Above: Miami Music Project. Photo by Renata Volfe. Earlier this month, Knight Arts grantee Miami Music Project celebrated its Fantastic Season Finale for 2016–a celebration honoring outstanding musicians from four of its local chapters: Liberty City, Little Havana, Little Haiti and Doral. The following week, it kicked off its Summer Music Camp–Miami’s only El Sistema-inspired […]
Article · July 5, 2016 by Neil de la Flor
Javier Bardem and Johnny Depp in “Before Night Falls.” In the 1990s, the Alliance Cinema was the pulse of South Beach–a center for independent film culture and, most importantly for me, a safe space for a burgeoning queer community. It’s where I met Javier Bardem onscreen for the first time in “Jamon, Jamon” (1992), a […]
Article · June 23, 2016 by Neil de la Flor
Activist Aryah Lester leads a vigil. Aryah Lester is a force for change, breaking down the barriers to acceptance faced by transgender and gender nonconforming people. With her fierce dedication to art and advocacy, she is methodically melting away our society’s stifling and deadly obsession with conformity. Change isn’t easy, and neither is acceptance, but […]
Article · June 20, 2016 by Neil de la Flor
Above: “Havana Habibi.” Photo courtesy of Tiffany Madera. “Havana Habibi,” which opens Thursday, June 9 at O Cinema Wynwood, is a documentary film about the fledgling feminist movement sparked by Tiffany Madera. It is also the centerpiece of a weeklong series of live performances, workshops and dialogues that immerses participants in Madera’s process as an […]
Article · June 6, 2016 by Neil de la Flor
Above: Miami’s Rise Up Gallery, a recent Knight Arts Challenge winner. Next fall, when Knight Foundation announces the 2016 winners of the Knight Arts Challenge, each winner will embark on the hectic and rewarding process of raising funds to match their grant. Hence, the word “Challenge.” Raising money sounds daunting, and it is, especially for […]
Article · April 26, 2016 by Neil de la Flor
Above: Dark Noise Collective. This post has been updated to reflect that Miami Book Fair is a co-presenter of the event and brings “The Working Poet Radio Show” to South Florida multiple times a year. Miami Book Fair and O, Miami, both of which receive major support from Knight, are collaborating on the final event for this year’s O, Miami Poetry […]
Article · April 25, 2016 by Neil de la Flor
Cuba-based poet Soleida Ríos. In Cuba on his recent and historic visit, President Obama made it clear: Let’s bury the hatchet, build bridges and move forward together. On Friday, April 15, O, Miami, which is supported by Knight Foundation, will do its part to normalize relations through literary culture. O, Miami is pairing four acclaimed poets living in Cuba […]
Article · April 11, 2016 by Neil de la Flor
Above: “Magic City vs. Motor City.” Photos by Neil de la Flor. Miami-based Brigid Baker did an incredible thing: she connected two cities, two disparate urban dance and music cultures, in real time with her project “Magic City vs. Motor City: Internet2 Freestyle.” A two-city freestyle collaboration for urban youth dancers, “Magic City vs. Motor […]
Article · April 5, 2016 by Neil de la Flor
Photo by Janice Angel. All photos courtesy of Love the Everglades Movement. The Rev. Houston R. Cypress, also known by his Miccosukee name Yahalétke, is a poet, artist, environmental activist and ordained minister. Through his organization, Love the Everglades Movement, Cypress has become a major force within Miccosukee society as an advocate for cultural preservation, […]
Article · March 21, 2016 by Neil de la Flor
Above: A YoungArts event. Photo by Jean Carlos Ramirez. All event photos courtesy of YoungArts. Creating arts programming that represents the breadth and diversity of our culture can be a challenge. For Esther Park, who oversees campus programming at YoungArts (a Knight Arts grantee), this skill seems to come naturally. In some ways, Park’s previous […]
Article · March 8, 2016 by Neil de la Flor
Gender bias in the music industry is well-documented, but changing that bias isn’t going to be easy. Fair contracts, objectification, equal pay for equal work and general physical safety are part of the music industry roulette machine that often shuts women up and shuts them down–which, in turn, impacts the kind of music that is […]
Article · March 1, 2016 by Neil de la Flor