• Article

    Canoe demonstration project preserves American Indian tradition

    Published January 27, 2015 by

    Tonight in Fort Lauderdale, the Upper Room Art Gallery will kick off a yearlong public art project centered around the traditional art of creating dugout canoes. Below, the gallery’s Robin Haines Merrill writes about the project and the importance of keeping the art alive. I’m not a native Floridian, but in the past few years I’ve had the privilege to get to know some of the real natives in the Seminole and Miccosukee Tribes.  When I invited a few of them to be daring and participate in a public performance art piece I staged in Fort Lauderdale in 2012 using a dugout canoe on the New River, this was the first response: “You know we drive SUV's now, right?” I hadn’t realized that most of the skills to even navigate a canoe have been lost, let alone the fact that very few functioning canoes exist. There is a certain rhythm, timing and natural balance that comes with any vehicle or transportation device, such as riding a bike. Without practice, skills can become rusty, or even lost. But what became more intriguing to me as an artist is the craftsmanship involved in creating a Florida dugout canoe from a cypress log, and how this craft needs to be passed down and witnessed from generation to generation to keep it from becoming extinct.  
  • Article

    Children explore dance at Miami City Ballet

    Published January 27, 2015 by

    By Adria Greenhauff, Miami City Ballet Twenty 1st and 2nd grade students from Fienberg-Fisher Elementary School in Miami Beach are learning to dance through Miami City Ballet’s Explore Dance Program. This educational outreach program is designed to promote the arts to our community’s youth through weekly classes held at MCB...
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    The choreographic process

    Published January 26, 2015 by

    By Melissa Anduiza, Charlotte Ballet dancer On a daily basis, choreographers and dancers have the privilege of diving into the ever so varied “choreographic process”. The choreographic process is especially unique when it comes to a contemporary show, such as Innovative Works, because of the endless possibilities that both artists...
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    Angel Education Series to help guide Miami’s early-stage investors

    Published January 26, 2015 by

    Photo of downtown Miami by Michael Bolden.  Nico Berardi is managing director of Accelerated Growth Partners, an angel investor network, which Knight Foundation supports to develop the South Florida venture capital community.  While the formula for building a great tech company remains a mystery, investment capital is definitely an important ingredient. The fact that most startups don’t qualify for traditional sources of funding makes early-stage investors a key component in any ecosystem. Technology advancements have made the costs of developing a tech company lower than ever and have provided opportunities to scale beyond our wildest imaginations. Think of companies like Uber or Google valued at $40 billion each in less than five years. These trends have taken the investment community by storm. Knight Foundation has been a transformational force in Miami becoming a tech hub by connecting and cultivating entrepreneurs. We’re starting to see the first success stories, with Mako exiting at $1.65 billion, .CO exiting at $109 million, OpenEnglish raising capital at a valuation of over $350 million, MagicLeap raising $542 million at a $1 billion-plus valuation. And yet, this is the tip of the iceberg. At Accelerated Growth Partners, we’ve made six seed investments and are closing three more. Every day we’ve been surprised by the quantity and quality of companies being built in our backyard.
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    El Knight Arts Challenge para el Sur de la Florida ya está abierto a nuevas propuestas

    Published January 26, 2015 by

    Photo courtes ed the  Screening Room. More than 8,900 ideas, 241 projects and 25 million - only since 2008. Figures from Knight Arts Challenge South Florida, which receives requests from today, provides an overview and a general idea of ​​the program - but not tell the whole story. There was support for projects as diverse as   mobile libraries , efforts to preserve rare, a traditional style of Haitian music, workshops to nurture love for film posters to bring Everglades City  and a program to interest children in the jazz projects winners in the seven years of these challenges provide a detailed snapshot of a multicultural, creative and dynamic community.
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    Invitational 8UP Dance Competition shows off the best

    Published January 26, 2015 by

    8UP Dance Competition logo. Sight of Sound has teamed up with Steps on Ingleside to present the 8UP Dance Competition invitational. Recently, dance-off challenges have become very popular around the nation. The culture is definitely climaxing in Middle Georgia. There are many individuals and dance teams...
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    Knight Arts Challenge South Florida opens for entries

    Published January 26, 2015 by

    Photo courtesy of The Screening Room. More than 8,900 ideas. 241 projects. $25 million. All since 2008. The numbers of the Knight Arts Challenge in South Florida, which opens for entries today, provide an overview of the program — but they don’t tell the full story. There has been support for pop-up artists’ bookstores, preserving Haitian rara music, developing the local film community, bringing the Everglades into the city with billboards, and bringing kids to jazz. The winning projects from seven annual challenges offer a richly detailed snapshot of a dynamic, multicultural community. “What is very important to us is that we don’t tell the community what we are seeking; we ask the community what they are interested in,” says Dennis Scholl, vice president for arts at Knight Foundation. “That’s the beauty of the contest.” It is a simple process. The challenge, which closes Feb. 23, has only three rules: The idea must be about the arts; the project must take place in or benefit South Florida; and the grant recipients must find funds to match Knight’s commitment.
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    Zachary Cohen named Principal Bass of the SPCO

    Published January 24, 2015 by

    By Stephen Sokolouski, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Zachary Cohen We’re thrilled to share the news that Zachary Cohen has been named our new Principal Bass. Zach has been Guest Principal Bass this season, and this appointment makes his position permanent. Zach is well-known and deeply...