RECAP OF 2016
42 visual artists participated in the Now or Neverland Art Fair
27 web series debuted at #SoFloWebFest
3 shows for Miami Art Week in Overtown, Liberty City and Little Haiti
897 attendees during Miami Art Week
40 hotels booked from MUCE traveling patrons
12 international guests for MUCE exclusive events
Miami, Fla. – The Miami Urban Contemporary Experience (MUCE) is looking forward to another season of activating Miami with urban art and culture after an amazing year marked by three cultural arts festivals – the Now or Neverland Art Fair in partnership with Chef Creole; the South Florida Web Fest (SoFloWebFest) in partnership with LA Web Fest, KWeb Fest and Roma Web Fest; and the Uptown Avenue 7 Art Bazaar in partnership with Miami-Dade County Commission Chairman Jean Monestime and the Uptown Avenue 7 Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA).
MUCE will launch the spring season with As a Matter of Black, a touring pop-up exhibition that highlights local and national historical figures and events that celebrate the achievements and advancements of African Americans.
“Everyone can celebrate Black History Month because we bring the experience to you,” Ashlee Thomas, the president of MUCE, said.
The exhibition will launch at the University of Miami’s Yellow Rose Society MLK Celebration Gala on January 28th and culminate at the annual Jazz in the Gardens festival on March 18th- 19th at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. It is MUCE’s third visual installation at Jazz in the Gardens. Interested attendees can find details on these and other pop-up locations here.
MUCE will also curate a two-part exhibition on behalf of the Miami-Dade County Black Advisory Board for Black History Month and Women’s History Month at the Stephen P. Clark Government Center located at 111 NW 1st St., Miami. The exhibition will showcases African-American men, February 1st- 20th, and women, March 1st- 30th, who exemplify the unyielding spirit to succeed against all odds.
MUCE’s three major cultural arts festivals that highlight art, film and community will also return later this year. In 2016, the Now or Neverland Art Fair featured 42 local, national and international visual artists; SoFloWebFest debuted with 27 international web series and short films; and the Uptown Avenue 7 Art Bazaar highlighted the growing businesses in the 7th Avenue Corridor.
As cultural ambassadors, MUCE fulfilled a year of local, national and international cultural exchange in the arts and film industries.
“We had the opportunity to share the works of talented artists and filmmakers in all of our heritage neighborhoods,” Thomas said. “We are looking forward to curating more niched heritage experiences in 2017.”
With this goal in mind, SoFloWebFest will continue to feature local and national shorts films and web series every third Friday of the month during the Little Haiti Culture Walk at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex at 212 NE 59th Terrace, Miami. SoFloWebFest will also partner with North Dade Middle School to give students the opportunity to create their own web series about Miami and to be screened at an official festival.
“Miami is becoming a central hub for art and film from around the world,” Thomas said. “We want to ensure that our local residents, artists and business owners capitalize on this growth and benefit culturally and economically.”
Miami Urban Contemporary Experience (MUCE) is an arts production company focused on bringing a niched heritage experience to the global market, through pop up exhibitions, fairs and festival. The company is committed to utilizing arts as a vehicle to preserve heritage and as a platform to diversify the artistic landscape in the western world.
Miami Urban Contemporary Experience
Information provided by Kenta Joseph
