On Tuesday, September 9, the series' 17th edition takes a different approach with Screen Time, a screenprinting event featuring submissions by 30 local and international artists. The gallery says the tactile artistic process is meant to stand in contrast to "a time where creativity is flattened into scrollable content." Guests will be asked to turn off their phones to be fully present for the exhibition.
Instead of standing in a corner scrolling through Instagram, then closing the app only to reopen it mere seconds later, you'll witness a live art battle benefitting the nonprofit PATH (Preserving, Archiving & Teaching HipHop). This month’s rotating food pop-up, the acclaimed (and recent Good Morning America spotlight) Tinta Y Cafe, is the perfect pairing for the event, given that the Coral Gables restaurant encourages patrons to refrain from using electronic devices while dining at its counters.
A True Indie Gallery
While Miami has its fair share of art spaces, true indie galleries are increasingly rare. Wynwood’s walls, once a wild west of open canvases, have been largely taken over by developer-backed murals and luxury retail. In Little Havana, the world-famous Calle Ocho saw its first Starbucks open in 2022, an indicator of the tides turning in what was once a bastion for generationally stewarded businesses. El Fresco, planted on SW 12th Ave., stands apart as a neighborhood anchor run by artists, for artists. Gallery founder Daniel Fila, also known by his artist name, Krave, says Vinyl Tuesdays has offered something rare since its launch in early 2024."We’re showing the pioneering graffiti writers who helped make this city an urban art mecca, right alongside figure drawings and abstract painters," he tells New Times. The gallery's independence has meaningful implications beyond clout. "Even on a foundational level, artists benefit most here," Fila says. “In a field of incessant gatekeeping, we provide an open door. Maybe someone isn’t ready to hang work on the walls yet, but they can paint on our wreck wall or jump into courtyard activities. Any level of artist can get involved.”
An Incubator for Other Artists
That openness also guides how the gallery operates. Local artist Louie Diamondz cofounded Vinyl Tuesdays while he had his studio there. He has since gone on to open his own studio-gallery, Central Command, in Allapattah. It's one of many examples of El Fresco working as an incubator, giving artists visibility and hands-on experience they can carry into their own projects.Over the past year and a half, hundreds of artists' pieces have been displayed in the space. Fila says the gallery's aim is "to build not just artists but collectors and patrons who want to engage early and directly." By asking visitors to switch off their phones, El Fresco asks guests to become active participants rather than passive scrollers.
Little Havana may not look like Wynwood (yet), but it’s not immune to the same pressures: displacement, commercialization, and homogenization. El Fresco reminds us that another model is possible, one where artists profit first, community is the metric of success, and creativity still gets ink on its hands.
Vinyl Tuesdays at El Fresco. 7 p.m. Tuesday, September 9, at El Fresco, 535 SW 12th Ave., Miami; 657-888-3452; elfrescomiami.com. Admission is free and open to the public.
