business mind that you had in New York and bring it down here, there is opportunity to grow and be successful.”

Dr. Schiffman echoes that sentiment. “In New York, you have 50 million dermatologists with their own skincare lines and TV shows,” he says. “You can be part of that, but you’re just one of many. Here, there is a sense that all goals can be achieved if you put your mind to it.”

In Miami, doctors, lawyers, artists, and businesspeople of all kinds are achieving career milestones that less than a decade ago seemed impossible. The idea of working where others vacation is no longer a pipe dream but instead a reality as Miami morphs into the city that Schiffman hoped it could be back when he was a college student. “My practice is growing at a phenomenal pace, I met the love of my life, and I’m on the water nearly every weekend,” he says. “It’s a pretty nice life.”

Which basically proves if you can make it here, you don’t need to make it anywhere else.

Happy Thursday All!

We wanted to just remind everyone that movement and dance are spaces that allow us to not only express ourselves but come together to create space between one another and create joy within that space! Be sure to applaud and celebrate the organizations and individuals who are holding this spaces.

The article below was shared from the Miami New Times.

THE 14TH-ANNUAL MIAMI SALSA CONGRESS PROVES “SALSA IS STILL KICKING BUTT”

As founder of one of Miami’s most popular Latin dance studios, Rene Gueits just might be the Magic City’s number-one salsa lover. But in 2001, Gueits took his pasión del ritmo and his dance company Salsa Lovers to another level by kicking off the Miami Salsa Congress.

“I attended the first congress in Puerto Rico in 1997,” Gueits recalls. “I was invited to teach Miami-style casino/Miami-style rueda around the world. I was in Holland with Albert Torres [coproducer of the global salsa congresses]. I told him I wanted to do the first Miami congress, and I asked him to help me out.”

One year into the new millennium, Gueits, Torres, and like-minded dancers from el mundo entero congaed their way to the 305 for the inaugural Miami Salsa Congress. Fourteen years later, MSC is still rumbiando its way through the city.

And for 2015, the five-day pachanga will take over the Deauville Beach Resort from July 29 to August 2 with 120 hours of nonstop rueda y son action, including dance workshops, tribute concerts to Cheo Feliciano and other salsa giants, a Club Mystique reunion, and a performance by legendary salsero Willie Rosario y Su Orquesta.

Salsa may be one of the first things that come to mind when people think of Miami, but as Gueits points out, with the number of salsa congresses that go down around the world, it’s obvious that el baile is a global phenomenon.

“There are [salsa congresses] in Bulgaria, South Africa, Sweden, Rome, Norway, Japan — it’s huge in India, Dubai, and Turkey,” he explains. “It has grown. After the salsa congress in Puerto Rico [in 1997], they started moving them around. Let’s say someone from Israel came to the conference; they would bring it to their city.”

Gueits credits the globalization of salsa (aside from its catchy beats and mesmerizing hip action) to Cuba’s Communist regime and the thousands of citizens who fled the island in search of political asylum: “There are a lot of Cubans who live in Europe. Since then, salsa started growing. It’s an explosion.”

The aforementioned Willie Rosario, who turned a sprightly 85 years old last month and will celebrate a half-century of música at this year’s MSC, has a different take on salsa’s expansion.

“The word ‘salsa’ is like an umbrella,” the timbales maestro explains. “It carries many rhythms. For instance, I used to play [different variations of salsa like] guaguancó, guaracha — those were classified individually, but they all originated in Cuba and fall under salsa. It’s one of those rhythms that are known all over the world.

“The question of change,” he continues, “there hasn’t been much. In [the mid- to late-’80s], there was romantic salsa — those, like Gilberto Santa Rosa and Rey Ruiz, who emerged from an orchestra as a soloist — but there isn’t much of a difference because the rhythm and percussion is the same.”

While Rosario believes salsa’s permanence has a lot to do with its commitment to el ritmo, he looks at the past to really understand its international reach.

“The Fania All-Stars helped a lot,” he says, “but in the era of mambo — which falls under that umbrella of salsa — Americans knew a lot about it. There was a famous club in New York, the Palladium. A lot of movie stars, like Marlon Brando, would all go there to see mambo,” thus turning it into a global trend, one that has never gone out of style.

But Gueits’ mission isn’t to find a textbook explanation for salsa’s global influence. Instead, his purpose is to keep salsa alive in the Magic City para la gente.

“People like ourselves who live in Miami, we take being Latin for granted,” he admits. “In Europe, they all wanna be Latino. At the congress, you’ll see a lot of Europeans wearing their guayaberas. We take salsa for granted. But salsa is very big. It’s a multibillion-dollar business.”

More than about el dinero, though, the MSC “is so much about keeping a culture alive,” Gueits says.

“Salsa is still kicking butt,” he laughs. “When I was a little kid, I used to dance at my family’s parties. They would put on Celia Cruz, El Gran Combo [de Puerto Rico], Willy Chirino — that’s always stayed in my blood. I have a passion for it. I’m keeping it alive.”

The 14th-Annual Miami Salsa Congress. Produced by Salsa Lovers. Wednesday through Sunday, July 29 through August 2, at the Deauville Beach Resort, 6701 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; 305-865-8511;deauvillebeachresortmiami.com. Weekend party, workshop, and full-day passes cost $85 to $320 plus fees. Visit miamisalsacongress.com.

Hi Everyone, We love to create awareness around art that creates a platform for us to both celebrate the diversity in our community and the history and those that create new options and places & spaces for us all to come together

This article is Shared from Miami New Times:

Cuba Out of Cuba: Through the lens of Alexis Rodriguez-Duarte in collaboration with Tico Torres

Few cities embody the American dream like Miami. For decades, Cubans seeking refuge have made Miami their own, leaving a lasting legacy enriched with culture from their homeland. A new exhibit at MDC Museum of Art + Design celebrates the nostalgia, success, and triumph of this singular immigrant experience. “Cuba Out of Cuba: Through the Lens of Alexis Rodriguez-Duarte in Collaboration With Tico Torres” inaugurates the new Cultural Legacy Gallery, a permanent space dedicated to the impact of Cuban culture on South Florida and throughout the world, housed at the National Historic Landmark Freedom Tower at Miami Dade College (600 Biscayne Blvd., Miami). The exhibit features iconic photographs of Cuban figures living away from the island, from performers and designers to writers and artists. “Cuba Out of Cuba” was shot over the past 20 years in Miami, New York, London, Paris, Florence, Venice, and Los Angeles. The photos and keepsakes highlight the legacies of Celia Cruz, Bebo Valdés, Gloria Estefan, Cristina Saralegui, Andy Garcia, Cundo Bermudez, Nilo Cruz, and Paquito D’Rivera, among other Cubans who have culturally influenced generations. “Cuba Out of Cuba” will be on display through August 30, 2015.

Museum hours are Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. Call 305-237-7700 or visit mdcmoad.org.

Where to Be: Here at InTheLoop, we know there are always places to be and events to attend. Each Friday, we feature a special “where to be” post on our blog to make sure every day of the week has some sort of cultural event to check out. We hope that you all can come out into the community and learn and commemorate some influential people and events around Miami!

Swashbucklin Swing Dance 7/17/15

National Ice Cream Day at Concrete Beach Brewery 7/19/15

Trivial Poursuit at Concrete Beach Brewery 7/23/15

There is an indelible struggle between city developers trying to develop, modernize, and raise the value of property and residents of these areas seek to maintain reasonable housing prices. The new Miami Worldcenter has received approval for a prelimenary funding of $1.7 billion. However there is a lot of negative response by residents–including jobs going to workers outside the neighborhood and city and rising property values. In an article by Ben Kennedy, more is explained about the benefits and negatives in the proposed Worldcenter.

Overtown residents voice concern over Miami Worldcenter

The Miami Worldcenter is one step closer to becoming a reality after Miami-Dade County commissioners gave the $1.7 billion project preliminary approval.

Overtown residents packed the Miami-Dade County government center Tuesday morning to voice their concerns with the project.

The nearly $2 billion project will transform the Magic City and connect Museum Park to the proposed downtown train station, 1 million square feet of retail space, new hotels and condominiums.

“It’s hard for people in the communities where these developments are happening to have more of a say,” said Phillip Agnew.

The commission will vote Tuesday on the community development district.

“It means that we are allowing the developer to charge the people that are going to be part of the development, whoever is renting it, etc. to have an extra fee so that they can pay for infrastructure,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez. “Today, Miami-Dade County is not giving any tax dollars to this developer.”

The project is set to create 20,000 construction jobs and thousands of full-time work.

Some residents want developers to lock down competitive wages that can sustain people in their community.

“What we want is in the contract that the permanent jobs will have quality wages and that they will be able to unionize,” said Agnew.

Jay Massirman has been in real estate for 30 years.

Starting in 1986, Massirman worked as a commercial broker at CBRE. Then, in 2008, when he saw a market ripe with opportunity, he became an investor and developer. His first focus was on fractured condo and single-family projects that went belly-up during the financial crisis.

His development firm, Rivergate Companies, today focuses on multifamily projects and building urban infill self-storage facilities. With partners Stephen Garchik and Steve McBride, Massirman runs Miami City Self Storage. The company has snapped up six plots of land across Miami-Dade County in the last two years for about $12 million.

Massirman has also formed a partnership with KW Property Management and Consulting to manage multifamily and commercial properties in Florida and North Carolina.

A big believer in the promise of technology to enhance real-estate development, Massirman has experimented with crowdfunding a rental project in Orlando. He answered questions from the Miami Herald on the future of his companies and South Florida’s real-estate market via email. Here is an interview by the Miami Herald’s Nicholas Nehamas. Article here. 

Q: What trends led you to believe that self-storage would be a good investment in Miami? What are your future plans for that area?

A: Having developed storage in the previous cycle, the timing felt right. My partners Steve Garchik and Steve McBride, veteran storage developers from D.C. and NYC, got together in early 2013 to form a joint venture to build urban infill, high-end self-storage facilities. We found that little self-storage building had taken place in the last 10 years. With the continued growth and expansion of South Florida, it was the opportune time to ramp up our self-storage effort. Currently, we have five deals under construction and 13 deals in process. Our plans are to build out the South Florida market with the best sites we can acquire. Our leading-edge designs have been favorably accepted by most municipalities we have targeted. We are in active discussions to scale our footprint beyond South Florida.

Q: You’ve expressed interest in crowdfunding real-estate developments. How successful has that innovation been?

A: We crowdfunded an apartment community in Orlando with EarlyShares and got a very strong reception from investors. I believe crowdfunding will continue to gain market acceptance for raising capital from both accredited and non-accredited investors. We will continue to explore this emerging marketplace.

Q: Genting has been extremely quiet about its plans for the old Miami Herald site. What do you think is the best use for that land?

A: The Genting land is located in the epicenter of Miami at the confluence of downtown, Edgewater and Miami Beach. The original plan was oriented toward gambling, but its timeline regarding legalization is unknown. I am sure they are working on the strategic plan for their holdings, which could encompass a resort, office, hospitality, condos, retail and beyond. The challenge will be how to integrate this into the competitive landscape with Worldcenter, Midtown, Design District, Brickell City Centre, to name a few.

Q: Where do you think we are in the current real-estate cycle?

