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Miami Beach ReFrames Memorial Day Weekend
(Miami Beach, FL) May 20, 2019 -
The City of Miami Beach is gearing up to host their first Memorial Day Weekend arts and culture focused program with local curators Octavia Yearwood and Jared McGriff who are collaborating with South Florida based artists to produce works that spark crucial conversations about inclusion, blackness and relationships. ReFrame: Miami Beach will speak to both residents and visitors and inspire engagement with Miami Beach cultural anchors, such as Miami New Drama at the Colony Theatre, FIU-Miami Beach Urban Studios and The Bass.
“These activations were born from conversations with the community on “How can art and culture step in as a mediator to tell stories from and with different points of view?” said Octavia Yearwood. “In asking ourselves this question, Jared and I are designing an interactive program that mobilizes artists, curators and organizers. We’re looking at how institutions and public and digital spaces can be reimagined during Memorial Day Weekend on Miami Beach as an opportunity to explore how to create more cohesive communities.”
ReFrame: Miami Beach will include the following FREE exhibitions and activations:
- I See You, Too
An exhibition about how propaganda and misinformation have compromised us. Curated by Octavia Yearwood and Naiomy Guerrero with works by Loni Johnson and Rodney Jackson.
Opening Reception, Thursday, May 23, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
On view Friday, May 24 through Monday May 27
737 Lincoln Road - Digital Signs by Michelle Lisa Polissaint
Large digital road signs with poetic and witty interventions that subvert common narratives.
On view Thursday, May 23 through Monday, May 27
Between 5 and 10 street, Ocean Drive - ReFrame Photo Pop Up
An immersive photo pop-up where photographer Michelle Polissaint will capture the true essence of Memorial Day Weekend on Miami Beach.
Saturday, May 25 and Sunday, May 26
Between 5 and 15 streets, Ocean Drive - Out of Context, by Chris Friday
Operating with the belief that education is not limited to a classroom, Friday creates “learning environments”, reflecting information that has undergone a context change, back at the viewer. In this way, Friday investigates themes of Identity, Race, Gender, Sexuality and the effects of popular culture on the perceptions of brown bodies.
Opening Reception, Saturday, May 25, 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
On view Saturday, May 25 and Sunday, May 26, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
FIU – Miami Beach Urban Studios, 1618 Washington Avenue - PLAY, LAY, AYE, by GeoVanna Gonzalez
Play, Lay, Aye explores a contemporary queer interpretation of tete-a-tete, a classic French design, which translates as “head to head”. The structure acts as an intimate meeting point with its completely open design acting as a declaration, a place to not feel shame or need to justify one’s self. This new design is now a place for openness and outness.
On view Saturday, May 25 and Sunday, May 26
Performance on Saturday, May 25 by Queer Membership Club, This Girls Lunchbox & the FemPower Artist Collective- Noon to 3 p.m. with Open Mic at 3 p.m.
The Bass, 2100 Collins - Betsayda Machado y La Parranda El Clavo
Memorial Day concert presented by Miami New Drama at the Colony Theatre
Monday, May 27 at 5 p.m. (Free to the public, supported by the City of Miami Beach)
Colony Theatre, 1040 Lincoln Road
More information and images are available upon request. RSVP to attend at http://bit.ly/Reframemia
Additional activations independent of ReFrame: Miami Beach:
SoundScape Park Film Screenings
- Black Panther (2018)
After the events of Captain America: Civil War, Prince T’Challa returns home to the technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country’s new king. When two foes conspire to destroy Wakanda, the hero known as Black Panther must prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war.
Saturday May 25 – 8 p.m. - Crooklyn (1994)
Spike Lee’s vibrant semi-autobiographical portrait of a school teacher, her stubborn jazz musician husband and their five kids living in Brooklyn in 1973.
Sunday May 26 – 8 p.m.
In addition to the city’s cultural activations, the National Salute to America’s Heroes Hyundai Air & Sea Show will take place on May 25 and 26 for a third year in a row on the sands of Miami Beach — showcasing the men, women, technology and equipment from all five branches of the United States Military as well as first responder agencies. A beach concert headlined by FLO RIDA will be part of the festivities on Sunday evening. Click here to learn more.
With thousands of people expected to spend the weekend on Miami Beach, the city will be implementing a comprehensive and coordinated major events plan to ensure the safety and enjoyment of visitors and residents alike.
As part of the plan, dozens of friendly goodwill ambassadors wearing bright green shirts will be deployed throughout South Beach to answer visitor questions and provide directions. The city will also host a Kids Fun Zone at Lummus Park on Ocean Drive between 12 and 13 streets on May 25 and May 26 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Children and their parents can participate in themed arts and crafts, fitness, relay races, face painting and the opportunity to write letters to our service men and women.
