Flowerbox, a New Artist-Run Space, Opens in Lemon City

Art spaces are popping up everywhere these days — downtown, the Upper Eastside, MiMo, and, of course, Wynwood. But Lemon City's Flowerbox Projects has a unique vision that sets it apart from the crowd. 

The brainchild of  artists David Marsh and Kristen Soller, the space supports emerging artists who have a unique approach to material and process, and facilitates artist-run creative workshops that are open to the public.

The spot's inaugural show is called "Homemade Lemonade," and features site-specific work by Christine Navin, Brandon
Opalka, Nicole Salcedo, and Kerry Ware. These artists utilize materials like paint, ink, graphite and chalk — items that are usually associated with two dimensional pieces. They use the materials to work directly on the walls within the space, and the results are dramatic.
"We envision a space that connects artists with other creative-minded people over a shared passion for the many forms of visual communication," says Soller. "Our aim is to educate, inspire and ultimately, foster a sense of community."

As far as the founders' backgrounds, David is an art framer, carpenter, painter and art teacher at the University of Miami, and Kristen is a graphic designer and artist who does handmade work in weaving, bookmaking and drawing.

"As artists ourselves, we also understand the challenges of finding a platform that nurtures creative projects," Soller says.

"For the shows we curate and the workshops we host, we consider emerging artists with a unique approach to material and process. We believe that these elements are an important part of an artist’s voice and of how he or she visually communicates ideas," she explains of the Flowerbox selection process.
In the long term, they hope to help the area grow and develop a stronger sense of community.

"We recognize a development of artistic and cultural energy in Lemon City and Little Haiti and imagine ourselves becoming major contributors to the area," says Soller. "We ultimately envision Flowerbox Projects not only as a space where we support emerging artists and can develop our own projects, but as an accessible hub of creativity, inspiration and education for the surrounding community. In addition to our own programming, we hope to collaborate with other organizations in the future to host relevant events and workshops."

This weekend they're hosting a creative workshop, part of a series. It's titled Plant Care + Illustration, and it's being led by Nicole Salcedo, a Cuban artist who will help guests create illustrations on their own pots as well demonstrate how to plant household herbs such as oregano, rosemary and sage.

Workshop runs this Saturday, April 25, from 1 to 2:30 p.m at Flowerbox Projects, 5708 NE Fourth Ave., Miami. Tickets are $20 each and available on Eventbrite.