MIAMI – Feb. 1, 2016 – The Miami Mini Maker Faire, an all-ages festival of creativity and innovation that celebrates the Maker Movement, will expand activities and programming in its third year to feature a “Music Makers Showcase,” highlighting unique, inventive, regional musicians. Produced by MIAMade in association with Maker Media, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is investing $250,000 to support the Miami Maker Faire and other activities during the year to help build a network of regional makers and connect them to the global maker movement. 

Launched in 2013 with Knight Foundation support, the Miami Mini Maker Faire is one of several MIAMade events that take place throughout the year, including Maker Saturdays, Miami Make Week and Wynwood Maker Camp. This year’s Miami Mini Maker Faire will feature interactive exhibits from over 100 regional makers and entrepreneurs specializing in everything from 3-D printing, robotics, and do-it-yourself science and technology, to traditional handcrafts, design and visual arts. It will be held Feb. 20 – 21.

“The Miami Maker Faire and MIAMade’s year round programs continue to and attract Miami’s diverse community of innovators and doers of all kinds, building momentum for the maker movement in our city,” said Matt Haggman, Knight Foundation program director for Miami. “These events provide a space for collaboration, where creative people come together to celebrate their passions—from arts and culture to emerging technologies and design.”

Adding to the event, Havana-based singer and instrumentalist X Alfonso and Miami dance duo and band Afrobeta will perform as part of the Music Makers Showcase, a free concert being held on Feb. 20 at the National YoungArts Foundation.

“From the first year of Miami Maker Faire, we wanted to host a concert featuring regional artists who embodied the maker spirit – those who excel not just at creating fun and amazing music but also who take a distinctive do-it-yourself approach to things like wardrobe, set design and multimedia production. When the opportunity finally presented itself this year, two names were at the top of our list: X Alfonso and Afrobeta,” said Ric Herrero, founder of MIAMade and lead producer of Miami Mini Maker Faire.

X Alfonso is a classically trained musician and one of the pioneers of Cuba’s hip-hop and afro-rock scenes; he has been nominated for a Grammy award and has won a Goya, Spain’s main national film award. His musical mix of hip-hop, Cuban son, reggae, jazz and rock has been featured in Gilles Peterson’s Havana Cultura series and in the film “Havana Blues,” for which he won the Goya award for best original music in 2006.

Since 2006, native Miami dance duo and band Afrobeta has been bringing their distinct blend of electro-funk and colorful pop culture-inspired costumes, props and theatrics to stages across the globe. Lead singer Cuci Amador co-wrote and performed in the video for “Electro Movimiento,” by Puerto Rican hip-hop duo Calle 13. Guitarist Tony Smurfio has toured with Pitbull and Bacilos. Afrobeta has played at large music festivals around the globe, including Glastonbury, Burning Man and New York Fashion Week.

Miami Mini Maker Faire takes place from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 20, and Sunday, Feb. 21, at the National YoungArts Foundation campus. Tickets are on sale now at makerfairemiami.com. The Music Makers Showcase takes place from 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. on Feb. 20. The concert is free for all attendees of Miami Mini Maker Faire, though limited complimentary tickets for the concert only are also available via makerfairemiami.com.  

Support for Miami Mini Maker Faire is part of Knight Foundation’s efforts to invest in Miami’s emerging innovators and entrepreneurs as a tool to build community, while fostering talent and expanding economic opportunity. Over the past three years, Knight has made more than 100 investments in entrepreneurship in South Florida.

Follow Miami Mini Maker Faire on Facebook and Twitter. For inquiries, please email us at [email protected].

About Miami Mini Maker Faire

Maker Faire is an all-ages gathering of DIY enthusiasts in the tech, arts and crafts who get together to show what they make and share what they have learned. It’s a festival of do-it-yourself invention, creativity and resourcefulness in celebration of the Maker Movement.

The original Maker Faire event was held in San Mateo, CA and in 2015 celebrated its tenth annual show with some 1100+ makers and 145,000 people in attendance. World Maker Faire New York, the other flagship event, has grown in four years to 600+ makers and 80,000 attendees. Detroit, Kansas City, Atlanta, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Lisbon, Paris, Rome, Berlin, Newcastle, Oslo, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo, and Shenzhen are homes to larger-scale, “featured” Maker Faires. In addition, over 120 community-driven, independently organized Mini Maker Faires are now being produced around the United States and the world—including right here in Miami.

Miami Mini Maker Faire is produced by MIAMade, a Miami-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to fostering frugal innovation and a sustainable maker culture through experiential and advocacy-oriented events and initiatives. MIAMade also produces the Wynwood Maker Camp, a summer camp dedicated to teaching STEAM learning to students age 8-15. For more information about Miami Mini Maker Faire, visit makerfairemiami.com

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. We believe that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more information, please visit knightfoundation.org.

Contacts:

Ric Herrero, Founder, MIAMade, 305-905-9452, [email protected]  

Anusha Alikhan, Director of Communications, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, 305-908-2646, [email protected]