Press
For Press inquiries, please contact:
cathyleff@bacfl.org
Elizabeth Smith and James Thomas Discuss the Latest Frankenthaler Climate Initiative Grantees
Observer
FCI-supported projects at institutions like the Bakehouse Art Complex in Miami, the Frist Art Museum in Nashville and the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico in Santurce exemplify innovative approaches to sustainability.
$2 million renovation for historic Bakehouse arts complex in Miami
Miami Herald
One of Miami’s largest and oldest arts organizations has big plans for its Wynwood property, from an updated interior design to affordable housing. But first, it has to take care of its nearly 100-year-old building’s bones.
Bakehouse Art Complex, a Wynwood-based nonprofit that provides affordable artist studio space, is starting the first phase of a multiyear renovation process this week. The organization will use the $2 million grant it received from the City of Miami to address structural issues and repair the Art Deco-era building’s beams and columns.
Bakehouse Receives 2023 Funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
National Endowment for the Arts
Bakehouse Art Complex is pleased to announce it has been awarded a $20,000 Grant for Arts Projects by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). This grant will support exhibitions, public programs, and artist studio residencies. This grant is one of 1,251 Grants for Arts Projects awards totaling nearly $28.8 million that were announced by the NEA as part of its first round of fiscal year 2023 grants. Bakehouse is honored to receive this prestigious and competitive award.
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Practicing Ascension: African and Afro-Caribbean Reverence in Art and Performance
Art in America
Say Their Names: A Public Art Memorial Project, a large-scale mural in Miami for which artist Chire “VantaBlack” Regans stenciled the names of more than 250 people lost primarily to gun violence. Though several of the names—such as those of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor—are widely recognized, many of the victims memorialized on the exterior of the Bakehouse Art Complex were never named in news outlets, and their families are local.
20th Art Basel, Largest Ever: Miami Area Now A Year-Round Art Hub
Forbes
Besides the renowned Wynwood Walls and surrounding blocks of street art, Wynwood is home to The Bakehouse Art Complex, celebrating 37 years of providing affordable space and resources to local artists.
Bakehouse Art Complex Honors Artist Purvis Young
NBC 6
All eyes on Miami’s art scene
Art Basel
Miami is an attractive live-work destination precisely due to the remarkable development of the contemporary art scene, which feels like it’s taking off everywhere. Having witnessed the evolution of the city over several decades, Snitzer says that a crucial indicator of the city’s maturation is the development of long-standing art nonprofits like Bakehouse, Oolites Arts, and Locust Projects, which ‘are doing better than they ever have’. And it doesn’t stop there: All three have projects underway for either renovating, expanding, or constructing new buildings.
One lucky Miami artist will earn a Paris residency thanks to this arts nonprofit
Miami Herald
A local arts nonprofit is about to give one lucky — and talented — Miami artist the opportunity of a lifetime. Bakehouse Art Complex, one of the city’s oldest artist-serving organizations, announced Friday evening that it has partnered with the Cité internationale des arts in Paris, a prestigious artistic residence complex, to secure an all-expenses paid spot for one Bakehouse artist. The agreement is the first of its kind for the Miami organization. The artist, who will be selected from a juried process, will earn a two-month stay at the Cité internationale des arts in the Marais where they’ll have access to networking and collaboration opportunities, the program’s resources and Paris’ famed art world and institutions.
20th Art Basel, Largest Ever: Miami Area Now A Year-Round Art Hub
Forbes
From attracting big name architects like Frank Gehry and Herzog & de Meuron to a slew of new galleries – over a hundred over the last two decades –Art Basel’s impact has inspired visionary developers like Tony Goldman and Craig Robbins to create world-renowned art and retail neighborhoods that have become home to artistic innovators.
Besides the renowned Wynwood Walls and surrounding blocks of street art, Wynwood is home to The Bakehouse Art Complex, celebrating 37 years of providing affordable space and resources to local artists. Art Basel, helped it grow exponentially, and has spurred numerous short-term satellite shows during the annual event.
