Arts

We’ve asked a few of the authors of standout poems for our That’s So Miami project to explain the inspiration behind their work. Find the winners of our contest and more entries here.

Black and white

Chinese and Cuban

Who would’ve thought

My bestfriend would be Russian?

That’s so Miami.

The Broward Center for the Performing Arts has become an important part of South Florida's cultural landscape.  Here's some memories from two people who have long  histories with this organization.

Back in the late 1990‘s at the original NORMAN’S restaurant in Coral Gables we had a young man who became our Lunch Chef named Eliecer Garcia. Like many young chefs he was very interested in cuisines from all over and when we talked about what to put on our lunch menu his ideas ranged from France to Hong Kong. I loved that but sometimes I’d say, “Eliecer. I want you to show me flavors your Cuban Grandmother would make and then we can twist them a little. Okay? Why don’t you show me how she would cook with … oh… boniato for instance? And then we’ll go from there.” 

The All Florida Juried Competition and Exhibition opening reception recently at the Boca Museum of Art drew in a packed, frenzied crowd to its 62nd-annual showcase featuring 149 multimedia works. But it was the overheard exclamations of “That’s disgusting!” and “I can’t even watch this!” that stood out during the evening’s discourse.

Miami artist Orestes De La Paz has an unusual piece of performance art on display at the Frost Art Museum on the campus of Florida International University.

Last December, FIU grad De La Paz had liposuction surgery. His plastic surgeon removed about three liters of fat from his body.

Young Singers of the Palm Beaches is a community choir celebrating its tenth anniversary.  Here's a few minutes with Executive Director Beth Clark and Artistic Director D. Shawn Berry about the choir and its mission in the community.  For more information, visit yspb.org.

Many have taken the recent closing of Barnes and Noble in Aventura and the general dearth of bookstores in Miami as an omen, a portentous sign that the city is somehow culturally headed in the wrong direction.

And the easy takedown of South Florida, both nationally and from locals, is that a lack of bookstores is representative of a stupid populace, or an uncultured mass mostly focused on booze and partying.

But bemoaning the death of the bookstore is missing the point. It’s happening everywhere. And it’s not just a South Florida issue.

In 1887 Marcus Weinkle’s loving parents buried him alive. That act likely saved the 13-year-old’s life and certainly set in motion an odyssey that took him from his native Russia to, eventually, Central Florida.

  His story – and that of countless other Jewish immigrants with a Florida connection – comes alive in the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU on Miami Beach.

As one of the key players behind the up-and-coming Boynton Beach Art District (BBAD), artist and gallery owner Rolando Chang Barrero is getting no down time during South Florida's "off season." Barrero is among the region's year-round residents who stick it out during the slow, sultry months to ensure his pet projects make it through to grow another season.

The Miami Theater Center is growing. IFrom the annual contemporary performance SandBox Series to being the new home for Mad Cat Theater Company, MTC has redefined itself as a vibrant center of culture in sleepy Miami Shores.