By Robert Harkins, South Florida Folklife Center, HistoryMiami

As part of its Heritage Spotlight Series, the HistoryMiami South Florida Folklife Center is ready to launch its third artist residency. Our new featured artist will be Mieko Kubota, a master practitioner of ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arranging. Mieko has crafted ikebana pieces for more than fifty years and also practices a number of other traditional Japanese art forms, including origami, calligraphy and the tea ceremony. As with our two previous resident artists, including Cuban drummer Ezequiel Torres and Irish fiddler James Kelly, Mieko will showcase her talents at three public programs at HistoryMiami and also during educational presentations at local schools.

The first of Mieko’s public programs, entitled “Ikebana: Giving Life to Flowers,” will take place on Saturday, September 29 at 1 pm. During this special presentation, Mieko will introduce audience members to ikebana and demonstrate the artistry of the tradition. This event will also feature live, traditional Japanese koto music (performed by Yoshiko Carlton) and a display of ikebana pieces crafted by members of the Miami chapter of Ikebana International. For more information about this program, please click here.

Master ikebana artist Mieko Kubota

The HistoryMiami South Florida Folklife Center is proud to present the Heritage Spotlight Series, an artist-in-residence program. The series is funded in part by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Institute for Museum and Library Services, the National Endowment for the Arts, the State of Florida’s Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Humanities Council.