Bakehouse Art Complex gets city grant for building upgrade
Miami Today
Miami city commissioners have chosen to give a sizable federal grant to help fund an organization that supports city artists.
At their latest meeting, commissioners allocated $2 million to the Bakehouse Art Complex Inc., a Florida not for profit corporation, to help pay for major improvements to its historic building at 561 NW 32nd St. in the Wynwood Arts District.
More than sun and sand: How Miami became a luxury, arts and cultural tourist destination
Miami Herald
6+ things to know in #MiamiTech: Miami & TIME team up on NFT drops
Refresh Miami
TIME announced a new partnership with Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez, Mastercard and Salesforce to bring an innovative NFT initiative to the City of Miami designed to drive revenue to local businesses and non-profits through exclusive rewards offerings. City Commissioners unanimously authorized program administrators to finalize the plan.
Through the collaboration, the City of Miami will unveil a collection of nearly 5,000 NFTs designed by 56 local Miami artists, representing the city’s 56 square mile area and focused on the history and culture of the city. Bakehouse Art Complex will help with identifying the artists. Holders of these NFTs will benefit from access to Mastercard’s Priceless Miami program, which provides experiences, from one-of-a-kind events at local Miami restaurants to curated private tours of Miami cultural institutions and other memorable activities.
Mary Ellen Scherl Featured on NBC 6
Bakehouse artist Mary Ellen Scherl was recently featured on NBC 6in the Mix for her participation in the Coconut Grove Arts Festival.
She presented work from her "Defending Democracy" series and documenting stories of female members of the Armed Forces and Veterans.
Laura Novoa - Curatorial & Public Programs Manager Q&A
ArtFrankly
After pandemic hiatus, Miami Art Week returns with 'an explosion' of local art and artists
Miami Herald
And, to be sure, it's also the payoff for decades of extensive civic and private support for the visual arts as a key - and distinguishing - ingredient in Miami's culture and economy. Foundations and nonprofit groups like Oolite Arts, the Miami-based Knight Foundation, developer Jorge Pérez's family foundation and government agencies such as Miami-Dade County's Department of Cultural Affairs have invested millions of dollars in art and culture locally. Groups like Oolite, the Bakehouse Art Complex and Fountainhead Studios have provided affordable work and exhibition spaces, along with a ready and like-minded community and encouragement, to hundreds of artists.
Looking to See Some Art Beyond a Fair Booth? Here Are 16 Museum and Gallery Shows to Visit During Art Basel Miami Beach 2021
Artnet
Wolfsonian–FIU
December 1–8, 2021It’s not just wealthy art collectors who can leave Miami Art Week with an original piece of art. In exchange for posing for a photographic portrait with Juan Luis Matos during his weeklong residence at the Wolfsonian’s Bridge Tender House, you’ll get a a print of the work. Each portrait’s pose and setting will be inspired by images in the Wolfsonian collection. The project is a collaboration with Bakehouse Art Complex and Miami Beach Open House.
Miami Art Week: le 11 mostre da non perdere
Artribune
Il Bakehouse Art Complex porta in mostra le opere dell’artista e attivista di Miami Chire Regans alias VantaBlack, in un’esposizione che funge da luogo di resistenza e baluardo di giustizia sociale. Qui l’artista crea uno spazio dove il ricordo collettivo inneschi la guarigione della comunità afroamericana nel solco del movimento BLM. Il museo esibisce anche il suo murale Say Their Names: A Public Art Memorial Project, che riconosce le oltre 250 vite perse a causa della violenza armata, della polizia, dei crimini d’odio, della violenza di genere e di quella domestica.
