Miami Light Project’s (MLP) Here and Now 2012 program opens tonight at The Light Box at Goldman Warehouse with commissioned works by a diverse group of South Florida-based performing and multimedia artists. The unifying theme of Here and Now 2012, which includes the use of 3-D mapping technology, a glimpse into terror and nightmares, the nightmare of plastic surgery, live video feeds and spoken word, tells the story of the absurd beauty of human nature.

Here & Now 2012 also tells the story of South Florida’s emerging and ever-evolving performing and multimedia arts scene — a scene that is, in part, the result of Miami Light Project’s (a Knight Arts grantee) investment in South Florida-based artists. Since Here and Now’s founding in 1999, more than 70 South Florida artists have been commissioned to create works that have added to the region’s cultural DNA.

“Here & Now is the MLP program that is nearest and dearest to our hearts,” says Rebekah Lengel, managing producer of Miami Light Project. “And this year we received more than 30 applications for this nationally recognized program, and we believe that the artists commissioned for Here and Now 2012, Luis Alberto Cuevas, Ivonne Batanero, Carlota Pradera & Priscilla Marrero and Natasha Tsakos, are among the most promising performing artists working in Miami today.”

For the first time, Here and Now will be held at the Goldman Warehouse. The commissioned artists have had the chance to actually rehearse in the same space where they’ll perform. “This is a tremendous benefit [for the artists],” Lengel says. “They have been able to draw inspiration from the rope curtains, poles and every other part of the space; coming up with interesting entry and exit points for their work and lighting options.”

Miami Light Project’s role in the development of Miami’s cultural landscape, through Here and Now, is significant. We’re not just the host for Art Basel. Every day, in countless ways, in countless places, art is conceived of and created in Wynwood warehouses, apartment studios and in the hearts and minds of artists as they make their way through the city.

“Having the Here & Now artists here on a daily basis for rehearsals has brought an incredible feeling to the building,” Lengel says. “For the past 7 to 8 months art has not just been presented here but is created on a daily basis. The creativity that these daily rehearsals bring to the Light Box has made it an inspiring place to work. Miami is establishing itself as a very real place for art and culture.”

I agree. Art is real, and it is thriving in Miami. And it is Here & Now through Feb. 11 at the Light Box at Goldman Warehouse.

Here and Now: 2012, A Knight Emerging Artists Series, February 2-11, 2012, Performances, Thursday-Saturday, 8 p.m., The Light Box at Goldman Warehouse, 404 N.W. 26 th St., Miami, Fla. 33127, Tickets: $20 general admission, $15 students & seniors, Group rates available. Tickets are available at miamilightproject.com or 866.811.4111.