As 2011 comes to an end, we're getting all nostalgic about the great
moments in Miami culture that took place over the past year. And we know
we're not alone. So we've asked some of Miami's top artists, writers,
film producers and other cultural geniuses about their favorite 2011
memories.
If there are two people responsible for the spike in cultural events this past year, it'd be artists Patti Hernandez and Domingo Castillo. Through their nomadic art project the end/SPRING BREAK, they've provided the venues and resources for more crazy cultural and intellectually provocative events than this city could possibly remember.
These two worked their fannies off, scouting out unused, sometimes nontraditional gallery spaces and filling them with Miami's most intelligent and creative works, performances, and unconventional events.
Their project enables Miami to grow artistically and unusually. Currently, it is in SPRING BREAK mode, the winter Miami months when shit is stirring and people are active. The summers are referred to as the end, because that's when this city grows quiet.
Just next week, they'll be hosting a performance, Say A lil' Prayer Four You, on December 28 at Legal Art, where four artists explore rituals of purification. And soon, SPRING BREAK will also facilitate a two-month-long interpretive dance/movement class by Jenna Balfe, as well as a rooftop film screening sometime this week. They took a moment from their busy schedules to tell us about their top five cultural moments of 2011.
Evening with Rat Bastard and Friends
This past July, along with Kathryn Marks, the end put on a month of sonically motivated events with Ear Conditioning. Of course, they included the notorious Miami noise-maker Rat Bastard. The evening included live performances, and the audience learned from Rat himself about the importance of the experimental. According to Castillo, "This was absolutely baller status on all possible levels."
Possible Valentines Day R. Kelly Afterparty for R Kelly's Trapped in the Closet
If memory serves, this insanely titled event ended in an all out dance-off at the General Practice art space. Castillo says of the romantic holiday affair, "Real talk, we just tryin' to get you some lovin' on a lovin' kinda night."
Kevin Arrow's Sun Ra Listening Session
Artist Kevin Arrow is a huge old Sun Ra fan. His listening session sort of defines what the end/Spring Break is all about: people sharing their expertise and talents with Miami at large. "People still have a hard time articulating what happened this night. Kevin is like a magician of light, sound, space, and time," Castillo confides.
SPRING BREAK AT MIA ART FAIR
"So many things happened during our time at the fair, it's unjust to say one thing was better than the other," Castillo says. Having attended, we have to say that's the truth. The the end/SPRING BREAK booth at the MIA Art Fair was pretty busy with artists and onlookers. They provided a packed schedule of artistic goodness for the fairgoers.
DRACULA at the Pinewood Cemetery
Of Dracula, Hernandez noted, "They played for us on two different occasions." An honor, for sure, for a band that rarely performs live, but definitely draws a crowd. As part of the end, they even made an appearance at Pinewood Cemetery. "They played while the sun set. We watched them on blankets, surrounded by headstones and greenery." Hernandez relates, "It was not a performance. Dracula was actually playing for us."
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