ARTNews in Brief: November 4, 2021
ARTNEWS
Pérez Foundation Names 2021-2022 CreARTE Grantees
The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation has named the grantees for the second edition of the Pérez CreARTE Grant program, with $3.2 million in funds going to 25 nonprofit cultural organizations across Greater Miami. The grants, which range up to $200,000, will be distributed over the next two years to help expand access to arts education in diverse communities; ensure every community has a meaningful hub for art; and encourage the creation or deepening of artist fellowships and resident programs. This cycle’s grantees include Bakehouse Art Complex, Miami Book Fair, African Heritage Cultural Arts Center, and the Fountainhead Residency.
Critics’ Pick: Najja Moon at the Bass
Artforum
“We all do what we can . . . what we can.” There’s a choir of voices emanating from Najja Moon’s sculpture Your Mommas Voice in the Back of Your Head, 2021, that offer lessons in cadence: specifically, what an intonation can do, and how one sparkling word can illuminate an entire sentence. The artist’s brilliant piece houses four audio channels in its glass casing, through which a quintet of mothers recite parables, affirmations, insults, and warnings—the manifold lexicons of love—in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole, Miami-Dade County’s three most-spoken languages.
In "A Reflection of the Times," Artist Chire Regans Advocates for the Voiceless
Miami New Times
Soft pink and blue hues swirl in the sky over the Bakehouse Art Complex in Wynwood. As the sun begins to set, an intimate crowd comes together for the opening of artist Chire Regans’ latest exhibit. Titled “A Reflection of the Times,” the exhibit features 100 portraits of gun-violence victims.
The show, on view through November 1, was commissioned by Commissioner in partnership with the New World School of the Arts and curated by Women Artists Archive Miami.
Miami-based Artist William Osorio Keeps Pushing Boundaries With ‘Margins of Truth’
Artburst Miami
“Margins of Truth” is the title of William Osorio’s exhibit at LnS Gallery in Coconut Grove – and it is, he says, a paradox.
“When we think of truth, we think of something that is absolute and complete. When I use the word ‘margins,’ I am confining truth to a space. When something has margins, it has limits, and there is something outside of the limits, which is the possibility of all the truths to come to existence,” says the Cuban-born and Miami-based artist. “Truth here has to do with reality, the reality of all the beautiful things in the world, but also the suffering.”
Miami commission makes Wynwood Norte district a reality. It’s what residents wanted.
Miami Herald
The zoning plan was supported by the priest at the local Catholic church, San Juan Bautista Mission, the head of the De Hostos Senior Center and the director of the Bakehouse Art Complex, a building that houses low-cost art studios and exhibition spaces. Bakehouse interim director Cathy Leff, also a member of the association board, said the rezoning will allow the nonprofit to move forward with plans to build affordable housing for artists and their families on the Bakehouse parking lot.
The outdoor art installations defining public spaces
Wallpaper Magazine
As its name suggests, Your Momma’s Voice in the Back of your Head is an homage to motherhood. Miami-based artist Najja Moon’s new monument, comprising sound and sculpture, has been installed in Collins Park, in front of The Bass, Miami, and aims to continue global conversations around the role and history of monuments. It’s also a timely and urgent message exploring the pandemic’s impact on motherhood, particularly for Black mothers.
Best Visual Artist: VantaBlack (Chire Regans)
Miami New Times
Artist and activist VantaBlack (Chire Regans) memorializes the loss of Black lives through portraits drawn with white pencil on black paper. [...] Most recently, Regans has shared the stories of victims on a larger scale with her "Say Their Names" mural project, a public art piece that honors those lost to gun violence, police brutality, hate crimes, and domestic violence. The mural is located on the western wall of the historic Bakehouse Art Complex and serves as a community space for reflection and conversation. The text-based mural includes over 250 names of victims and "Say Their Names" in Haitian Creole, Spanish and English, all painted by Regans and a team of volunteers.
Bakehouse Art Complex launches ‘Fresh Goods Gallery’ to aid artists
Community Newspapers
Bakehouse Art Complex recently unveiled the “Fresh Goods Gallery,” a new online sales tool that will generate income to support affordable studio workspaces and other resources for its resident artists.
