Nude Nite Celebrates the Human Form With Provocative Installations

Any stroll through Wynwood involves encountering eye-catching art on walls and on sidewalks, but if you happen upon the neighborhood's 555 Studios this weekend, you'll see artists working with a different canvas: the human body.

Nude Nite, part art exhibition, part immersive party, turns its venue into a living, breathing exploration of vulnerability, empowerment, and the beauty of the nude form. The event, organized by executive director and producer Sloan Waranch, returns to Miami for the first time since 2017 with live body painting, burlesque performances, full-service bars, interactive exhibits, and fun music curated by local DJs.

Waranch grew up watching Nude Nite evolve over the past two decades. Each year, it lures thousands of people with its mix of provocative installations and live performance art, primarily to Central Florida, from Orlando to Tampa. The activation — which does involve some nudity, as its name suggests — began with an unlikely figure: her mother, Kelly Stevens.

"My mom started this whole venture in the back of a bar," Waranch tells New Times over Zoom. "I never expected it to become what it is today. But it's just such a beautiful celebration of life and art, and it's been so embraced by the art community in Orlando since she started it."

For Waranch, bringing back the show is deeply personal. She took over Nude Nite after her mom died of cancer in 2021.

"She was really the heart and soul of this from the beginning," Waranch says. "My mom was a real southern belle, so in some ways she was very traditional with the things she did. No elbows on the table, mind-your-manners sort of thing. But she also had this amazing rebellious streak about her, and I think she wanted to step outside of her bubble so much that this is what she came up with — embracing the human body and embracing the taboo that normally isn't accepted in the South."
This weekend's edition features more than 150 works by national artists. Waranch says Miami's growing prominence in the global art scene compelled her to bring the event back to South Florida.

"I've always, always wanted this show to be in Miami," she says. "I've always admired the art community down there, which is even bigger than Orlando's, but I also feel that our Central Florida community deserves to be seen on a bigger scale, which makes Miami perfect."

The work on display often spans mediums and tones, from ethereal photography to provocative sculpture. Attendees aren’t just there to observe; they’re part of an atmosphere where walls (literal and figurative) come down, strangers can strike up conversations, and more. Still, if you feel uptight about stepping into a Wynwood warehouse to attend an event called "Nude Nite," Waranch eases those apprehensions.

"While there is some full nudity that will happen, everything done is extremely intentional, with an artistic purpose behind it," she explains. "We're not here just for shock value. That's not something my mom would have wanted either. We're trying to highlight people's art; just doing it through the power of the human body."

Waranch believes an event like the one her mom launched more than twenty years ago is even more necessary in the digital era, when social media often dictates specific beauty standards. She wants Nude Nite to be an antithesis of these trends.

"When we were casting people for this weekend, we intentionally chose people of all different body shapes and skin tones," Waranch says. "I want people to walk into the room and see themselves reflected in our models. Each person who walks in should say, 'Wow, that looks just like me.' That's the point: We're all art, and we at Nude Nite want that to be the message we send to everyone who walks through the door."

Nude Nite Miami 2025. 7 p.m. Thursday, August 14, Friday, August 15, and Saturday, August 16, at 555 Entertainment, 555 NW 29th St., Miami; nudenite.com. Tickets cost $47 via eventbrite.com.