For the enjoyment of residents and visitors, Ocean Drive will be pedestrian-only starting Friday, May 24 at 7 a.m. through Tuesday, May 28 at 7 a.m. The Welcome Center at the Miami Design Preservation League at 1001 Ocean Drive will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
There will be an evening traffic loop along Washington Avenue and Collins Avenue on Saturday, May 25 and Sunday, May 26. Collins Avenue will become one-way northbound and Washington Avenue will be one-way southbound from Fifth to 16 streets. The traffic loop will be in place each evening between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. Access to east/west streets between Fifth and 16 streets will be restricted to residents carrying a valid photo ID. Visit www.memorialdaymb.com to view the traffic loop and residential zone maps, under the “traffic information” tab.
Beginning on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, License Plate Readers (LPRs) will also be deployed on the MacArthur and Julia Tuttle causeways. To accommodate these LPRs, the MacArthur Causeway will only have one eastbound lane open for travel and the Julia Tuttle Causeway will have two eastbound lanes open.
Upon arriving to Miami Beach, don’t circle the block looking for parking. Use the free, Park Me—Miami Beach app to find parking near your destination. This mobile app shows you available parking and rates for lots and garages, including real-time occupancy information for certain facilities.
There are numerous ways to get around Miami Beach on public transportation once you arrive, including the free Miami Beach trolleys and Citi Bike.
As an additional security measure, the Miami Beach Police department will have a wristband ID program known as K.I.D.S. (Kid ID Station). This program is designed to add another level of security by voluntarily issuing an ID wristband to children of all ages, their guardians and/or adults with special needs. The wristband will contain the child’s name, guardian’s name and contact information.
Kid ID Stations will be operational on Saturday, May 25 and Sunday, May 26 from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. at Fifth, Eighth, 10 and 13 streets at Lummus Park. Each station will have a City of Miami Beach tent, portable sign and will be staffed with Goodwill Ambassadors. Ambassadors will maintain a spreadsheet with the names of each child registered, in addition to the guardian’s contact information. This program is a free service for visitors and residents.
For updated information on Memorial Day weekend activities on Miami Beach, visit www.memorialdaymb.com.
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Curatorial Team & Artist Bios
Octavia Yearwood is an artist, programmatic curator and author. Yearwood creates and host programs for arts institutions, organizations, and companies nationally. Over the last 15 years, aside from being an arts educator, Yearwood was the Director of the FREE! Art Fair for Art Basel, named the best author in Miami, most interesting by the Miami New Times in 2018 and was named Emerging Arts leader by Americans for the Arts and top 40 black leaders by Legacy Magazine in 2016. She continues to focus on diversifying creative space by transforming creative spaces and sits on the member’s committee for the Soho House and on the Board for the Baller Alert foundation. Yearwood has written for publications such as Blavity’s 21 Ninety, XoNicole, and Bustle.
Jared McGriff is a Miami-based artist. Jared received his undergraduate degree in architecture from the University of California Berkeley College of Environmental Design and his Masters from New York University. His paintings have been exhibited at the PRIZM Art Fair during Art Basel Miami Beach, the interdisciplinary MATATU festival in San Francisco, and is currently represented by Spinello Projects in Miami.
Naiomy Guerrero is an art historian and arts equity advocate. Her research focuses on highlighting contemporary Latinx artists born or long living in the U.S., their contributions to the canon of U.S. art history and development of the Latinx art market. Guerrero’s work as a writer, curator, and on social media has highlighted the intersection of blackness with the larger discourse of Latinx and Latin American art, and how that intersectionality has often been marginalized. Her research has been shared by Arts.Black, NPR Latino, Artsy, and Teen Vogue.
Loni Johnson is a Visual Artist born and raised in Miami. The Miami Native graduated from the New World School of the Arts in 1998, and she continued her Visual Arts studies at SUNY Purchase College in New York where she received her B.F.A. in 2003. Her artistic journey came full circle when Loni became an adjunct professor in the Visual Arts Department at New World. She was on the faculty at New World from 2006 to 2012. In 2012, she became the Prevention Coordinator of The A-List Company- a youth arts peer education program funded through Florida’s Department of Children and Families.
Rodney Jackson is a visual artist, award-winning illustrator, animator and art director. In 2014, his self-published book project, Rocko’s Big Launch won 1st place for Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards. During Art Basel 2014, he was the featured Miami artist at Brisky Gallery for LA-based company Wardrobe. Jackson was the director and animator for a music video in 2015 featuring hip-hop legend Slick Rick. The song “Who U” and Jackson’s animation directing debut was released on August 21 of 2015 and was met with positive reviews. He is currently the animator and art director for Eolian VR.
Michelle Lisa Polissaint is a visual artist & arts organizer based in Miami, Florida. She is currently completing a Master of Arts in Museum Studies & Non-Profit Management at Johns Hopkins University. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Florida International University in Photography & Fiber Based Painting. Her current practice is focused on producing community-based activations that encourage artists and community members to form collaborative relationships.