At launch it featured an impressive selection of vintage and contemporary photographs generously donated by the Martin Z. Margulies Foundation in support of the organization.
“No Vacancy,” Alexandre Arrechea, and VantaBlac and More Must-See Miami Shows
Whitewall Magazine
Bakehouse Art Complex’s Say Their Names: A Public Art Memorial Project is an outdoor public mural transforming the western facade of the NW 6th Avenue building. Created by the artist Chire Regans, who goes by the name VantaBlack, the work is a tribute to more than 250 individuals whose lives were lost from gun violence, hate crimes, domestic violence, police brutality, and gender violence. Simple but painfully poignant, the artist has hand-stenciled the names of the victims, letter by letter, across the expansive wall to catch the eye of passersby. In addition to acting as a public memorial, the project is part of the artist’s ongoing work surrounding systemic racism and societal injustice.
Miami Art Week lives — in storefronts, on the beach, and online. Here’s what’s happening
Miami Herald
Want to help support local artists? Bakehouse Art Complex’s new online platform — Fresh Goods Gallery — will launch its inaugural sale on Nov. 30. You can browse and purchase vintage and contemporary photographs donated by the Martin Z. Margulies Foundation knowing proceeds will support affordable studio spaces for working artists. Fresh Goods Gallery will also offer works by Bakehouse artists starting in early 2021.
Miami non-profit launches virtual sales platform with a generous donation from the Martin Margulies Foundation
The Art Newspaper
The Bakehouse Art Complex in Miami, a non-profit organisation that provides studio spaces and other vital resources for emerging and mid-career artists, has received more than 50 photographs from the Martin Margulies Foundation that will be used to kickstart an online sales platform to help maintain and expand its programming.
Eleven Arts and Music Organizations to Support on Give Miami Day
Over the span of its 30-year history, Bakehouse Art Complex has aimed to provide affordable workspaces, professional development programs, and exhibitions to local artists. But the organization hit its own financial roadblock this year when it was forced to close its studios and artmaking spaces for two months while Miami's shelter-in-place order was in effect.
Since BAC reopened in June with safety protocols in place, the organization has hosted some in-person programming, including Summer Artist Open, which provided free studio spaces to 12 Miami-based artists for a 12-week residency. Bakehouse will reopen to the public on Saturday, November 21, with six new site-specific projects created by Miami-based artists. Donate to Bakehouse Art Complex here.
Chire “Vantablack” Regans Remembers To Say Their Names
Cultured Magazine
Interview by Bakehouse Director Cathy Leff
For four-plus years, Miami-based artist Chire Regans has commemorated lives lost to gun violence, telling the stories and carefully rendering portraits of victims. Her largest project, a public memorial titled Say Their Names, spans one city block and is on view at Bakehouse Art Complex. Days before its completion, Oolite Arts awarded Regans its first Social Justice Prize.
Say Their Names Mural Honors Gun Violence Victims
WLRN Sundial
When our loved ones leave us — we remember them through images and we tell their stories, sharing their names proudly.
In the same way, artist Chire Regans, whose artist name is VantaBlack, has dedicated her work to honoring those who have been affected by gun violence.
She started the Memorial Portrait Project after the 2016 killing of six-year-old King Carter. King was shot as he walked from his home in North Miami to a nearby store to buy candy.
Since then, Regans has made more than 200 portraits of gun violence victims. And she’s now working on a new mural titled “Say Their Names,” also dedicated to the victims and their families.
Paredes de Miami “dicen” nombres de víctimas de violencia con armas en EE.UU.
La artista Vanta Black creó en una pared de un centro cultural del barrio de Winwood, en Miami, una obra con los nombres de 360 personas que han muerto a consecuencia de las armas de fuego, por violencia intrafamiliar o por brutalidad policial en Estados Unidos.