A: The South Florida market has been at full tilt since the market reignited in 2010. First, it was the distress wave, which lasted a couple of years morphing into a robust development market for condominiums and luxury rental communities, which is reaching peak levels. Acquisitions are getting pretty tight due to cap rate compression. Current trends in development include mixed-use, urban infill development and high-street retail. It feels like we are in mid-cycle, and the fear of a rise in interest rates is looming. That said, we are truly a unique economy driven by international focus, the emerging tech industry, port expansion, convention center expansion and airport expansion, to name a few major infrastructure projects. Include the arts, professional sports, gentrifying urban markets, and it all spells a very exciting time to be a part of the globalization of Miami.

Q: What under-exposed neighborhoods should developers be targeting next? What kind of developments does Miami need more of?

A: We have seen frantic activity in Wynwood, Little River, downtown Miami, Miami River and Edgewater. I think sticking to these markets and looking for second-generation and backfill opportunities will be a viable strategy. We are in the process of rolling out a platform to explore these opportunities.

Q: Miami is one of the most expensive cities in the country for renters. Why are rents so high compared to incomes? And what can be done to help address this problem?

A: The main factors involved here are high land values, availability of prime sites for rental and construction costs. Couple that with the fact the condo developers have paid a premium on a per-unit basis for land and that we have seen a “land rush” in the last few years — it complicates matters. This makes building affordable rentals virtually out of reach. The affordable housing developers in town just can’t get enough tax credits allocated to meet the rising demand. Affordability is a significant issue in Miami-Dade County. There is a growing need for affordable, clean, safe housing for the people that make our economy function, including teachers, firefighters, police, restaurant, clerical, government, hospitality, retail and domestic workers as an example. These individuals make up the fabric of our economy, and it is a struggle for them to build savings when over half of their earnings goes to rent. Solutions include creating more workforce housing just outside the urban core on less expensive land. These projects will need subsidies to get the numbers to work inclusive of: tax-exempt bond financing, increased allocation of tax credits to urban Miami-Dade County, streamlining of the HUD 221-d4 program, and tax-increment financing, for instance.

Q: Why did you see an opportunity in property management, and where have you directed your resources? How pleased are you with the new venture?

A: Rivergate Management started as a multifamily acquisition platform for its own assets, as well as third-party industry relationships in 2008. In early 2013, I was introduced to Robert White and Paul Kaplan, both CPAs and the founders of KW Property Management & Consulting. In just 10 years, they have built their condo-management business to 60,000 + units and are one of the leading service providers in that industry. They laid out their vision to duplicate their success on the rental side of the business, and Rivergate | KW Management was conceived as a separate entity. Currently, Rivergate | KW Management has close to 10,000 units in the management pipeline, including 2 million square feet of commercial. Our resources are focused on hiring the best people in the business to grow this company into an industry leader. I am very fortunate to have great partners in all of my entities.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/biz-monday/article26934190.html#storylink=cpy

Where to Be: Here at InTheLoop, we know there are always places to be and events to attend. Each Friday, we feature a special “where to be” post on our blog to make sure every day of the week has some sort of cultural event to check out. We hope that you all can come out into the community and learn and commemorate some influential people and events around Miami!

Friday, July 10th

Environmental Impact Film Festival at Colony1 Wynwood 

Saturday, July 11th

Learn about nutrition with Short Chef 

11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Sunday, July 12th

8th Annual Miami Takeover 2015

Monday, July 14th

MAMP Labs Workshop

9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Venture Hive
1010 NE 2 Ave,
Miami, Florida 33132
None Link
Cost: $35

Tuesday, July 15th

A Taste of Haiti at NSU Art Museum Cafe 7/15/15

Wednesday, July 16th

“Starry Nights” at NSU Art Museum 

4:30 pm – 08:00 pm
NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale
One East Las Olas Boulevard,
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301
None Link
Cost: Free

Thursday, July 17th

U.S. Brazil Chamber of Commerce Business Breakfast

Date/Time: 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay Hotel
1633 N. Bayshore Drive
Miami, FL 33132

Contact Person: info@multiculturaltourism.com

Phone Number: 954-792-2579

http://www.multiculturaltourismsummit.com/

We are so excited to see our younger generations acting as leaders and role models in our city’s discussion about gender and equality. This article was release this morning in the Miami New Times. When leadership is taken on my youth it holds all of us more accountable for our actions.

I AM JAZZ DOCUMENTS THE LIFE OF SOUTH FLORIDA TRANS TEEN JAZZ JENNINGS

Jazz Jennings, whose TLC docuseries I Am Jazz premieres Wednesday Courtesy of TLC

There have been few stories as widely discussed in recent months as Caitlyn Jenner’s journey from Olympic gold-medal-winning male track star to transgender woman. In June, as Vanity Fair’s cover made its rounds online, South Florida native Jazz Jennings sensed her own life would never be the same. The 14-year-old transgender girl, who was assigned male at birth, is an activist for trans rights and a voice for trans youth. She says Jenner is the biggest thing that’s ever happened to the trans community.

“She’s opened her doors for others to learn by watching her,” Jennings says. “It’s certainly impacting my life. When I have to explain to people that I’m trans, I’ll just say I’m a younger version of Caitlyn Jenner.”

Jennings herself has been a face for the trans community since 2007, when, at age 6, she appeared as transgender in a20/20 interview with Barbara Walters. Now she’s about to go even more public about her journey, with a TLC show set to launch next week. I Am Jazz premieres Wednesday at 10 p.m.

The show will invite viewers into Jennings’ home and family life, introducing her parents Greg and Jeanette, sister Ari, and twin brothers Griffen and Sander. It will show Jennings’ typical teenage life, which includes a passion for soccer and art.

Jazz, front center, and her family in their South Florida homeCourtesy of Mark DeLong/TLC

“I’m going to show everyone that I’m just like any other teenager,” she says, “except for the fact that I happen to be transgender.”

But it will also explore how she has battled the dark moments in her life and how she is fighting to change perceptions around trans youth.

Jennings was diagnosed with gender dysphoria at age 3. She first presented as a girl at age 5, but not everyone was immediately accepting. After the United States Soccer Federation would not allow her to play on girls’ teams, her parents fought a two-and-a-half-year battle, which resulted in the USSF changing its policies to allow trans students to play on their gender-identified team. And she has faced her share of harsh words and bullies.

“Over the years, I’ve tried to ignore the bullies at school,” she says. “I surround myself with friends who love and support me… I remind myself that what others think doesn’t matter.”

For her outspoken activism, Jennings was named one of Time‘s 25 Most Influential Teens of 2014 and was the youngest person ever featured on Out’s Out 100 and the Advocate‘s 40 Under 40 lists. She is a spokesmodel for Clean & Clear’s “See the Real Me” digital campaign and the winner of Equality Florida’s 2014’s Voice for Equality Award. Last year, a children’s biographical picture book was published about her life. And she has her own mermaid tail company, Purple Rainbow Tails, which raises money for transgender children.

“I want other transgender kids to know that they aren’t alone and should be proud of themselves for having the courage to live as their authentic selves,” she says.

That’s her hope for I Am Jazz, which comes on the heels of unprecedented change in the LGBT community in the United States.

“It’s obvious now that things are improving for the LGBT community and that our country is more progressive than ever,” she says. “I truly hope the positive energy resonates with others who want to find out more about transgender youth too.”

Today, Miami New Times released the article below focusing on the increase in the cost of living for Miami residents and the growing economic disparity in the city. As our city continues to allow ‘development’ via these luxury large scaled projects, we have to ask the question, Miami for who?

Read the full article below:

ANOTHER GRIM REMINDER THAT MIAMIANS PAY INSANE RENTS YET MAKE LITTLE MONEY

4th of July, 2015

• Front Page 11/19/24

• Breakfast With Santa at The Diplomat Beach Resort 12/21/24

• Time IS Money- Happy Hour at Selvatico Wynwood 11/22/24

• Thanksgiving Celebrations at Lighthouse Kitchen + Bar 11/28/24

• Family Holiday Magic at Bayside Marketplace 11/22/24, 11/23/24

• Christmas Wonderland Returns To Tropical Park 11/14/24

• La Lá brings her unique music to Miami 12/11/24

• Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in Coconut Grove! 12/1/24

• The Bunny Yogi Launches New Wellness Trend With Miami’s First Bunny Yoga

• Shop Small Saturday in Coconut Grove! 11/30/24

• Tantra Speed Date® – Miami (Meet Singles Speed Dating) 1/21/25

• Padrino’s Hallandale Beach Debuts New Look, Design and Full-Service Bar

• Padrino’s Hallandale Beach Debuts New Look, Design and Full-Service Bar 11/19/24

• Beauty and the Beast

• Miami-Dade Farmers Month 11/1/24

• Free Community Yoga on Lincoln Road 12/1/24, 12/8/24, 12/15/24, 12/22/24, 12/29/24

• Slava Komissarenko. New stand up show in Miami 12/19/24

• Wynwood Walls Book Signing with Jeffrey Deitch 11/29/24

• Thank You Miami Comedy Night 11/18/24

• Dom’s Brickell Comedy Night 11/19/24

• The Killing Joke Mode Miami Comedy Night 11/21/24

• Thank You Miami Comedy Night 11/22/24

• Tipsy Flamingo Comedy Night 11/24/24

• Frosty’s Hideaway at InterContinental Miami 12/6/24

• Frosty’s Hideaway at InterContinental Miami 12/13/24

• Frosty’s Hideaway at InterContinental Miami 12/20/24

• Sip & Stir: Cocktail Mixology Class at Bourbon Steak Miami 11/21/24

• Winter Kiddos Land and Tree Lighting Ceremony at CityPlace Doral 12/7/24

• “Yakne Seminoli” Seminole Fine Art Exhibit at History Fort Lauderdale 11/18/24 – 1/5/25

• Frosty’s Hideaway at InterContinental Miami 11/29/24

Where to Be: Here at InTheLoop, we know there are always places to be and events to attend. Each Friday, we feature a special “where to be” post on our blog to make sure every day of the week has some sort of cultural event to check out. We hope that you all can come out into the community and learn and commemorate some influential people and events around Miami!

1940s USO Swing Dance 7/3/15

Thursday July 9th

Film: La Belle Vie: The Good Life 7/9/15

Here is a translated excerpt from that interview.

Q. You’re helping Cuban artists “break the ice” in regards to U.S.-Cuba relations?

Q. Stephen Ross, who co-founded The Related Group with you, made headlines upon his return to Cuba and his announcement that he didn’t see great investing opportunities there. Do you share this opinion?

A. Neither Steve Ross nor myself held any meetings with Cuban officials to decide or learn if they’re promoting real estate or not. Those were just impressions from what he saw in Havana. What Steve said is, it will be a long time before he invests in Cuba because the infrastructure is in such bad condition.

Q. What would have to happen so that a group such as yours would decide to invest in Cuba?

Q. Do you have any plan designed for that rehabilitation?

Q. Would the luxury hotel industry have potential in Cuba?

Q. Have you thought about how you can help re-urbanize Havana?

Q. Many people are concerned that populations will be displaced in the process of urbanizing Havana.

Q. This is the second time you’ve visited Cuba. What were the greatest changes between your first trip in 2012 and your recent visit?

