Arts

In her March 22 article in the New York Times, Liesl Schillinger wrote that she wanted to capture the Miami restaurants and tourist haunts that are  "uncool" and serve "the salty fried food, the lime-drenched cocktails." 

Dear New York Times,

Hello! It’s Miami! We wanted to write and let you know that we’re a real place. You’ve seen us before. We’re the ones that had that land boom in the 1920s.

We’re writing to you from the offices of WLRN, because we care. We love the Gray Lady. We wouldn’t dare see her honor besmirched because of us, Miami.

Three years ago, a group of friends and I started to dream up what a lot of people considered impossible: a festival that would bring poetry to all 2.6 million residents of greater Miami.

At that time, Miami’s cultural scene was exploding. Art Basel was in full force, and we wanted to do a festival that was the opposite of the “pipe-and-blazer” readings that most people associate with poetry. We wanted to do a festival that reflected Miami’s diversity and personality.

Today kicks off National Poetry Month, and O, Miami -- the biennial, South Florida poetry festival -- has lined up a myriad of creative ways to deliver a poem to every single person in the city.

Discussions of South Florida artist enclaves and art incubators typically reference places like Wynwood in Miami, FAT Village in Fort Lauderdale, or downtown Boynton Beach. Rarely do the Everglades enter into the conversation. Artists in Residence in the Everglades (AIRIE) could change that. 

South Florida artist Virginia Erdie strives to be "a little bit of an activist" with her work. It's fitting, then, that her art has ruffled a few feathers along the way. Her next major installation almost didn't see the light of day.

When Art Basel came to Miami Beach in 2002, I couldn’t have been happier. I was about to graduate from the Maryland Institute College of Art and had plans to return to Florida. It seemed this was the place to be – outside of New York, that is. Over the years, Art Basel has grown, with satellite shows and pop-up galleries expanding throughout Miami.

Last month, Josh's Deli in Surfside was transformed into the Saffron Supper Club. The lights were turned down, and the duck prosciutto and smoked salmon were tucked away. Candles covered the long diner counter, and an infatuating aroma of nutty rice tahdig greeted dinners.

For more than a hundred thousand electronic dance music fans from across the world, Ultra Music Festival is heaven on earth. But tell that to the people who live and work close by.