“Say their names, di sus nombres” es el nuevo proyecto artístico de Chire Regans, de 41 años y conocida como Vanta Black, quien desde hace cuatro años ha dedicado su arte a impulsar un cambio social en torno a las armas de fuego.
Wynwood’s new mural depicts names of lives lost to gun violence
WPLG Local 10
The walls of Wynwood are world famous for the eye-popping art that can be found on nearly every street. A new mural has been painted, with a strong message about the many lives lost to gun violence.
Think of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C. Tens of thousands of names signifying those lost during the conflict. People go there and pay their respects. The new mural in Wynwood is very similar, except the victims displayed at this memorial are casualties of a different war.
“Gun violence, and the toll that it takes on communities, people of all different backgrounds, economic status,” said visual artist Vanta Black. “It’s important to not look at a person as a number. It’s important to see a person’s name, and to say their name aloud.”
Miami can help Wynwood Norte adapt to future growth while preserving its past | Opinion
Cathy Leff for the Miami Herald
In September 2019, the Wynwood Community Enhancement Association (WCEA) created a Community Vision Plan for Wynwood Norte after more than a year of meetings as a community-driven, participatory initiative. Bringing together diverse familiar and new stakeholders, we were united to improve the quality of life for the neighborhood. Recognizing increasing development pressures from surrounding areas, we knew doing nothing was not an option. We sought to address existing area conditions, while envisioning our collective desire to preserve and revitalize one of Miami’s oldest and most beloved urban neighborhoods.
How solitude has inspired three Miami artists to thrive in the time of Covid-19
Indulge Magazine
Bakehouse Art Complex artist Lauren Shapiro, whose ceramic work is hands-on and revolves around social practice, finds the virtual art world to be counterintuitive. Still, the artist is making the best of quarantine by partaking in professional development and participating in virtual seminars.
De Wynwood, con medio ambiente, surrealismo pop y arte latinoamericano, a la reapertura de MOCA Miami
El Nuevo Herald
Bakehouse Art Complex (BAC): Exposición Future Pacific de Lauren Shapiro. BAC, que reabre las galerías y el jardín a partir del viernes 13 de noviembre, está haciendo un llamamiento a todos los artistas y no artistas, amantes de la naturaleza, ceramistas o simplemente aficionados a la arcilla para ayudar a la artista visual Lauren Shapiro a construir su exposición Future Pacific, una instalación inmersiva a gran escala que constará con dos estructuras de arcilla sin cocer que se asemejan a las ruinas arquitectónicas cubiertas con texturas de arrecifes de coral. En esta pandemia, la artista ha ideado la forma de participar de forma segura. Son talleres prácticos, gratuitos y distanciados físicamente en BAC. Los talleres se llevarán a cabo durante todo el mes de octubre los martes y jueves de 4 a 6 p.m. y los sábados de 10 a.m. a 5 p.m. Hay 10 entradas por sesión de taller y se proporcionan faciales de plástico y guantes. Bac presentará varias exposiciones durante los próximos meses.
Review: ‘Aesthetics Of Mobility’ Offers Corona-era Insights On Creative Possibilities For Artists
Artburst
Before the virus slammed Miami, visual artists GeoVanna Gonzalez and Najja Moon began living in their tiny house on wheels, a retro-fitted box truck. Now, it’s an unexpected bulwark against COVID-19.
Not only is it where they shelter in place, but it’s also their studio for producing a timely series of performances on YouTube. No need to observe social distancing for these public art performances, part of the artists’ community-engaged social practice.
The pair – creative thinkers active in Miami’s art community – have been working at home on a new project, “Aesthetics of Mobility,” which they began posting on April 16 on YouTube. It’s a series of conversations about their process of living together as artists in a small, mobile space. The space was designed for sustainable living in a pre-virus era, though now its economic concept and design look prescient during these days of quarantine.
Five Young Artists to Watch During Miami Art Week 2019
Morel Doucet
Known for his fantastical and sometimes whimsical ceramics combining the human form with natural imagery, Morel Doucet has quickly become a name worth watching.