Q. But with this level of poverty, luxury condominiums seem to be part of a faraway future?

Good news: Business is booming in South Florida. Bad news: housing prices are soaring. Comparitive to San Fransisco, Miami rental prices are very similar. But why? In an article published by NBC6, Jennifer Peltz summarizes a recent study conducted on rental prices across the US.

Is Rent Out of Reach? Study Shows How 11 US Cities, Including Miami, Stack Up

By Jennifer Peltz

From Boston to Miami, New York to Los Angeles, more than half of tenants are paying what experts consider unaffordable rents, says a report by New York University’s Furman Center, which studies real estate and urban policy, and bank Capital One, which is a leading affordable-housing lender and financed the research.

While various housing experts have noted such trends, the study zooms in on 11 of the nation’s most populous cities. Overall, it’s a portrait of increasing competition and often slipping affordability, but the picture isn’t universally bleak and looks noticeably different from city to city.

“The study brings into light the limited options there are for renters,” Capital One community finance chief Laura Bailey says.

THE CITIES

The study analyzed U.S. Census Bureau data from 2006 to 2013 on the central cities of the 11 most populous U.S. metropolitan areas: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

RENTERS ON THE RISE

As of 2013, most residents were renters in nine of the 11 cities, all except for Atlanta and Philadelphia, compared with five in 2006. At least 60 percent of residents are now tenants, rather than owners, in Boston, L.A., New York and Miami. Nationwide, about 35 percent of people rented in 2013, up from 31 percent in 2006, the Census Bureau says.

Experts trace much of the rise in renting to the 2008 mortgage and financial crisis, which left some people unable and others reluctant to own homes. And when rent becomes a stretch, leaving less income to save toward homeownership, “it’s a reinforcing cycle,” Furman Center faculty director Ingrid Gould Ellen says.

But other factors may include home-downsizing within the giant and aging baby boom generation and hefty college debt that slows some young people’s saving for a home purchase.

MORE RENTALS BUT LESS AVAILABILITY

In each city, the amount of rental housing grew faster than any rise in owner-occupied homes. In fact, the data suggest some homes were converted to rentals.

Nonetheless, the vacancy rate declined everywhere except Miami and Washington, where increases were slight. San Francisco surpassed New York for the title of tightest rental market: New York’s 3.8 percent vacancy rate was the lowest in 2006, but by 2013 San Francisco had the floor with a mere 2.5 percent. New York, L.A. and Boston were hovering around 3.5 percent. Atlanta, meanwhile, had the highest vacancy rate of the cities in the survey, at nearly 10 percent.

CLIMBING RENTS, UNEVEN BURDENS

Amid growing demand and tight supply, median rents rose faster than inflation in all the cities but Dallas and Houston, where they were nearly flat. Washington’s median rent shot up by 21 percent over the seven years, to $1,307 a month. New York’s rose by 12 percent, to $1,228. The calculation is in inflation-adjusted for 2013 dollars, includes utilities and encompasses market-rate, rent-regulated and subsidized housing.

New York has about 1 million rent-regulated apartments, perhaps helping explain why it has a lower median rent than Washington, San Francisco ($1,491) and Boston ($1,263). Meanwhile, median rents were under $1,000 everywhere else except Los Angeles ($1,182).

But rents don’t tell the whole story of affordability: Renters’ median household incomes varied widely over the years. Housing experts like to gauge affordability by the percentage of income that goes to housing costs, with anything over 29 percent being rent-burdened. Over 49 percent is considered severely burdened.

On that scale, the landscape is uneven. The percentage of rent-burdened tenants grew in six cities while dropping in the rest, and the findings were full of seeming contradictions. San Francisco had the highest median rent but the lowest percentage of rent-burdened tenants, 45 percent; Miami had a far lower median rent, but 68 percent of tenants were burdened.

One reason: San Francisco renters’ median household income was $61,200 a year, nearly 1.5 times what their Miami counterparts made.

TO SAVE ON RENT, STAY PUT

In each city, apartments that had come open within the last five years were less likely to be affordable to low- and middle-income tenants than apartments that hadn’t.

Where to Be: Here at InTheLoop, we know there are always places to be and events to attend. Each Friday, we feature a special “where to be” post on our blog to make sure every day of the week has some sort of cultural event to check out. We hope that you all can come out into the community and learn and commemorate some influential people and events around Miami!

Friday May 29

Casino Night at Rubi Lounge
Friday, 05/29/2015 – 05/30/2015 10:00 pm – 05:00 am
RuBI Lounge
141 SW 7th St,
Miami, Florida 33130
Eventbrite Link
Cost: Complimentary Admission on David Garay’s VIP List Before 12am
Dress to Impress

INFO & RSVP
Call/Txt 786-985-3520

Venue Description:
The new lounge in Brickell. Come and see this beautiful place that everybody is talking about.

Saturday, May 30

Tango Undressed by Miami Contemporary Dance Company 5/30/15

What chronic problem slows cities’ economies down and reduces the standard of living for every citizen? Sky high credit rates? Nope. Natural disasters? On extremely rare occasions. Traffic and paralyzing public transport? Bingo! Being stuck in traffic is the  bane of everyone’s existence and also a symptom of a larger problem. The issues of poor city planning and development are being exposed after the economic boom that has been happening in Miami. With companies relocating to the city to be closer to Latin and South America, the city has seen an influx in investment–of money and people–but how has the capital investment been used to scale for the amount of people? What has this cost Miami? Everyone from small business owners to executives of large multi-national corporations has been effected by the traffic jams in Miami, making it an issue that defies cultural and economic barriers. Nicholas Nehamas of the Miami Herald explores and dives deeper into this discussion in his article, “Business Slowdowns: Traffic Jams Up South Florida’s Economy“.

The Association of Fundraising Professionals continues its tradition of honoring the local philanthropic community at the annual National Philanthropy Day Awards luncheon, which will take place on Thursday, November 12, 2015. Each year, several hundred members of the community gather to recognize and celebrate the who’s who of Miami philanthropy.

In 1985, AFP Miami initiated the first National Philanthropy Day awards event. Now, National Philanthropy Day (NPD) is celebrated across North America and around the world.

AFP Miami’s annual NPD luncheon is Miami’s premier philanthropy event. This special day is set aside to recognize and pay tribute to the great contributions that philanthropy-and the people active in Miami’s philanthropic community-have made to our lives, our local community and our world. Because it’s the 30th anniversary, this won’t be your father’s (or mother’s) National Philanthropy Day celebration!

AFP Miami is proud to work with its NPD partners – The Miami Foundation, Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, and Partnership for Philanthropic Planning – to advance philanthropy and highlight the generosity of our community’s top donors. Each year, AFP Miami offers the local community an opportunity to acknowledge, highlight and pay tribute to philanthropic excellence. We invite nominations for extraordinary individuals, corporations and foundations in one of the following distinguished award categories:

Outstanding Philanthropist Award
James W. McLamore Outstanding Volunteer Award
Julia Tuttle Award for Community Involvement & Corporate Citizenship
Outstanding Grant Maker Award

In addition, each NPD table sponsor will be provided with the opportunity to recognize their own table honoree with a personalized engraved gift.

Click here for the Request for Nomination Package. Please share among your colleagues, nonprofits and for-profits (they support philanthropy, too!) help us say “Thank you, Philanthropic Miami.”

Nominations must be submitted by June 6 to be considered. Any forms received after this date may be considered for the following year’s awards.

Where to Be: Here at InTheLoop, we know there are always places to be and events to attend. Each Friday, we feature a special “where to be” post on our blog to make sure every day of the week has some sort of cultural event to check out. We hope that you all can come out into the community and learn and commemorate some influential people and events around Miami!

Friday May 22

Ball and Chain Presents Miami Boheme Fridays with Two-Time Grammy Nominated, Locos Por Juana 5/22/15

Ball and Chain Presents Miami Boheme Fridays with Two-Time Grammy Nominated, Locos Por Juana
Friday, 05/22/2015 – 10:00 pm – 03:00 am
Ball & Chain
1513 SW 8th street, 
Little Havana, Florida 33135
None Link
Cost: FREE

live music performance THIS FRIDAY, May 22, 2015 at Ball & Chain as part of the Miami Boheme Fridays hosted by Joe Cardona. The TWO TIME GRAMMY nominated band, Locos Por Juana will take the Pineapple Stage at 10PM followed by a set by DJ Edward. (21 and over to attend, this event is open to the public, no cover).
www.ballandchainmiami.com
For additional info on Locos Por Juana, please visit: http://www.locosporjuana.com/

Saturday May 23

Special ED’s B-Day Jump-Off w DJ ‘ Heron & DJ Exes 5/23/15

Special ED’s B-Day Jump-Off w DJ ‘ Heron & DJ Exes
Saturday, 05/23/2015 – 10:00 pm – 04:00 am
Will Call Miami
700 NE 2nd Ave, 
Miami, Florida 33132
Eventbrite Link
Cost: $10 Advance

Please Join us as we celebrate the Birthday of Mr Ed Archer aka Special ED.
ED is an American hip hop musician of Jamaican descent. Hailing from Brooklyn in New York City, and is identified with East Coast hip hop.
At Approximately 1:00 am Special ED will be performing at Will Call Miami in the Heart of Downtown, right across the street from the Miami Arena where the Miami Heat play. Music will be played by two of Miami’s hottest Hip Hop DJ’s Heron and Exes so make sure you bring your dancing shoes. We will be celebrating all night.

Sunday May 24

Ballet Flamenco La Rosa and Miami Dance Festival Present “El Padre” with special guest artist Carmela Greco 5/23/15 – 5/24/15

Miami Dade County Auditorium
Miami Dade County Auditorium, 
2901 W Flagler St, Miami, FL, Florida 33135
Webpage Link
Cost: $33 VIP $28 Advance $23 Seniors/Students

Monday May 25

Remembering Our Heroes 5/25/15

Remembering Our Heroes
Monday, 05/25/2015 – 11:00 am – 
Woodlawn Park Cemetery
3260 SW 8th Street, 
Coral Gables, Florida 33135
None Link
Cost: Complimentary

The Greater Miami Chamber’s Military Affairs Committee honors Veterans with a Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremony. Those wishing to honor our fallen heroes are invited to a Wreath Laying Ceremony featuring presentations by the singing Miamians, a parade of color guards, and special remarks by BG General Kurt L. Sontag, US Army, Commanding General, Special Operations Command South. Those participating include Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10212 Commander Oswaldo (Ozzy) Perez, the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 620 President Luis E. Lalama, The Cuban American Veterans Association President Marco Gorrin, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10212 Auxiliary President Miriam C. Molleda, the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 346 President Irma R. Montes, American Legion Post 346 Commander Jorge L. Montes, and Chaplain FR. Luis Fernandez, Major USAF (Ret.) Light refreshments, courtesy of Woodlawn Park Cemetery, will be served following the ceremony.

Tuesday May 26

Soul Of Miami presents River Of Art #22 Business + Arts Social Event at La Gloutonnerie 5/26/15

Soul Of Miami presents River Of Art #22 Business + Arts Social Event
Tuesday, May 26, 6:30pm-9:30pm
La Gloutonnerie
81 Washington Ave
Miami Beach, FL 33139
Tickets: $10 with Advance Purchase, Promo Code: SOUL
$20 at the door.
Buy Advance Tickets Now Advance Ticket sales end at 2:00pm on May 26th
Includes complimentary tastings and drink specials courtesy of La Gloutonnerie.
Proceeds go to support Life Is Art’s mission of supporting the arts and community.
Hashtag: #RiverOfArt
Share with your Facebook friends

Bringing People and Art Together
Life Is Art & Soul Of Miami present the River Of Art with an exciting evening of business networking featuring an interesting show, excellent music, delicious cuisine tastings and refreshing beverages. The River Of Art is a monthly gathering place of Miami’s good people, executives, industrialists, innovators, creators, entrepreneurs, changemakers, activists, and artists. Attendees enjoy complimentary tastings and drink specials with entry.

