By Adia McKenzie Built in 1913, Overtown’s Historic Lyric Theater was once the cornerstone of the neighborhood nicknamed “Little Broadway” for its vibrant nightlife. The 400 seat theater was a social gathering place, free of discrimination during times of segregation. The theater closed its doors in the 1960s and remained shuttered for four decades. It reopened in 2013 and is now owned and operated by The Black Archives History & Research Foundation of South Florida, a non-profit organization whose mission is to collect, preserve and disseminate the history and culture of Blacks in South Florida from 1896 to present. It promotes this mission through support, outreach and programming. The Black Archives History & Research Foundation of South Florida will exhibit, A Man Among the Peoples, a salon-style exhibition dedicated to the life, art and legacy of late Overtown urban expressionist artist, Purvis Young, at The Historic Lyric Theater. The exhibition will open on Art Basel weekend and run through February 2015. To coincide with this exhibition, the lobby of The Lyric will be turned into a gallery of visual arts from local artists, which will remain open until December 7, 2014. “Art Basel is such a huge event for the art world, there are so many talented artists from all over the world on display at that time. We want to provide a platform for artists from South Florida to display their work as well,” says Timothy A. Barber, Executive Director of The Black Archives History & Research Foundation of South Florida. If you are a visual artist in Miami-Dade, Broward or Palm Beach County that would like to have your work displayed in the Lyric lobby gallery, please contact Adia McKenzie at [email protected] or 786-708-4610. Deadline to enter is Monday, November 3,2014.