The Haiti-born artist has used his work to examine race and colorism in addition to interrogating the push and pull between cultural identity and assimilation he's experienced as a Haitian immigrant. Doucet has repeatedly drawn connections between environmental destruction and the experiences of the African diaspora in the Caribbean.
Doucet will be busy during Miami Art Week, and there will be plenty of places to explore his work and influences. "Archeology of Memory: The Site and Sound of Ceramics," the exhibition he’s curating at Bakehouse Art Complex, includes ten artists who work with clay, glass, metal, and cement.
KNIGHT FOUNDATION AWARDS $150,000 TO THE BAKEHOUSE ART COMPLEX
Miami, FL, Sept. 18, 2019 – The Bakehouse Art Complex today announced a new, $150,000 investment from The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to create a small cohort of emerging, independent curators and artist/curators, who are committed to and conversant in socially-engaged creative practices. This new funding supports Bakehouse’s strategy to invest in and elevate the quality and work of its artists and programs and their relevance to the community. Simultaneously, it engages and supports the development of new curatorial voices.
The project aims to challenge the work and expand the practice of Bakehouse resident artists by creating opportunities that promote greater connectivity between the organization and the neighborhood in which it is embedded. It aligns with Knight Foundation's goals of connecting people to place and each other through great art.
A Miami Arts Organization Wants to Build Hundreds of Affordable Housing Units for Artists in an Art Deco Former Bakery
Although Miami sees the art world come and go each December for Art Basel, at least one local institution is investing in the city’s art scene long-term and year-round. Bakehouse Art Complex, an arts facility in Miami’s Wynwood district, is planning to build 250 units of affordable artist housing on its two-acre campus.
Where Poetry Fights for Justice, Flowers Bloom
Cultured Magazine
Where the Land is Free, an exhibition presented by Poetry for the People and on view at Bakehouse Art Complex in Wynwood, Miami, utilizes poetry and art as a starting point for community activism and social justice. Watch an exclusive video of the show’s opening night here, created by FXRBES and shared generously by VOICES: Poetry for the People, and read our story as Aja Monet, a co-founder, shares the group’s story and the show’s mission.
Bakehouse, Reinvigorated
The Biscayne Times
ONE OF MIAMI’S ORIGINAL ART CENTERS TAKES A REFRESHER
he Bakehouse Art Complex has a fresh coating of paint -- red, blue, and yellow -- nice bold primary colors that, in a sense, announce its re-entry as a player in Miami’s art scene.
The Knight Foundation is investing $40.7 million in local arts groups. See who got a grant
Miami Herald
The arts and technology worlds are colliding in Miami. The Knight Foundation is investing millions into it. The Knight Foundation, a nonprofit that supports the arts in cities like Miami, kicked off Miami Art Week by announcing its fifth major wave of arts grants Monday evening, including $40.7 million in multiyear investments in local arts organizations and initiatives that use technology in their practice.
The foundation also announced its 2022 Knight New Work winners, a group of Miami artists and arts groups that create new artworks with technology, and the 2022 Knights Arts Champions, which recognizes South Florida leaders who support the arts community. In total, Knight has committed $217 million to arts in Miami since 2005. The announcement was made at the Pérez Art Museum Miami, where more than 50 grants were awarded to established institutions as well as up-and-coming artists.
Through partnership and commitment, we can protect Miami’s cultural heritage | Opinion
Miami Herald
At just over a hundred years old, Miami is among the youngest major metropolitan cities in the United States. In this short amount of time, it has made enormous contributions to the cultural fabric of our country, particularly from its communities of color. As some of their signature pieces of art age, it has become critical to conserve and highlight these contributions for future generations.