Featuring
Visual Artists: Sandra R. Epps, Theresa Echeverry, Courtney Einhorn
Charities: No More Tears, Best Buddies
Music: DJ Hank Justice

Each month, Life Is Art brings the community together at our River Of Art pop-up art-in-public-places show to socialize through the power of the arts with the goal of exposing new artists, introducing new people to art appreciation, providing an inspiring space to make new connections, showcasing local businesses and charities, while providing a fun break during the work week.

Art is an inspiring talking point, discussing it is a great way to break the ice. Culture is one of the primary elements that build community and hosting a business networker within an art show is a unique way to encourage socializing, so attendees are encouraged to bring plenty of business cards and an open mind.

Premiere Sponsor: Spectrum Miami
Partners: Fabulous Miami – YOMiami – SocialMedia305 – Catalyst Miami – InTheLoop305 – Arts & Business Council – Bakehouse Art Complex – Association of Fundraising Professionals – Social Media Club South Florida – The New Tropic
With support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.

Wednesday May 27

Charmed by Charity Soiree at Alex & Ani 5/27/15

“Charmed by Charity Soiree” at Alex & Ani
Wednesday, 05/27/2015 – 06:00 pm – 08:00 pm
Alex & Ani
1012 Las Olas Blvd, 
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301
Webpage Link
Cost: Free

Fort Lauderdale’s hottest new retailer, Alex & Ani, is inviting everyone out for an evening of shopping and the chance to make a difference in the lives of millions when they host a “Charmed by Charity Soiree” in the newly-opened store to benefit Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of America. 15% of all sales during the event will be given back to the organization whose mission is to find a cure for digestive diseases and to improve the quality of life for the sufferers. The sparkling night will include small bites and delicious sips and is free to the public. For more information please contact Robin Cartwright at rcartwright@ccfa.org or 561-218-2929.

Thursday May 28

The Education Fund’s For the Love of Art Charity Auction & Honoree Celebration presented by Ocean Bank 5/28/15

The Education Fund’s For the Love of Art Charity Auction & Honoree Celebration presented by Ocean Bank
Thursday, 05/28/2015 – 05/28/2015 06:00 pm – 09:15 pm
Douglas Entrance
806 S. Douglas Road, South Tower Penthouse, 
Coral Gables, Florida 33134
Webpage Link
Cost: $125 per ticket, sponsorships available

The Education Fund to auction 180 pieces of original student, teacher art at the annual For the Love of Charity Auction & Honoree Celebration

6 – 9 p.m. Thursday, May 28 at Douglas Entrance South Tower Penthouse in Coral Gables

WHAT: The Education Fund’s For the Love of Art Charity Auction & Honoree Celebration presented by Ocean Bank, will showcase more than 180 original pieces of artwork created by Miami-Dade County public school students and teachers. This Children’s Trust sponsored event showcases artwork crafted from materials found at The Education Fund’s Ocean Bank Center for Educational Materials, a warehouse with donated supplies where teachers can pick up free materials for classroom projects and for their students.

For the Love of Art features the Sapoznik Insurance Public School Alumni Achievement Awards, which honors 30 extraordinary community leaders who graduated from public schools.

In addition, the auction will feature more 120 luxury items, performances by the New World School of the Arts Alumni Jazz Combo, special drinks by Bacardi, and catering by the 2015 Teacher of the Year Chef Myrna Betancourt and her students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

EVENT TITLE: The Education Fund For the Love of Art Annual Charity Auction & Honoree Celebration

BENEFITTING: Miami Dade County public school art programs and The Education Fund’s Ocean Bank Center

WHEN: Thursday, May 28
6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

WHERE: Douglas Entrance, South Tower Penthouse
806 S. Douglas Road
Coral Gables, FL 33134
Valet and self-parking available

WHY: The annual charity event supports and raises funds for The Education Fund, which has acted on the belief that the quality of public schools must be the top priority for our community. Working with the private sector for 26 years, The Education Fund has raised more than $50 million to support and improve public schools with an emphasis on designing and implementing innovative initiatives. The goal is to ensure that every child learns, graduates and succeeds.

Tickets are $125 per person. Available at EducationFund.org and at the event.
Call 305-558-4544, ext. 107

CONNECT: The Education Fund Website: www.educationfund.org
Like The Education Fund on Facebook at www.facebook.com/educationfundmiami.
Follow us on Twitter @EducationFund. The event hashtag is #edfundart

INDIAN CREEK ISLAND ROAD IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE STREET IN AMERICA

Indian Creek Island Road is the only road on Indian Creek Google Maps

When you’re rich, the only information on your driver’s license that really matters is your address. Real estate says everything, and there’s no more exclusive street to have on that ID in the entire United States of America than Indian Creek Island Road right here in Miami-Dade. Zillow crunched the numbers and found that the average home on the street is worth $21.4 million dollars.

That’s considerably more expensive than second place Beverly Park Circle out in Beverly Hills, California where celebs likes Eddie Murphy and Denzel Washington live in a comparative shanty town where the average home is only worth $16.2 million.

Of course, its not exactly a secret that the island village of Indian Creek right off of Miami Beach is a multi-millionaire and billionaire haven. Billionaire businessmen like Norman Braman and Carl Ichan call it home, as do both Iglesiases, Julio and Enrique, and Sabado Gigante host Don Francisco. In fact, four of America’s 500 richest people have homes (or at least second homes) on the island.

Indian Creek Island Road is the only road on the island (with the exception of 91st street which only serves to connect the island with nearby Surfside). It draws a “U” through the island with mansions on one side and the island’s country club and golf course in the center.

If you want a peek at an example of a typical home on the island, here’s a look at one that sold for $47 million back in 2012. It broke records as the most expensive residential real estate transaction in Miami-Dade history.

Arvida Parkway is the main road in the Gables Estates neighborhood Google Maps

Though, it’s not the only Miami-Dade street in Zillow’s top ten. Arvida Parkway in Coral Gables comes in at 10th place with an average home price of $11.2 million. That’s the main road through the Gables Estates, and is apparently much fancier than its nearly parallel sister street Leucadendra Drive. Former Miami Heat player Alonzo Mourning and Heat President Pat Riley use to own homes on the street but have sold them in recent years. Other resident’s names aren’t quite as A-List, but they probably prefer it that way tucked all the way down there in Coral Gables.

Nearby Tahiti Beach Island Road, also down in Coral Gables, came in 14th. Homes there go for $10.3 million. Residents there include NFL player and University of Miami alum Jonathan Vilma and equity fund manager Bruce Berkowitz.

No other Florida streets were in the top ten.

MIAMI FIRST AMENDMENT ACTIVIST SUES FOR RIGHT TO FILM IN FLORIDA COURTROOM

Carlos Miller is suing to fight a Jacksonville judge’s restrictive media definition. Courtesy of Carlos Miller

For the past eight years, Carlos Miller has operated the Miami-based website Photography is Not a Crime (PINAC), a nationally-known free speech and media advocacy blog with roughly a million visitors a month. But recently a Jacksonville judge ruled the organization couldn’t film the trial of its own correspondent because the site doesn’t fit the court’s definition of a media organization.

Now PINAC is fighting back by filing a lawsuit to get the right to film in courtrooms.

“The laws are very clear,” Miller tells New Times. “But now, in this case, the judge does not want us to record…because they don’t like our organization.”

The case revolves around the trial of Michale Hoffman, a reporter for PINAC who is being charged with trespassing, a misdemeanor, for holding signs outside a local airport.

At Hoffman’s first hearing last October, another PINAC reporter requested to film the court proceedings and was allowed. But for a subsequent court date, Miller says, the court threw in a hurdle, forcing PINAC to apply for media credentials, then repeatedly denying its application.

In March, Judge Mark Mahon finally issued an order outlining a narrow definition of what constitutes media: traditional print and broadcast organizations that “reach or influence people widely”; and digital media that posts original news, has an editor review all stories, and can prove it has regular online visitors.

All kinds of blogs, or citizen journalists, would be effectively excluded, especially PINAC — even though the website’s viewership numbers roughly compare with those of the top news sites in Jacksonville, where the trial is taking place, Miller says. Throughout the process, Miller says, PINAC has repeatedly tried to comply with the requirements, but the judge keeps “moving the goal post” — adding in restrictions like a nonsensical mandate that to be authorized to cover the judicial system an organization has to have already covered the judicial system for six months. “He’s just trying to put all kinds of obstacles in front of us,” Miller says.

But Miller is confident the law is actually on his side. In Florida, he says, in order to bar the filming of a trial the court in effect has to prove there’s a good reason for a camera not to be present, which usually is that it compromises a fair trial for the defendant. But in this case the party seeking to film is also the defendant, so the argument is ridiculous. And the judge’s restrictive media definition, Miller contends, will also ultimately be swiftly thrown out.

“The First Amendment says there’s freedom of the press,” Miller says. “It doesn’t say, ‘there’s freedom of the press if you run a newspaper.'”

Where to Be: Here at InTheLoop, we know there are always places to be and events to attend. Each Friday, we feature a special “where to be” post on our blog to make sure every day of the week has some sort of cultural event to check out. We hope that you all can come out into the community and learn and commemorate some influential people and events around Miami!

 Friday, May 8th

Boston College Nelson Chair Roundtable Discussion

Saturday, May 9th

L.A. Boudoir Miami 5 Year Anniversary Celebration 5/9/15

Sunday, May 10th

Mother’s Day Brunch at Fresh American Bistro 

Monday, May 11th

CubaNostalgia

May 15 – 17, 2015

Arnold Hall Reilly Coliseum Fuchs Pavilion

May 15 & 16: 11AM – 11PM
May 17: 11AM – 10PM

Admission: Adults – $12
Under 12 Years Old – $6

Attractions & Highlights
– A celebration of Cuban culture
– Exhibits
– Art
– Music
– History
– Memorabilia
– Food

Phone: (305) 856-7595
Fax: (305) 857-0027

www.cubanostalgia.org

email: info@cubanostalgia.org

Link – www.cubanostalgia.org

– See more at: http://www.thefair.me/thefair/calendar.php#sthash.hdlSm0UG.dpuf

Tuesday, May 12th

Maker Hour: A Primer on the Maker Movement 5/12/15

Wednesday, May 13th

Aqua Girl: A Party for a Cause

Aqua Girl® traces its beginnings to the year 1999. That year, Alison Burgos and NYC’s legendary women’s producer, Shescape, gathered a committee of like-minded women from around South Florida to produce an exciting one-night event to benefit breast cancer. The event, Sweet Charity, was an extraordinary dance event bringing together over 800 women and raising over $15,000 for two local breast cancer organizations, Cancer Link and Gilda’s Club.

In 2000, Sweet Charity grew into an entire weekend of events and Aqua Girl® was born. The goal was to create a dynamic national fundraising weekend celebrating women and the issues that affect them. Women descended on Miami from all over the world and the first year of this spectacular weekend of events was a huge success.

