The Best Art Shows to See in Miami, May 2025

As the summer approaches, Miami's art scene is still buzzing. Major museum shows are set to open at local museums, interesting gallery shows are getting meta on the subject of creativity, and local arts centers are staging super-cool immersive art shows. As temperatures climb, these institutions provide great incentives to keep cool inside their walls. Here are the best art shows to see in Miami in May.

All presentations are listed in the order they opened. Unless otherwise noted, all listed events are free to attend and open to the public.

"In Other Words" at Tunnel Projects

Organized by curator Yi Chin Hsieh, "In Other Words" centers the practice of writing as artistry. A group of Miami-based journalists, poets, and other writers, including Isabella Marie Garcia, Alexandra Martinez, Catherine Camargo, Oscar Fuentes, and I, Douglas Markowitz, were asked to share our interpretations of a specific artwork. The writers responded with poetry, fiction, critical appraisals, personal reflections, and more, and the results are on display at Tunnel. Through Thursday, May 22, at Tunnel Projects, 316 SW 12th Ave., Miami; tunnelprojects.com. Open by appointment.

"Outside of the Frame" @ Edge Zones

At Edge Zones in Allapattah, artist Richard Garet curates a show analyzing one of the oldest forms of making art: painting. "Outside of the Frame" attempts to reconsider the act of painting in the realm of conceptual art. The show features work by locals as well as artists from New York, Los Angeles, and South America, including Denise Treizman, Diego Masi, Juan Henriquez, and Claudia Hart. Through Saturday, May 31, at Edge Zones, 3317 NW Seventh Ave. Cir., Miami; 305-303-8852; edgezones.org.

"Poemas de Sal y Tierra" at Homework

Homework Gallery is collaborating with the Caribbean-focused arts platform Forgotten Lands on a show at their Little River gallery space. Titled "Poemas de Sal y Tierra," the multimedia exhibition delves into themes of cultural memory and "ancestral geographies," according to a statement from the gallery. Eleven artists feature in the show, including Devin Osorio, Charlie Quezada, Elisa Bergel Melo, and locals Nicole Combeau, Nathalie Alfonso, and Amanda Linares, among others. Through Thursday, May 31, at Homework, 7338 NW Miami Ct., Miami; homework.gallery.

Tomas Vu at Locust Projects

Few musicians are as influential and legendary as the late David Bowie, and the latest show at Locust Projects is all about the great artist's legacy. New York-based artist Tomas Vu's Blackstar 16/25/60, featuring a Buckminster Fuller-style geodesic dome, is an immersive, interactive installation inspired by Bowie. The show is the third in a trilogy of works Vu debuted in 2019. Opening Wednesday, April 26 at Locust Projects, 297 NE 67th St., Miami; 305-576-8570; locustprojects.org.

Philip Smith and Vickie Pierre at MoCA North Miami

The Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami is debuting new exhibitions from two South Florida-based artists this spring. Headlining the slate is "Philip Smith: Magnetic Fields," a retrospective of the Miami-born artist who moved back to the city recently after a long career in New York. A part of the so-called "Pictures Generation" that included Robert Longo and Jack Goldstein, Smith's canvases are a smattering of symbolic imagery based on the artist's explorations of magic, mysticism, and the supernatural. Smith will exhibit alongside Brooklyn-born multimedia artist Vickie Pierre, whose exhibition "The Maiden is the Warrior" deals with ideas of race, femininity, and the artist's Haitian heritage. Opening Wednesday, April 30 at the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, 770 NE 125th St., North Miami; 305-893-6211; mocanomi.org. Admission costs $10 for the general public and $5 for students, seniors, and persons with disabilities. Admission is free for members, children under the age of 12, North Miami residents and city employees, veterans, and caregivers accompanying persons with disabilities.

Olga de Amaral at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami

Legendary Colombian textile artist Olga de Amaral will receive a full and proper retrospective at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami. De Amaral revolutionized fabric-based art in the mid-20th century by using her background in architecture to rethink the material's dimensional possibilities. Traveling to Miami from the Fondation Cartier in Paris, the show includes locally held work that was not included in the original presentation. Opening Thursday, May 1 at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, 61 NE 41st St., Miami; 305-901-5272; icamiami.org.

Jen Clay at Girls Club

Originally from North Carolina, Miami-based artist Jen Clay will show new work at Girls' Club gallery in Fort Lauderdale this month. Similarly to previous projects such as Eyes of the Skin at Locust Projects, her new original installation, Blasted Belonging, fuses soft textiles and sci-fi horror, creating an alien forest out of quilts inspired by H.P. Lovecraft's story "The Color Out of Space." Opening Friday, May 2  at Girls' Club, 330 SW Second St. #102, Fort Lauderdale; 954-828-9151; girlsclubcollection.org.

Yanira Lopez and Alexis Oliva at Baker—Hall

Two Havana-born artists now based in Miami, Lopez and Oliva will put on a duo show at Baker—Hall gallery in Allapattah. "Apuntalados," which comes from a Spanish word meaning "shored up," will feature work that draws on modernist themes, with geometric abstractions on canvas and textile that recall mid-20th-century architecture and graphic design, particularly from Cuba. Opening Saturday, May 3, at Baker—Hall, 1294 NW 29th St., Miami; 914-787-9270; bakerhall.art.

Mildred Thompson and Sanaa Gateja at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami

In addition to their Olga de Amaral retrospective, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami will debut two other shows this month. "Mildred Thompson: Frequencies" will show work from the celebrated Florida-born artist, whose diverse and varied practice explored physics and the cosmos in painting, music, and other media. The museum will also showcase tapestries by Ugandan artist Sanaa Gateja. Opening Saturday, May 10 at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, 61 NE 41st St., Miami; 305-901-5272; icamiami.org.

Random International at Superblue

Superblue is adding a new installation by "postdigital" art collective Random International this month. The immersive art attraction will debut Alone Together, a light-based installation that uses spotlights to discuss the alienating effects of our attention-driven media economy. The work uses an algorithm to track visitors before shining an array of lights to single them out and subject them to the attention of the rest of the visiting public. Opening Saturday, May 17, at Superblue, 1101 NW 23rd St., Miami; 786-697-3405; superblue.com. Admission costs $32 for adults; $29 for Florida residents, seniors, students, military, and frontline healthcare workers; and $17 for children ages seven to 12 via superblue.com.