Miami-Dade artists open their studios to the public this weekend. Here’s where to go
Miami Herald
Every art lover knows the feeling. You’re staring at an intriguing piece of art and trying to look smart. With your hand to your chin, you scan the canvas for details, clues, symbolism, anything. But alas, you have no idea what you’re looking at. This weekend, you don’t have to guess what the artist was trying to express. You can just ask them. On Saturday, 300 Miami-Dade artists of all mediums are opening their studio doors to the public for Artists Open, a free, countywide event organized by nonprofit Fountainhead Arts. Artists and studio complexes from all corners of Miami-Dade are participating, from North Miami to Homestead. (And yes, there are studios in Kendall, too.)
Celebrating Haitian women from across the spectrum
Name: Michelle Lisa Polissaint
Occupation: Education and Community Engagement Manager at Oolite Arts, Visual artist and arts organizer
Ties to Haiti: Haitian-American
City/country of residence: Miami, F.L., USA
Notable work: Resident artist at Bakehouse Art Complex, 2018 Creator Award Winner, Oolite Arts.
Thoughts on her work: “At its simplest and most honest, my work responds to my experiences. Utilizing photography, textiles, and community engagement, my practice reflects the world through my black, queer, Haitian lens.”
Miami artist puts Black life on canvas
Miami Times
“I was trying to find other artists of color and it was very difficult,” he said, disclosing that he sought out Black arts workshops and cultural centers such as AHCAC for years. “There was a community of artists that met here, and without any sort of resource or funding they would try to produce and present artwork. [AHCAC] allowed them a home, and I was always a part of that. It’s been a hallmark for education in the cultural arts since the beginning, back when it was called the Model City Cultural Arts Center.”
It’s also the place Humes was employed as a part-time teacher and exhibition curator for nearly 10 years. He worked to maintain a studio at the Bakehouse Art Complex and to support his career as an artist.
Remaking Miami in the Wake of Art Basel Miami Beach
As I look back, I’m also looking forward to more positive changes in our cultural profile. I’m particularly excited by how the Bakehouse Art Complex in Wynwood has been raising funds to build affordable housing and mixed-use spaces on its way too long under-utilized 2.3-acre urban campus. Marking its 30th anniversary in November, the Bakehouse is moving forward to play a far more active role in Miami’s maturing art community. And yet, as a highly seasoned veteran in the art scene here recently commented to me on Instagram, ‘the struggle continues.’
Six must-see public art installations of Art Basel 2021
6. Dominga's Photo Studio at The Wolfsonian–FIU
Presented in collaboration with Bakehouse Art Complex and Miami Beach Open House, artist Juan Matos's Dominga's Photo Studio pays tribute to studio photography and its role in documenting contemporary culture. Taking up residence in the Bridge Tender House outside the Wolfsonian-FIUmuseum, the petite pop-up studio invites public wanderers to sit for highly curated and posed portraits created by collaging together various images in the Wolfsonian collection. In exchange for their photograph, sitters get to leave with a printed portrait. The Wolfsonian–FIU, 1001 Washington Ave, Miami Beach. Dec 1–8.
Haitian artists show in Miami but worry about home
Art Newspaper
The artist Edouard Duval-Carrié, who has lived in Miami for 22 years, is co-organising a show of Miami artists at the Bakehouse Art Complex and showing his own work at the Faena Hotel in Miami Beach. Haitians are part of Miami, he says. “The city realises that they just cannot erase them. Even the museums have started collecting Haitian art very seriously.”
Miami certainly has come a long way in its 125 years. A look at where it’s going
Miami Herald
Miami, Miammah, Myami, Myamuh, MIA and 305 are all names referring to Miami, the Florida city incorporated on July 28, 1896.
Over July 26-31, a series of events were held to commemorate Miami’s 125th birthday. Local artists and culinary experiences showcased Miami’s rich diversity.
The events reflected Miami’s birth in the 19th century in the segregated Jim Crow South, its development into the diverse city it is today and its projected evolution from “Miami, the Magic City” to “Miami, the capital of capital.”