We can’t believe how time flies. Now in its sixteenth fabulous year, Aqua Girl® continues to attract women from all corners of the country, the Americas and around the globe. The week continues to grow with an ever-expanding variety of events that enhance its appeal and have created what is now the hottest women’s festivals in the country.

As the largest charity women’s week in the country, your participation in Aqua Girl® contributes to a very good cause. In fact, 100% of the proceeds from Aqua Girl® benefit the Aqua Foundation for Women, a not-for-profit foundation whose primary mission is to serve as the funding catalyst for lesbian, bisexual, and transgender wellness and equality in South Florida through grants, scholarships, and initiatives.

Thursday, May 14th

Miami Dance Festival 2015 4/4/15 – 5/24/15

Miami Dance Festival

St. John’s on the Bay
4945 Pinetree Drive
Miami Beach
Free Admission

Arts at St. John’s On the Lake United Methodist Church, a collaborative improvisational program with Guest Artist J.J. Freire, percussionist.

BAYFRONT PARK POLLUTED WITH LEAD AND ARSENIC, NEEDS CLEANUP BEFORE ULTRA 2016

Fireworks and ravers at Bayfront Park during Ultra Music Festival. Photo by George Martinez/gmartnx.com

Bayfront Park is polluted. There is lead, arsenic, and other toxins in the soil. This contamination was actually discovered during last year’s survey of the City of Miami’s 112 public parks, which followed the discovery of poison ash in Coconut Grove at the former site of the Old Smokey municipal trash incinerator, since used as a training center for the fire-rescue department. But now, finally, the cleanup is being planned.

Opened in 1925, Bayfront was created by filling a 62.5-acre piece of land with mud pumped up from the bottom of Biscayne Bay. This is perhaps how the tainted dirt ended up at park. However, it had been previously used as a shipyard by the Florida East Coast Railway for years. And there was also a landscaping redesign in the 1980s that could have brought toxic soil to downtown Miami’s most prominent green space. But at no time in the 20th century was the earth tested, and city officials have no idea how it became polluted.

Of course, Bayfront, now 32 acres, is only one of Miami’s so-called “poison parks.” As the city has surveyed its green spaces, lead-, arsenic-, and barium-laced toxic ash from Old Smokey and other toxins have been found in the dirt of many other parks, including Blanche Park and Merrie Christmas Park, as well as Douglas, Curtis, Southside, Brothers to the Rescue, and Billy Rolle Domino parks. Even the former Bicentennial Park, now the location of the Pérez Art Museum Miami and once the site of Port Miami docks, was discovered to be contaminated in 2010.

So far, cleanup of Miami’s parks has cost millions of dollars. And money is predictably the major point of contention in the current negotiations between Miami-Dade County environmental regulators, the City of Miami, and the Bayfront Park Management Trust over how — and even whether — to remove Bayfront’s lead- and arsenic-tainted soil.

The Bayfront Park Management Trust makes much of its yearly revenue from Ultra Music Festival. Photo by George Martinez/gmartnx.com

At a meeting this week of city officials and the trust, the Miami Herald reports, the price of cleaning up Bayfront (as estimated by consultants from SCS Engineers) was said to be several hundred thousand dollars to over $1 million. The most expensive method would be total removal of the tainted dirt. This sort of approach took 18 months and $1.2 million at Merrie Christmas Park in Coconut Grove.

The Bayfront Park Management Trust, the controlling agency responsible for all Bayfront-related business, insists it has neither the funds, nor the time for a pricey and lengthy cleanup. The trust is also perturbed about paying the bill on its own without contributions from the city.

“The whole issue has been moving along extremely slowly,” trust chairman and Miami city commissioner Frank Carollo said, according to the Herald. “The only city park that the city has not been paying for any of the work, and where there is no plan for the remediation, is Bayfront Park. This is expensive, especially for an organization that doesn’t receive any money from the city of Miami.”

Certain trust board members, including Carollo, even suggested the removal of the toxic soil is unnecessary, because the pollution is low enough to not actually pose a public health risk.

As quoted by the Herald, trust member Nathan Kurland said: “You would have to literally ingest the dirt to get sick. I want the park to be a safe place for people to be. But we’d like to see some kind of sanity involved in this.”

(Found in lower concentrations than at other Miami parks, based on the results of city tests, Bayfront’s lead and arsenic is present in soil along Biscayne Boulevard between NE First and Second streets, an area that’s currently restricted and cordoned off.)

Still, despite the trust’s objections and the seemingly less dangerous levels of contamination at Bayfront, city officials insisted on a cleanup and threatened to close the park, just as the since-reopened Merrie Christmas was shut down, if the trust refused to cooperate.

In the end, Carollo, Kurland, and the other dissenting trust members relented, voting to contract consultants for a cleanup plan. The fee for those services will be $100,000.

Another, probably more serious cost concern for the Bayfront Park Management Trust is the potential loss of funds generated over the coming year from leasing the park to event organizers.

The Bayfront Park Amphitheater was just recently rebooted by Live Nation, which announced an ambitious spring/summer schedule featuring eight major concerts by acts like Nicki Minaj, Smashing Pumpkins and Marilyn Manson, and the Culture Club. But it seems unlikely that any cleanup would interfere with these live-music shows, because the polluted patch of dirt is all the way on the other side of the park.

However, with 11 months till Ultra 2016, the trust’s most lucrative weekend of the year may be at risk. And that’s why, as board members even admitted to the Herald, they really can’t afford an 18-month cleanup.

We are so excited for Maker Space and expansive thinking!

MEET MIAMI’S FIRST MAKERSPACE: MIAMI INDUSTRIAL ARTS 

EXPAND

From Herring’s Raku demonstration during the Innovation and Engineering Weekend at the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science. Courtesy of James Herring/World Red Eye

Miami has no shortage of artists and creative types. While there are a lot of homegrown talents living and working here, there is also a large community of transplants looking to evolve artistically in this newish mecca for the arts. With many high-profile events and institutions taking place and hold within this community, it’s easy to lose focus on the nurturing aspects of the arts and the basic elements of creation. “Makerspaces” anyone?

“What we are trying to do here with this collaboration between Miami Industrial Arts and MADE at The Citadel, is nurture creative thinking,” explains master potter James Herring. “These two groups are formed to bring together artists, designers, engineers, craft practitioners, programmers, and makers of every level from amateur to professional in an environment that will foster collaboration, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship.”

Herring, the exhibition manager at the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science, is a well-known practitioner and advocate for pottery. As a man who has worked artistically and professionally with his hands, he understands the necessity for a makerspace in Miami.

A makerspace is an easy solution for those, amateur and professionals alike, who are looking to get back to basics, but can’t afford the tools and hardware that creation necessitates.

EXPAND

James Herring at the wheel during the Innovation and Engineering Weekend at the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science. Courtesy of James Herring/World Red Eye

RELATED STORIES

• MADE at the Citadel: A Peek Inside Miami’s Newest Creative Space

• Spanish Artist Antoni Tàpies Is Still Present in His Paintings

“Experiencing the joy of creating is clearly as fundamental to being human as is eating and sleeping,” says Miami Industrial Arts (MIA) founder Paul Thomas. “All across the United States, a revival of the maker identity is taking place. [..]Makerspaces are public workshops, where you can have access to tools and machinery, as well as the knowledge and skills to fuel your learning and creativity.”

MIA is the first makerspace in South Florida and as such is leading this charge with its 6,000 square feet warehouse housing a fully equipped wood shop, metalworking tools, ceramics area and instructional space for workshops and demonstrations.

What makes a makerspace unique and an attractive option is the ready-made infrastructure that it provides. With membership packages ranging on a dependence on time commitment, MIA offers a great yearlong membership for $110 a month with prices increasing to $150 per month depending on monthly commitment. Even at $150 for a month, the access to tools in a rent-free space is a mere pittance.

MIA’s goal to provide the community a fully operational and funded makerspace can only occur through membership fees and fundraisers. Many in the community have already come aboard and made donations, like Swampspace’s Oliver Sanchez who donated woodturning chisels, and MADE at the Citadel who have joined in creating a Raku evening benefitting the fledgling ceramics studio within MIA.

EXPAND

From Herring’s Raku demonstration during the Innovation and Engineering Weekend at the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science. Courtesy of James Herring/World Red Eye

“This Raku night is a way to introduce people to ‘learning through making,’” says Herring. “Raku is a traditional Japanese glazing and firing technique first devised in the 16 century to satisfy the needs of the tea masters to the Shogun who was the de facto leader of that nation. The Japanese Tea Ceremony was designed to focus the attention of the participants on the beauty of everyday objects and to remove class distinctions.”

The  Raku lead event will help fund the ceramics department.There will be ready-made pots for purchase at $15 (or two for $25) that will be glazed, raku-ed and ready to take home that night.

As introduction to the benefits of a makerspace in a community, I’m hard-pressed in thinking of a better one that marries artistry and neighborhood empowerment with the grace of the collaborative spirit; ensuring Miami’s continued vitality as a nest and destination for creative types at any skill level.

Herring puts it best into perspective, “this is a way of bringing people to the space, to raise some funds for the ceramics program and maybe have someone walk away with an object they actually helped create. Often people just need something to get them past the idea that they are incapable of making anything.”

Raku Night at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, May 1, at Miami Industrial Arts, 300 NW 73rd St., Miami. Call 305-772-5043.

Where to Be: Here at InTheLoop, we know there are always places to be and events to attend. Each Friday, we feature a special “where to be” post on our blog to make sure every day of the week has some sort of cultural event to check out. We hope that you all can come out into the community and learn and commemorate some influential people and events around Miami!

Friday, May 1st

Scars and Stripes: The Immigrant’s Story 5/1/15

Saturday, May 2nd

Mayweather vs Pacquiao Watch Party 5/2/15

Sunday, May 3rd

Special Olympics Sponsor and Athlete 5k

Monday, May 4th

Cinco de Cleve-o 

Tuesday, May 5th

Tea Tuesday: Mother’s Day 5/5/15

Wednesday, May 6th

Rachel Deahl Publishing 101 

Thursday, May 7th

We wanted to take today to recognize the incredible work and education that is taking place at the Little Haiti Cultural Center.

There are always a plethora of events taking place here in our city, but often cultural facilitators and educators are not highlighted enough.

We hope that you can all take the time to participate in their programming.

You can find their event calendar listed here

We loved this project that was created four years ago. What if we made this a yearly ongoing exhibition that worked to highlight Miami’s Local Culture – the historic and changes faces of our neighborhoods?

A SKETCHY PARTY CELEBRATES MIAMI LOCALS AS ARTISTS AND AS SUBJECTS

If ever you’ve wanted a sketch of yourself that wasn’t an outrageous caricature, or even wanted to try your hand at sketching, now is your chance. Sketchy Miami is having alaunch party at Lester’s this Thursday.

Sketchy Miami features portraits, or sketchys as they call them, of people from all over the Magic City. It’s a project by the folks at BeachedMiami with the mission statement” “The goal of Sketchy Miami is simple and impossible: to create a portrait of every person in Miami.”

Residents submit their photos to the blog, which artists then turn into portraits. And by “artist,” they mean anyone who wants to participate.

Laura of Miami by Nicolette Sketchy Miami

“The relationship between portraitist and portrait subject is one of the

strongest in the history of art, and we want to facilitate that

relationship between as many Miamians as possible,” said Robby Campbell,

who runs Sketchy Miami. “Portraiture is traditionally a stuffy genre, but, as you can see on the site, it doesn’t have to be.”

Tony Dandrades by Nadyia Duff Sketchy Miami

To submit a photo of yourself, or a sketch of someone else, just click on the corresponding tab at the top of the site and enter your information along with the image. The sketchys are then featured on the blog for everyone to see.  They would like to eventually exhibit the sketchys offline, but have no concrete plans at the moment.

The upcoming party will feature local artists ready to do quick portraits of guests, “particularly those with handsome moustaches and/or adorable ears,” says Campbell. Artists include Ximena Prugue, Elizannette Blanco, Brian Butler, Annie Blazejack, and Carrie Sieh.
Lester’s is discounting beer 25 percent for the first hour, and Joey’s is

serving up free pizza. And in keeping with the local theme, Miami-born

singer Sam Friend will perform.

Leah Weston by Ximena Prugue Sketchy Miami

“This is not a curated

project and we aren’t trying — and don’t expect — to get a thousand

Mona Lisas. We’d prefer to get a million different Sketchys that show

how creative and diverse a city Miami really is,” said Campbell.

Attend a Sketchy Party, presented by BeachedMiami, this Thursday at Lester’s (2519 NW Second Ave., Miami). The party begins at 8 p.m. and is free.

Follow Cultist on Facebook and Twitter @CultistMiami.

Where to Be: Here at InTheLoop, we know there are always places to be and events to attend. Each Friday, we feature a special “where to be” post on our blog to make sure every day of the week has some sort of cultural event to check out. We hope that you all can come out into the community and learn and commemorate some influential people and events around Miami!

Friday, April 24th

Emerge Amadlozi Gallery Exhibition

6:00 pm – 09:00 pm

Saturday, April 25th

Children’s BookFest 

10:30 am – 4:30 pm

Sunday, April 26th

The Ultimate Pro-Audio Sound Lab 

Monday, April 27th

FOUNDATIONS, PARAMETERS AND VOLUMES

 LOCATION INFO:

Tuesday, April 28th

Rose Max & Ramatis Trio at LILT Lounge

Wednesday, April 29th

Miami Dance Festival 2015 4/4/15 – 5/24/15

Miami Dance Festival

Thursday, April 30th

SunFest 4/29/15-5/3/14

To piggyback off of our Tuesday blog post we wanted to highlight the article that was released a few years back around the arrests made of restaurant owners in Wynwood. To the community we will ask, has this type of policing been set to rest or will this conversation rear its head agian.

WYNWOOD BAR OWNERS SAY THERE’S A CONSPIRACY TO KILL THE NEIGHBORHOOD

This article was shared via NewTimes Miami on Thursday, April 16, 2015. The question that we want to ask is: What do we as a community want to see become of Ocean Drive. What was the original culture of the area and space? How do we work to preserve our original cultural blueprint of our commercial and tourist areas that make them accessible for community members and visiting parties?

Miami Beach Moves To Ban Late Alcohol Sales As Mayor Calls Ocean Drive A “Cancer”

Where to Be: Here at InTheLoop, we know there are always places to be and events to attend. Each Friday, we feature a special “where to be” post on our blog to make sure every day of the week has some sort of cultural event to check out. We hope that you all can come out into the community and learn and commemorate some influential people and events around Miami!

Friday, May 1st

eMerge Americas 5/1/15 – 5/5/15

Saturday, May 2nd

Art and Artisan Expo- Haitian Cultural Month

Sunday, May 3rd

Gulliver Hosts Special Olympics Sponsor An Athlete 5k Run/Walk 

Monday, May 4th

“Hurricanes” 

Tuesday, May 5th

Cinco De WallBrawl presented by El Jimador Tequila 5/5/15

Wednesday, May 6th

Rachel Deahl Publishing 101 5/6/15

Thursday, May 7th

“Global Positioning Systems”

Jonathan Hernandez

 DETAILS

Where to Be: Here at InTheLoop, we know there are always places to be and events to attend. Each Friday, we feature a special “where to be” post on our blog to make sure every day of the week has some sort of cultural event to check out. We hope that you all can come out into the community and learn and commemorate some influential people and events around Miami!

4/17/15

Peter Hook and The Light 

8:00 pm – 11:00 pm

Grand Central
697 N Miami Ave.,
Miami, Florida 33136
Webpage Link
Cost: $25

In May 2010, Peter Hook, legendary bassist of both Joy Division and later New Order, decided to honour the outstanding work of his first band and the undoubted genius of the late Ian Curtis by giving people the opportunity to hear both of Joy Division’s masterpiece albums, ‘Unknown Pleasures’ and ‘Closer’, live and in their entireties. Backed by his new band The Light, Hooky first played ‘Unknown Pleasures’ at the Factory club in Manchester on May 18th & 19th 2010 in order to celebrate the life of Ian – one stand alone sold out night quickly became two, and due to phenomenal worldwide demand, Hooky then began taking the show on the road with headline gigs & major festival appearances throughout Europe, a full tour of Australia & New Zealand as well as the band’s first tour of the United States in December which culminated in Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell appearing live with the lads in Los Angeles to sing ‘Transmission’.

4/18/15

YoungArts Presents Outside the Box: The Langston Hughes Project 

07:00 pm – 09:00 pm
YoungArts Campus
2100 Biscayne Blvd,
Miami, Florida 33137
Webpage Link
Cost: Free; RSVP:outsidethebox@youngarts.org

In honor of National Poetry Month, YoungArts will present Outside the Box: The Langston Hughes Project, a multimedia concert performance of Hughes’ Ask Your Mama: Twelve Moods for Jazz, on April 18. Directed by YoungArts Master Teacher Ron McCurdy, this epic jazz poem suite in music and verse about the struggle for artistic and social freedom in the ‘60s will feature McCurdy’s quartet, YoungArts Alumnus Kenyon Adams (1997 YoungArts Winner in Theater and U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts) and special surprise guests.

 4/19/15

IMUSA USA to Participate in Walk Now for Autism Speaks 

9:00 am –
JC Bermudez Park / Doral Central Park
3000 NW 87th Ave,
Doral, Florida 33172
Webpage Link
Cost: Free

Walk Now for Autism Speaks is an inspirational and impactful opportunity to raise money and awareness to help change the future for all those who struggle with autism, which IMUSA USA has been a proud sponsor of since 2009. This year IMUSA will continue the tradition by participating in the Walk Now, as well as the Puzzle Piece Campaign in partnership with Sedanos to get the local community involved to donate $1 per puzzle piece to help raise money and awareness for Autism Speaks. Along with other fundraising, IMUSA will also be selling their Puzzle piece pans at the walk on April 19th.

4/20/15

Reaching New Heightz vol. 2

Where

170 Northeast 38th Street, Miami, FL 33137, USA

Event Details

4-20 Special Hosted by Marcus Blake … Mixtape release Show/Event at The Stage in Miami, FL For HeighTz and his Brand new Mixtape Reaching New HeighTz VoL.2 Hosted by DJ Yoyo. Other real dope Talented artists will also be hitting the stage as well like Guapo Breaksbars Tyler VerseWon Miller Eric Orion Toledo Hazey Hendricks Ray Sookdial Jonathan Heimann Marcos Fernandez so get ready to make a movie and puff it down and have a great night. Ya don’t want to miss out on this one.

4/21/15

Lilt Lounge: Agustin Conti Trio

---

Jazz Agustin Conti is a very talented innovated jazz musician. He will perform a fusion of tango and jazz through original compositions. Free

 

4/22/15

Scott Marischen Trio at LILT Lounge 

9:00 pm – 12:00 am

LILT Lounge
270 Biscayne Way Blvd.,
Miami, Florida 33131
Webpage Link
Cost: Free

Scott Marischen plays a variety of instruments such the harp, acoustic and electric music, coconuts and even trashcans. LILT Lounge brings the first high-design lounge to downtown Miami with nightly live music curated by Kristian Caro and creative cocktails by Dean Feddaoui. Lounge opens at 6 p.m. with social bites by acclaimed executive chef Wolfgang Birk including charcuterie & cheese, oysters & caviar, lobster cocktail and tuna tartare gazpacho. Happy Hour runs from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and includes fine champagnes from $7 per glass and a daily selection of oysters at $1.

4/23/15

Smart City Startups 

02:00 pm – 08:00 pm
Wynwood Warehouse Project
450 Northwest 27th Street,
Miami, Florida 33127
Webpage Link
Cost: $99.00-$499.00

The Smart City Startups Festival is a unique opportunity to see, try and ride the very best emerging technologies from 100 of todays leading startups that are re-imagining cities. You can meet their creators, too.
You can hear about the future of cities from award-winning sci-fi author and researcher, Ramez Naam, who Wired has described as “Scary Good”. And CNNMoney’s Aimee Rawlins will discuss the changing meaning of “location, location, location” in the face of massive changes in mobility technologies.
We’ll also ask for your opinion to help us select 3 startups to bring to South Florida to take on challenges in areas like mobility, economic development and climate change.
Smart City Startups is made possible with support from Knight Foundation, Direct Energy, The National League of Cities, Max Borges Agency, Cognicity and Urban.Us. With their support, we are able to invite the very best Urbantech startups to Miami.

In Light of continued conversations about race in our community. We felt that it is important to share some facts about current white sentiments against people of color in our communities.

STUDY: WHITE FLORIDIANS ARE PRETTY RACIST

Posted on WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2014 | 4 MONTHS AGO

Some white people seem to think the only way to be racist is to wear a KKK hood while shouting the n-word. That’s not the case, and often racism is more subtle and codified. So much so that a racist may not even know how racist they’re being.

Project Implicit, as the name would suggest, seeks to explore implicit biases, and over 2 million people have taken their Implicit Association Test which measures people’s hidden biases — negative associations based on skin color the taker might not even know they have.

Turns out that white people in Florida tend to be amongst the most implicitly racist in America.

The map above, via the Washington Post, shows each state’s white population’s implicit biases against black people.

Florida scored a 0.436 (1 would represent totally racist, 0 would be totally not racist). Granted, that’s slightly less racist than the stretch of deep south state from Louisiana to South Carolina just above us, but its nothing to be proud of. We’re more racist than Texas!

Though, the Post notes the data is not based on a random sample, and rather based on people who voluntarily took the test: “which may actually mean they are less biased than average. (After all, at least they wanted to know how biased they are.)”

“These volunteers are younger, more educated, more politically liberal, and more female than the U.S. population as a whole,” the creator of the test, psychologist Anthony Greenwald of the University of Washington, told the paper.

Which is to say that this really isn’t a perfect measure of Florida’s racism, but it does tell us that any notion that racism is somehow less prevalent in Florida than it is in the cultural deep south is a lie.

If you’re interested in finding out about your own implicit biases, you can do so here.

Follow Miami New Times on Facebook and Twitter @MiamiNewTimes.

Where to Be: Here at InTheLoop, we know there are always places to be and events to attend. Each Friday, we feature a special “where to be” post on our blog to make sure every day of the week has some sort of cultural event to check out. We hope that you all can come out into the community and learn and commemorate some influential people and events around Miami!

