ArtCenter South Florida Opens Fall Season With a Bang

Miami's artistic scene is in a bit of an upheaval. This year, the Pérez Art Museum Miami, the Wolfsonian-FIU, the Institute of Contemporary Art, and the Frost Museum all fell under new curatorial leadership. And scared off by increasing rents in gentrified neighborhoods, galleries are quickly fleeing downtown and Wynwood for cheaper digs in Little Haiti, Little River, and Allapattah.

At the center of it all is the seminal institution that heralded South Florida's art-led reinvigoration, ArtCenter South Florida. Established on Lincoln Road to bring much-needed life to a neighborhood falling victim to social and architectural decay, the ArtCenter sold and moved out of its expansive accommodations last year. While they peruse the market for a long-term home, they continue to operate out of a smaller space on Lincoln and a new venue on Miami Court and NW 75th Street. But that's not stopping them from starting the season off with a bang.

This month they're unveiling three shows across their two venues. The first show, "dialogicCENTRALsolutions," is symposium aimed at unpacking the different ways artists from Central America are redefining regional archetypes through their work. This editorial series will feature essays from scholars and artists, and an exhibition and performance by Guatemalan artist Regina José Galindo,

“Creative agents from the region are making a personal and economic effort to redirect the contemporary vision of the region," said Roc Laseca, curator of the exhibit. "New dialogues in art, design, architecture, critical studies, and anthropological analysis are not only redefining the traditional models that have previously encouraged a specific imagery of Central America but are, above all, inventing new modes of intervention in their cities, histories, and communities in the process.”

New work by Galindo, entitled Nadie Atraviesa La Región Sin Ensuciarse (which translates into “Nobody crosses the region without getting dirty”) will transform the ArtCenter's Little River outpost into a muddy installation that physically manifests the socio-economic and political decay of the region. 

Back at ArtCenter’s headquarters on Lincoln Road, two additional projects complete the season’s opening trilogy lineup. "Documenting Memory," a group exhibition curated by El Salvador-based Lucas Avéralo, and a solo project, "Inventory / Inventario," by Walterio Iraheta, also based in El Salvador. 

As temperatures start to cool and Miami regains its status as a world center in the art market, the town's institutions prepare for a bigger and better season. Whether the ArtCenter can continue to adapt in the new climate, only time will tell. 

Nadie atraviesa la región sin ensuciarse, by Regina José Galindo, will be on view October 2 through November 8 at ArtCenter [Little River Edition], located at 7252 NW Miami Ct., Miami. "Documenting Memory," featuring Rodrigo Dada, Abigail Reyes and Crack Rodriguez, and "Inventory / Inventario," by Walterio Iraheta, are both on view from September 30 through November 8 at ArtCenter's main headquarters, located at 924 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach.