Bringing culture to the masses is Miami's modus operandi. From Art Basel to Art Deco, the Magic City always has some sort of cultural enlightenment up its sleeve. Coming up next: Smithsonian Magazine's Museum Day Live!
This Saturday, September 28th, Smithsonian Magazine is hosting an annual event in which participating museums across the country open their doors to anyone presenting a Museum Day Ticket...for free. Yes, Miamians, that's zero dollars and zero cents.
Participating is easy and -- even better -- free. Enter your information on the Museum Day Live! website, choose the museum you're looking to check out, print your ticket, grab a friend and get your culture on. Since your MDL! ticket gives you access to one museum, New Times is here to help you decide which lucky museum will be honored by your presence.
With six exhibitions currently open, the Coral Gables Museum has something for everyone. The most unique exhibit here may be the indoor mini-golf course, designed by some of Miami's leading architects. Air-conditioned mini-luxury for those sweltering Miami days...we're wondering why we didn't think of it first. For just a $3 "greens fee", you can challenge your friends and family to nine holes of classic tee time. Have some history with your sport at the "Golf In The Gables" exhibit, a collection of historical photographs of Coral Gables' lush golf courses. For a completely unique experience, try the "Artistic License" exhibit, a mixed-media effort by Miami-Dade County Public Schools' Visual Art Department that puts a little three-dimensional magic into the museum experience.
The Bargain: You won't have to pay the $7 admission price.
285 Aragon Avenue, Coral Gables, 305-603-8067, http://coralgablesmuseum.org/index.php
"Tropical Dreams"...sounds whimsical. Notoriously magical South Florida comes to life in this exhibit at HistoryMiami, from prehistoric times to the present day. Visitors will fall into the footsteps with Florida's first arrivals and make their journey through their lives and the lives of their ancestors. See the skyscrapers shoot up and the beach resorts mark their territory on a city that is exemplified by the two. The history of this metropolitan, multi-cultural community is yours for the experiencing, SoFla native or not.
The Bargain: Avoid the $8 admission price. And it might inspire you to come back for "Wine Down Wednesdays" on the first Wednesday of every month -- $10 for a don't-miss downtown Miami hump day happy hour.
101 West Flagler Street, Miami, 305-375-1492, http://www.historymiami.org/
Equality for all, and for all, free museums! The Wolfsonian is celebrating "Women in Motion" this year, with an exhibit focused on the increased participation of women in sports. Artwork, advertisements, magazine covers and political propaganda of the early 20th century celebrate the athletic of healthy women as a source of sex appeal. Bye bye, Kate Moss, hello, Kate Upton.
The Bargain: No $7 admission fee.
1001 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach, 305-531-1001, http://www.wolfsonian.org
Jewish Museum of Florida - FIU
Imagine having the world's most extensive collection of posters...and then having them confiscated. The Jewish Museum of Florida is giving Miami a first-time look at 12,500 posters collected by Dr. Hans Sachs, a German dentist whose piece were seized in 1938 by Nazi forces. After arduous court battles, Sachs' heirs finally received restitution of his collection just this year. The collection's stunning imagery and embittered past make for a powerfully moving exhibit and a must-see before it moves on in December.
The Bargain: Avoid the $6 admission fee.
301 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach, 305-672-5044, http://jmof.fiu.edu
The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum - FIU
FIU faculty are showing their stuff this season at The Frost Art Museum. The annual FIU Faculty Exhibition of the Art + Art History Department currently features Re-enactments by Pip Brant and Baby Pictures and the People's Lullaby Collective by Michael Namkung. Specializing in painting and fiber art, Brant's vibrant work is visually compelling and a top draw of the museum. Alberto Baraya's Naturalism/Artificiality: Expeditions, and Research of the Herbarium of Artificial Plants is similarly fascinating, with taxonomic breakdowns of artificial plants that make even the falsest of plants seem to come to life.
The Bargain: Technically, it's always free. But hey, the more free stuff the better!
10975 SW 17th Street, Miami, 305-348-2890, http://thefrost.fiu.edu/index.htm
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