4/10/15

Miami Watercolor Society Spring Exhibition 2015 

Are you familiar with the PAMM Fund for African American Art? If not check them out and think about how you can support their cause.
​The PAMM Fund for African American Art was initiated with a $1 million grant, funded equally by Jorge M. Pérez and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, for the purchase of contemporary art by African American artists for the museum’s permanent collection. Through the fund, the museum first acquired works by Al Loving, Faith Ringgold and Xaviera Simmons. These pieces joined other significant PAMM collection objects by artists such as Leonardo Drew, Sam Gilliam, Rashid Johnson, Lorna Simpson, James Van Der Zee, Carrie Mae Weems, Kehinde Wiley and Purvis Young.

Join Pérez Art Museum Miami as an Ambassador for African American Art, and your participation will help PAMM acquire and exhibit major works by African American artists for years to come. 

Join Ambassadors

Advocate $250
Steward $1,000
Guardian $2,500

90% of each gift is fully tax deductible and is fully directed toward the fund.

Advocate

Support the Fund with a donation of $250 or more. Enjoy Dual museum membership including free admission for 12 months and 10 percent discount at the PAMM Shop and the waterfront Verde Restaurant. You will receive invitations to quarterly Ambassadors’ events and name recognition in PAMM’s e-newsletter and on PAMM’s website.

Steward

Make a contribution of $1,000 or more and you will also receive a complimentary invitation for two to PAMM’s official Miami Art Week/Art Basel celebration, plus select talks and tours with art connoisseurs and curators throughout the year.

Guardian

With a contribution of $2,500 or more receive all benefits listed above, plus four complimentary guest passes for friends and family and an invitation to a special recognition event.

PAMM Fund for African American Art Advisory Committee: To support the planning and selection process, the museum has put together an advisory committee, led by PAMM Chief Curator Tobias Ostrander, comprising of renowned curators, art historians,and artists. Advisory group participants are: Thom Collins, director of PAMM; Tobias Ostrander, chief curator and deputy director for curatorial affairs of PAMM; Naomi Beckwith, curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; Adler Guerrier, Haitian-born artist living and working in Miami; Carole F. Hall, former editor-in-chief of African American interest books at John Wiley & Sons; Tumelo Mosaka, contemporary art curator at the Krannert Art Museum in Urbana-Champaign, Ill; Toni Randolph, Miami-based art collector; Dennis Scholl, Vice President / Arts for the Knight Foundation; Lowery Stokes Sims, curator at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York; and Michele Wallace, professor of English at The City College and Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY).

Photos from recent related events

View Flickr album

View Facebook album

Miami Gardens, the city that’s home to Sun Life Stadium and one of Florida’s highest crime rates, has had a wrenchingly difficult week. Days after police fatally shot a mentally ill man armed with a broom, city leaders are now dealing with an apparent hate crime.

Yesterday, someone spray-painted “KKK” symbols — along with phrases like “move out” — around Miami Gardens. City leaders and civil rights activists this morning are calling for justice.

See also: Internet Won’t Let Lavall Hall, Mentally Ill Man Shot by Miami Gardens Police, Be Forgotten

“We condemn this vandalism,” Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Florida Regional Director Hava Holzhauer said in statement to New Times. “We urge law enforcement to investigate this as a potential hate crime, as well as for all members of the community to publicly denounce this hateful vandalism.”

The graffiti was found in at least five locations around Miami Gardens, a predominantly African-American city.

Miami Gardens Police Chief Stephen Johnson told reporters that the department is treating the graffiti as a grave crime. “Prank or no prank, we are going to be treating this very seriously,” he told the media.

A police spokesman told New Times this morning that no new information has emerged in the case.

The ADL, though, says that whoever left the graffiti had one goal in mind: intimidating residents in their own homes.

“[It was likely] someone within the community who seeks to instill fear in a particular group with the intent of pushing them out of the neighborhood,” Holzhauer says.

The crime comes as Johnson scrambles to deal with outrage over Monday’s shooting of Lavall Hall, a schizophrenic man whose mother had called police for help during an episode. Hall was shot and killed when he used a broom handle to attack two officers.

Anti-police-violence activists have seized on the death as the latest in the #BlackLivesMatter campaign on Twitter and Facebook, while Johnson has been quick to defend the officers involved.

Where to Be: Here at InTheLoop, we know there are always places to be and events to attend. Each Friday, we feature a special “where to be” post on our blog to make sure every day of the week has some sort of cultural event to check out. We hope that you all can come out into the community and learn and commemorate some influential people and events around Miami!

Friday, 4.3.15

Mega Egga Hunt! Adventure at Jungle Island

Saturday, 4.4.15

Miami Dance Festival 2015

Sunday, 4.5.15

Easter Sunday Brunch at Jalapeño Mexican Kitchen

Monday, 4.6.15

Rootsy Juicy Reggae

Where: Purdy Lounge | 1811 Purdy Ave. Miami Beach, FL  33139

It’s Monday night. The work day is over and you’re still sobering up from the weekend. Lucky for you, there’s always a place where you can unwind after ending the crappiest day of the work week: Purdy. The SoBe watering hole has been the go-to underground Monday night reggae party for almost a decade. Jean P. Jams plays the marimba and DJ Icue mixes tracks all night. The best part: $4 Prestige beer. Yeah, mon

Tuesday, 4.7.15

A Picture & Poem Can Voice a 1000 Wrongs

Where: Bakehouse Art Complex | 561 NW 32nd St.Miami, FL  33127

When: 12pm – 2:30pm

University of Miami Intensive English Program presents an afternoon of bilingual poems to highlight issues of social justice.

Wednesday, 4.8.15

Ecommerce For Beginners Workshop

Thursday, 4.9.15

ARTcycle

When: Open to Close

This event and commentary was put out by The Atlantic back in February of this year. Seeing, we have had a few months to reflect. What are your thoughts and reactions? What has changed? What remains?

Police Officers React to the Bad Behavior of Cops in Miami Gardens

After highlighting a scandal in Miami Gardens, Florida, where police officers arrested a man for trespassing dozens of times even though he was at his place of employment, I solicited insights from law-enforcement personnel in my readership. What did they make of the story? How did they explain the fact that the abusive behavior continued for so long? What did they regard as an appropriate punishment? How would they guard against similar abuses elsewhere? How would they react if they encountered colleagues treating a man that way?

Several were generous enough to share their thoughts.

One correspondent has spend roughly a decade at a federal law enforcement agency. He writes:

I came across your article coincidentally after a colleague and I were discussing the This American Life podcast you referenced. We in law enforcement are feeling a little underappreciated these days, but to answer the question you pose at the end of your article regarding how I feel about the behavior of the Miami Gardens police department, in a word, I am sickened.

I feel every bit as outraged as I imagine anyone listening to the account was, as does everyone in law enforcement that I have discussed this with. This behavior undermines the credibility and perceived legitimacy of law enforcement everywhere, and bolsters the narrative that so many in the media and elsewhere are trying to push today: that police are biased and trampling the rights of citizens everywhere. I have no statistics at hand to prove that the Miami Gardens case is an anomaly, I only have my own experiences and observations. Every day when I go to work, I see people in Federal, State and Local law enforcement working together to try to make a difference, trying to treat all people they encounter with respect and dignity, and trying to make the world a better place. Do we get a little cynical at times? Sure. Are we sometimes frustrated by a lack of cooperation we get?  You bet. Are there times when our jobs feel completely futile? Too many, but at the end of the day, can we look ourselves in the mirror and say with conviction that we did something to make things a little better? The answer is yes.

In any profession or large population, there are going to be examples of misconduct. In a country with thousands of arrests, there are going to be some that go wrong, or could have gone better. These should absolutely be investigated. Procedures should be reformed. Personnel should be disciplined (or prosecuted) if called for. But to taint an entire profession, built around the “to serve and protect” ideal, by viewing them only through the lens of the Miami Gardens case or other examples of police misconduct is wrong.

One of the most frustrating things to listen to in the This American Lifepodcast came in Part 1, Act 2, when the Milwaukee police responded to a shooting, and did by all accounts a thorough, professional and respectful investigation, which resulted in the arrest of the perpetrator. Despite this, the complainant, Trina, stated that she still didn’t trust the police. That was tough to hear. I’m not sure what other experiences Trina had to make her feel like that, or what environment she was raised in that may have affected her trust in the police, but from the perspective of law enforcement it is very disheartening. It’s somewhat like being a waiter or waitress and really busting your butt to provide great service to a client and getting stiffed on the tip, except that you’re not a waiter, you’re actually doing something where you’re putting yourself in physical danger at times on behalf of the people you serve.

What bothered me most about the This American Life piece was not the Miami Gardens segment itself (I actually thought the piece was well done and informative, a story to be shared and learned from) but the fact that the segment was broadcast under the heading “Cops See it Differently,” intimating that all cops see the behavior discussed in the segment as acceptable, appropriate, or defensible. It most certainly is not any of those things. It represents a leadership failure, and if the allegations are true, a failure of personal integrity and violation of public trust for many of the officers involved.

Cops are entrusted with a lot of responsibility and need to be held accountable. Body cameras could be a potential solution, but with body cameras has to come the recognition that law enforcement is a tough job, often involving the need to make split second decisions, potentially having life or death consequences, based on limited information. Body cameras need to come with the understanding that cops are human and cannot be perfect 100% of the time, although they need to strive to be. Oh and they also need to come with the understanding that someone needs to pay for them.

Thank you for the opportunity to vent.  I’m glad someone actually asked for an opinion. Understand that all of the above represent my opinion as a private citizen and are not associated with any government or law enforcement agency.

Here’s another note that begins with the correspondent giving a brief synopsis of his career:

I’ll begin by letting you know that I’m a former Law Enforcement Officer who retired after 27 years of service. My career began in 1980 in the South Bronx as a member of the NYC Transit Police Department before it merged with the NYPD. My career coincided with a very turbulent and violent period in the history of New York City: the crack cocaine epidemic of the 80s and homicide rates that can best be described as astronomical. During these times, New York City was not a very safe place to live, work, or visit. I truly believe that my fellow officers were men and women who cared about the city and its people, who held a deep and sincere sense of caring that transcended the color of a person’s skin, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation.

There was a time when I viewed the world in which I lived and worked in as just black and white. There were good guys and bad guys, and no one in between. Fortunately that was a phase in my career that lasted for only a few years (this is attested to by a plaque I received from members of my unit  wishing “the liberal” luck upon his transfer to the narcotics division). What had happened to cause this change in my ‘good guy, bad guy’ philosophy? It was the realization that I could be a good cop without having to conform to that ‘good guy, bad guy’ mindset. That was a mantra that was embraced by many back then, and unfortunately, that still is true today, for a number of reasons.

It is hard for me to comprehend why a police officer would not investigate further to substantiate or disprove his claim that he was an employee of the Quickstop. It seems very simple and effortless. ‘Excuse me sir, does this individual work here?’ When empowered with the authority to take a man’s freedom you have a moral obligation to ensure that you do the right thing. It is clear that these police officers were not interested in doing the right thing. We all carry implicit biases with us, police officers included. And to deny that prejudice and racial bigotry may have played a role in Mr. Sampson’s sixty or so arrests is to be naive to say the least. Some may argue that neither prejudice nor racial bigotry on the part of the police had anything to do with Mr. Sampson’s plight. That this theory of ‘implicit bias’ is nothing more that liberal mumbo jumbo. To those I say, then why? Why was this man repeatedly arrested for a crime he did not commit? Why didn’t any of the police officers involved in his arrest have the common sense to have asked a question or two at the scene? I feel I’ve already rambled on too long, but I do feel strongly about this as someone who takes a great deal of pride in my profession.

