36. Jillian Mayer

In honor of our MasterMind genius awards, Cultist proudly presents "100 Creatives," where we feature Miami's cultural superheroes in random order. Have suggestions for future profiles? Email [email protected] with the whos and whys.

36. Jillian Mayer

Performance and multidisciplinary artist Jillian Mayer had a pretty awesome 12 months. It started with her musical Mrs. Ms at the Arsht Center's Here and Now Festival and ended under a bright spotlight at New York's Guggenheim museum. Her video, "Scenic Jogging," was selected as one of the top 25 shorts among 20,000 videos for the YouTube Play Biennale.

The video -- a minute-long sprint through Wynwood streets as pastoral images chase behind her -- might have captured the nation's attention (with profiles in W and Paper magazines), but Mayer has been producing great work for a few years.

In Mrs. Ms, she dug pastel stakes through ideas of marriage and coupledom as she tried to wed her pet teacup chihuahua, Shivers. In Getting to Know You, live performances with cut-out boards played with dimension and resulted in just as alluring stills that have been featured by ReadyMade magazine.

Don't consider last year her peak, though. She has her first solo show at the David Castillo Gallery in April, she's curating a video-art survey called Romantical, and she's working on an idea for a children's show involving aerobicizing cats.

It's not just Mayer's mind that's creative, however. Her creative energy also seeks outlets in the physical world of movement and play. She used to compete in a breakdancing crew called Heart Breakerz until she was hit by a car -- several times (nice, Miami drivers). These days, she teaches and performs aerial silk performances, where she literally dances in mid-air thanks to a single strip of silk (and, we're guessing, pretty awesome core strength). She also performs with the nouveau circus troupe Circ X.

Her dog Shivers recently started a Twitter advice column. Follow her at @ShiverstheDog for some canine wisdom about lust, body image, and whether he's just not that into you. It's time for a pup talk.

1. List five things that inspire you.

-People's pets
-Entertainment under 3 minutes long
-Fabric stores/costume boxes
-Arts funding
-Lists about inspiration

2. What was your last big project?

A video I made in the summer ("Scenic Jogging") was featured in the Guggenheims in Bilbao, Venice, Berlin, and New York. Because of it, HP/Intel brought me to Vegas to speak about art and technology at the Consumer Electronic Show. In Vegas, you have little idea if you're indoors or out. I love how everything is fake. It's so weird.


3. What's your next big project?

In April, I have a solo show at David Castillo. I hope you all will be entertained. It's for you, ya know. The Borscht Film Festival selected me to make a short film that features a yet-to-be-confirmed Miami hip-hop legend. I am halfway through shooting a short film called "Mrs. Ms." that was originally presented as an experimental theatre work at the Arsht Center in March commissioned by the Miami Light Project. I am also doing some fun commissioned projects for lovely people.

4. Why do you do what you do?

Because I have never been good at anything where I didn't create the perimeters to.

5. What's something you want Miami to know about you?

I am invincible to the multiple cars that have crashed into me. I am immortal.

What's something you don't want Miami to know about you?

That I am already dead.

40. Heather Maloney
41. Jorge Rubiera
42. Elaine Lancaster
43. Nick Duckart
44. Danielle Estefan
45. John Dufresne
46. Monica Lopez de Victoria
47. Bill Bilowit
48. Alette Simmons-Jimenez
49. Tawnie Silva
50. Ginger Bardot
51. Jonathan David Kane
52. Naomi Fisher
53. Rocky Grimes
54. Teresa Barcelo
55. Paul Tei
56. Lee Materazzi