Still Here: In Gratitude

KEYNOTE Dr. Sharony Green opened the convening with insights from her book The Chase and Ruins: Zora Neale Hurston in Honduras.

We are so very grateful to the storytellers in our communities who have become the architects of our collective memory. 

In the heart of Miami's vibrant artistic landscape lies artists who continue to explore and honor their deep-rooted lineage through the visual arts.  Still Here: Generations of Black Miami Artmaking stands as a profound tribute to the spirit of narrative that has woven together the diverse threads of our Black Miami tapestry.  As visual griots, the complex art of storytelling is rendered with each brushstroke on canvass, or arrangements of objects in an installation.  

MAKING ART PUBLIC panel with Reginald O'neal, Marie Vickles, Charles Humes Jr., and Chire Regans 

Representing heterogenous Black neighborhoods of Overtown, Liberty City, Miami Gardens, Cutler Ridge, and South Miami, our artists convey generational continuity and change.  Mothers, fathers, grandparents, aunts and uncles nurtured the artistic intelligentsia of Still Here: Generations of Black Miami Artmaking. The convening serves as a living testament to the stories that have shaped the shared Black Miami experiences. 

Migration & Memories Juana Valdes and Morel Doucet
Histories forever preserved and woven into the fabric of the event encourage intergenerational community dialogues and strategic partnerships in pursuit of more just futures.  
 

Photos courtesy of Ermol Sheppard 

 Photo Album 

Still Here: Generations of Black Miami Artmaking examines how artists have represented Miami’s dynamic and intersectional social histories. This convening was made possible with additional support from Mellon Foundation and the Terra Foundation of American of Art.