Clara Toro has spent the last three years avidly photographing the Miami neighborhood of Wynwood Norte. Surrounded by Allapattah to the west, the Design District to the north, Midtown to the east, and the Wynwood Arts District to the south, Wynwood Norte is no exception to the rapid urbanization affecting the city of Miami. Yet, it continues to possess a unique cultural character that reminds the artist of her hometown of Medellín, Colombia. For Clara, photographing the neighborhood is a sensory experience: “Walking around and listening to the music that comes from the houses, the women cooking in the kitchen, the children playing in the patios, transports me to the city of my youth.”
The second iteration of Clara’s long-term project, Wynwood Norte: Un barrio de Miami, installed around the perimeter of Roberto Clemente Park along 2nd Avenue between 34th and 35th streets, is a selection of thirty images from a larger body of work that documents the single-family homes and residents of Wynwood Norte. Her images hint to everyday life in one of Miami’s historic urban neighborhoods and prompt the viewer to think about people through the spaces—both interior and exterior, public and private—they occupy. They present intimate scenes of life in this neighborhood: of children playing soccer in the yard, of a daughter emotionally cradling her father’s head in her hands, of a mantle showcasing First Communion portraits and small trophies.
The installation also includes a selection of studio portraits that Clara has taken of the residents in local community centers during holidays and special events. In one, an elderly resident looks shyly into the camera, hands clasped neatly, the folds of her deep purple shirt catching the light; in another, a gentleman with a serious demeanor poses with his arms crossed, donning a black cap with the name of the restaurant he owns, and the Puerto Rican flag embroidered on the front. When brought together, the portraits seem to capture the personal essence of each individual, as much as the overall character of the community.
Wynwood Norte was originally the residential community serving the housing, recreational, and educational needs of the labor force of the former industrial bakery that is now Bakehouse Art Complex, and the garment industry, which became Wynwood Arts District. As the economy of the neighborhood changed, so did its inhabitants. In this way, Clara’s images bear witness to the evolving landscape of Miami.
Through her work, she considers Miami’s story of immigration and its significant role in the development of the city. In her images, she captures details, such as a rocking chair painted with the Puerto Rican flag and a statue of a virgin looking upon three figures in tumultuous waters, that express the cultural diversity of the neighborhood and the resilience of its inhabitants. Simultaneously, she hints to a difficult reality: the houses in her photographs will likely not exist in a few years.
The installation invites passersby to slow their pace, stroll through, carefully observing the details in the images, and appreciate the distinct character of Wynwood Norte. It is a celebration of a community and an homage to the people who make up the neighborhood. The impetus for this photographic project comes from Clara’s interest in documenting a place over time. During her walks, she encounters neighbors who are interested in her project and pleased that she is capturing the neighborhood as it now stands. “I want to create an archive of what is here now. When the neighborhood looks different in ten, fifteen years, I want to be able to go back and look at these pictures.”
Support for this project comes from Bakehouse Art Complex, The City of Miami and District 5 Commissioner, and Oolite Arts.
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About the artist
Clara Toro is a Colombian-born, Miami-based industrial designer and photographer. She holds a degree in Industrial Design from Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (Colombia), with additional studies at the Université de Montreal and Pratt Institute in New York. She earned a degree in Documentary Practice and Visual Journalism from the International Center of Photography (ICP), where she received a Director's Fellowship.
Clara received a 2022 Oolite Arts Ellies Creator Award for her project “Eight minutes,” about the historic Wynwood Norte neighborhood in Miami. She is currently developing a project about the Allapattah neighborhood in Miami, in which she is documenting the stories of its residents. Clara has been a resident artist at the Bakehouse Art Complex since 2018.