A third correspondent has spent decades in Louisiana law enforcement. Female police officers from that state who read on will be glad to know that he is retired. He writes:

I grew up with many state troopers living nearby as a kid and I guess it’s what made me want to be a cop. First let me say this about Florida: It is one weird state as far as law enforcement goes. I know you will say to yourself, what, Louisiana is great? Well, there are problems everywhere these days, for sure. But over there, even different agencies in the same counties are often at each other’s throats, arresting each other’s officers for various things from misdemeanors to true felonies. That said, I find the story from Miami Gardens heartbreaking and terrible at once. I am the parent of a mentally challenged adult child and I would be destroyed if my son was dealt with in this same manner.

When I became a deputy, the job was pretty much political in that the sheriff faced re-election every four years. We never had any serious challengers in and often were returned to office with no one registering to run against our sheriff.  But it being political, we did not go out of our way to make people’s lives a problem or punish them abnormally because we had to deal with them.

Far from it, we gave rides to people who needed one or tried to be neutral arbiters, if possible, in disputes. We tried pretty hard NOT to have to arrest people. We just didn’t want to do it. We weren’t “badge heavy,” throwing our weight around or whatever.  If we had to take care of business, we did so, but there was none of the stuff I see so much in the news these days. We did not have tasers. We had a revolver (and were warned to NEVER pull it unless our life depended on it), cuffs, and a nightstick, which we often just left in the cruiser.

But when someone refused to go we simply had to put hands on them and MAKE them go. This, I think, is where these cops of today are so messed up. It used to be that they were fast to pull that Taser. Now it’s the gun. And if the Taser doesn’t work they SHOOT the gun! I read one story and saw the video where one cop in Montana, in less than 8 years on the force, had already killed two people for being trigger happy. That is someone who wants the job but is terrified of everything that moves in my book. It’s unconscionable!!

Women in law enforcement are a joke as well in my book. They do not have the physical size and power of a male and they just simply lose in any physical confrontation. That and they get their male counterparts hurt for having to lookout for them and do all the work if any physical restraint is called for. A suspect being questioned in the Jacksonville, Mississippi, headquarters by a female officer had her weapon taken from her by the subject who then used it to shoot and kill two male officers in a shootout in the HQ. It’s all PC to hire them and everything but they get others and themselves hurt.

A big problem is that the officers they have hired in the last 20 years or so are of the PlayStation or video game generation. They grew up playing these violent games killing digital foes, and then they think current day technology will make a Buford Pusser out of tiny women and men too cowardly to put hands on the people they must arrest. It just DOES NOT work. It’s the only reason I can see for the videos that have surfaced where male officers shoot an unarmed or lighly armed (that is to say, a rake, stick, or a stone) subject.  We met the force of resistance to arrest with just what it took to overcome it. No more, no less.

I was fortunate to pull my sidearm out on only three occasions in 18 years. Two were in assisting with surprise arrests of potentially armed subjects and the third was the emergency movement of inmates from a jail facility that we thought was on fire.

That’s it. I never pulled it during an average arrest, wrestling with someone or a traffic stop.

I loved being a law enforcement officer, but near the end of my active years, I used to wonder what I might do in the spur of a moment that lawyers and judges and DA’s would have years to Monday morning quarterback me on. I could lose my livelihood, my possessions and my LIFE if something went wrong.

That said, the treatment of the subject of the article is inexcusable, the deafness of police administration to the man’s employer to cut it out and the fact they did not want to stop it is beyond shameful. Those are not cops. They are bullies using Gestapo tactics and too enamoured of admiring themselves in mirrors. I am no lawyer, but I would say each and every one of those activities are violations of the man’s civil rights and he should SUE the dept and the individual officers in question. If Holder wants to put a stop to police BS why isn’t he looking into THAT?!?  Something truly real and truly wrong?

But I feel things are not going to get better and I don’t know why. One of the best things I ever heard was something to the effect that “common sense is the most un-common thing.” That is what seems so sorely lacking in today’s police environment. Maybe it’s just a few bad places, or bad apples and the 24/7 news cycle finds these things and vomits them up no end. Maybe we were no better back then, it’s just that we were more separated from each other pre-internet.

(For a more positive assessment of female police officers, see here.)

That wasn’t a selection of the responses emailed to me—it was all of them, very lightly edited for concision. If you’re a police officer whose perspective wasn’t represented, or who wants to take a crack at any of the questions I posed that remain unanswered, more correspondence to conor@theatlantic.com is encouraged. I’m eager for anything that will help my readership to better understand cops. Once again, I’ll publish emails without names unless otherwise requested.

Feb. 6^th to May 3^rd

Tàpies: From Within is a major historical survey that features a selection of more than 50 large-scale paintings and sculptures, representing diverse moments from throughout Antoni Tàpies’ (b. 1923, Barcelona, Spain; d. 2012, Barcelona, Spain) career. These include early examples from 1945 through to recent works created in 2011—the year prior to his death. The exhibition explores the Spanish artist’s use of unusual materials and forms and the development of his unique visual language, which earned him an international reputation as one of the most successful abstract painters of his generation.

Curated by former Tate Director Vincente Todolí, this retrospective offers a unique view into Tàpies’ groundbreaking practice, which fused impoverished materials with symbols of Eastern and Western culture to create dense works covered with graffiti-like gestures. His alchemical practice mixed spiritual and existential questions with unique material investigations of surface, mark-making, and found objects. The exhibition presents an intimate and unusual view of his oeuvre, through a selection of works drawn exclusively from his own private collection and that of the Fundació Antoni Tàpies.

http://www.pamm.org/exhibitions/t%C3%A0pies-within

Where to Be: Here at InTheLoop, we know there are always places to be and events to attend. Each Friday, we feature a special “where to be” post on our blog to make sure every day of the week has some sort of cultural event to check out. We hope that you all can come out into the community and learn and commemorate some influential people and events around Miami!

Friday, 3.27.15

Represent Drum & Bass WMC 2015

This article is being shared from Naked Politics via the Miami Heeald. Let’s remind ourselves to be vigilant about conversations involving our young people and conversations about violence and lobbying attached to violence and our youth.

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2015/03/testimony-from-campus-police-chiefs-riles-nra-lobbyist.html

This is a great performance taking place tonight that we recommend you all attend. Its a great way to start off the week.

http://frenchculture.org/film-tv-and-new-media/events/speaking-french-cinema-mbc

When: March 23, 2015

Where: Miami Beach Cinematheque | 1130 Washington Avenue Miami Beach 33139 FL

The Miami Beach Cinematheque presents the first edition of Speaking in Cinema series of 2015, IN CONVERSATION WITH THE STARS OF GIRLHOOD, hosted by Miami Film Critic Juan Barquin, in the presence French actresses Karidja Touré and Assa Sylla, and L.A. Weekly Chief Film Critic Amy Nicholson on March 23.
The film “Girlhood” by Céline Sciamma  (2014) will be screening at the Miami Beach Cinematheque from March 20th to March 29th. The French Embassy Cultural Services Miami Office will be co-hosting a welcome reception for the stars of the film on Saturday March 21 at 8:20pm, between the 6:30pm and 9:10pm shows.

KARIDJA TOURÉ and ASSA SYLLA are the stars of Céline Sciamma’s GIRLHOOD. Both young students living in Paris, it is their first acting role in a long-feature film. Karidja Touré was nominated for a César Award for her performance in the film.

AMY NICHOLSON is chief film critic for L.A. Weekly. She co-hosts the weekly Voice Film Club podcast. Her first book, Tom Cruise: Anatomy of an Actor, was recently published by Cahiers du Cinema.

JUAN BARQUIN is co-founder of the website, Dim the House Lights, which focuses on long-form film criticism and essays. He is also a freelance writer for the Miami New Timesand YAM Magazine.

The SPEAKING IN CINEMA series presented by the Miami Beach Cinematheque is a series of events giving an in-depth look at the intricacies of the art of filmmaking led by local and visiting film critics. With filmmakers, artists and international specialists as guests, the series is an ongoing and inclusive celebration of the art of cinema, the “Seventh Art”, which brings together all of the other six. SPEAKING IN CINEMA explores cinema’s past, present and future as the medium that encompasses spatial, temporal and visual aspects of art. The series provides a platform for continued engagement with a video library of the events to be released soon on the MBC website. Past editions have included guests such as Daniel Patrick Carbone, director of « Hide your smiling faces », starring actor (and son of the director)  Brontis Jodorowsky of « Danza de la realidad » ,  director of « Child of God » James Franco, among others…

This edition of Speaking in Cinema Series in sponsored in part by the French Embassy Cultural Services.

MIAMI BEACH CINEMATHEQUE

Friday, 3.20.15

PreMoney Miami Investor Conference 3/20/15

Saturday, 3.21.15

The 10th Annual Jazz In the Gardens Music Festival 

Sunday, 3.22.15

The Seven Year Itch

Monday, 3.23.15

April GoLightly Hosts Girls Night Out at HSI Professional HAIRBAR 3/23/15

Tuesday, 3.24.15

River Of Art #20 Business + Arts Social Event at Tongue & Cheek 

Wednesday, 3.25.15

Incorrect Music Wmc 2015 Showcase

Thursday, 3.26.15

Hard Rock RISING – Miami Beach 2015

The article below was taken from Miami New Times. What we are requesting that you all consider are the questions of: how does the mall affect our local economy? How does this mall go to benefit our local communities?

American Dreams Miami Mall Will Include World’s Largest Ski Dome, Art Deco Village, Water Park, Coral Reef, and More

Announced yesterday as the largest mall in America, American Dreams Miami is being dubbed by developer Triple Five Group as the “largest entertainment attraction in the world.”

Yes, the mall will end up being much more than a mall.

Triple Five tells New Times plans are expected to include:

1. Planet’s largest ski dome, year-round “powder” in the heat of summer.2. 7-acre covered lake supplying cool water for the country’s largest water park.

3. A separate 7-acre submarine lake where self propelled subs built in the Atlantic explore a live Caribbean reef.

4. An Art Deco Village of gourmet restaurants, live theater, and a Tivoli garden.

5. A London size Ferris wheel with views at the top from the Everglades to the Ocean.

6. Ice stadium for ice ballet, figure skating, and hockey instruction for children and young adults.

Triple Five

American Dreams Miami will feature a similar water park.

All of this is in addition to the Legoland theme park, minigolf, and sea lion show attraction that were reported yesterday.

Triple Five says the mall will “capture the very best elements” of its other properties. Those include the continent’s largest mall, the West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, Canada; the Mall of America in Minnesota; and the under-construction American Dreams Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey, near the stadium where the New York Jets and Giants play.

The mall is planned to be built near the intersection of Florida’s Turnpike and I-75 in Northwest Miami-Dade. The project will be within the Urban Development Line, and no county money will be used to build the mall.

Follow Miami New Times on Facebook.

Friday, 3.13.15

W.O.W. (Women of the World) Event