On Tuesday, Suarez hosted a “Cafecito talk” and workshop on the emergence of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in the world of art at the Bakehouse Art Complex.
Art of Black Miami: Najja Moon
Cathy Leff: Institution & Community Builder
Inspicio Arts
Eyes On Miami
Miami New Times
On May 21, Bakehouse Art Complex hosted its first Open Studios evening since reopening and featured the closing reception of several site-specific exhibitions, including "Future Pacific" by Miami-based artist Lauren Shapiro.
Chire “VantaBlack” Regans summons power through portraiture
The New Tropic
Chire Regans, a Miami-based artist focused on portraiture known on social media as VantaBlack, promotes activism and social justice through her work. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, Regans has spent the past several years creating The Memorial Portrait Project, an ongoing series of more than 200 monochrome portraits memorializing those who lost their lives as a result of violence and systemic racism. She also created "Say Their Names," a mural at Bakehouse Art Complex honoring victims of gun violence, police brutality, hate crimes, and domestic violence. She is the 2020 winner of the Oolite Arts Social Justice Award and Miami New Times' Best Visual Artist among many other honors.
“A Reflection of the Times,” a memorial exhibition of Regans' portraiture is free and open to the public from May 21 to November 1 at Bakehouse Art Complex. The exhibition is presented by Commissioner in partnership with New World School of the Arts to promote the work and community contributions of NWSA alumni.
Meet Cathy Leff | cultural consumer and entrepreneur, with interests from popular culture to the fine arts, from hyper local to global interests
Shoutout Miami
'A great comeback story': Miami approves new zoning for neighborhood near Wynwood
South Florida Business Journal
A neighborhood on the north side of Wynwood has been rezoned, with the hopes of spurring more investment and redevelopment in the area.
The Bakehouse Art Complex is also considering plans for affordable housing for artists on its 2.3-acre campus in the neighborhood.
“Today’s approval allows us to pursue our collective vision to preserve and revitalize one of Miami’s most beloved urban neighborhoods,” said Cathy Leff, executive director of Bakehouse and board member of the Wynwood CEA.
Mama said: Najja Moon’s new Miami Beach monument honours mothers in their own words
The abstract sound sculpture by Bakehouse artist Najja Moon, the first commission for a fifth plinth in Collins Park, will emit recordings of women speaking maternal affirmations, reminders and critiques
Miami Times Gift Guide Two, The Arts
Miami Times featured Bakehouse artists Morel Doucet and Rhea Leonard in their annual gift guide, which encouraged encouraging readers to stretch your dollars by being thoughtful about your choices and selecting meaningful gifts – like art – that create lasting memories.
Miami Art Week 2020 Museum Exhibition Guide
Miami New Times
On view at the Bakehouse (BAC)'s indoor galleries: Amanda Linares’ “Between Islands and Peninsulas,” a reflection of the immigrant experience through artist books; Lauren Shapiro’s “Future Pacific,” an interactive sculptural installation that weaves together art, science, and technology to address the preservation and protection of endangered ecosystems in the sea; and Philip Lique and Najja Moon’s “Obscured Publications,” a construction of socially distanced book stations located throughout the BAC complex. The outdoor garden offers Clara Toro’s “Stakeholders — Wynwood Norte,” photographs that depict single-family homes in Wynwood; and large-scale murals by Maritza Caneca and Chire Regans (AKA VantaBlack). These represent just a fraction of the world-class work created by Bakehouse artists, but it speaks volumes about the BAC's ongoing mission to foster Miami’s art and culture scene.
Miami Art Week 2020 Offers a Rich Array of Cultural Events in a Different Format
New York Observer
Fresh Goods Gallery is a new online sales tool created by the Bakehouse Art Complex, one of the oldest and most iconic artist-serving organizations in Miami. Fresh Goods Gallery is launching its inaugural sale on November 30 in order to help Bakehouse raise the funds to continue to provide studios and services to hardworking artists in Miami. Additionally, the sale, which will consist of over 50 photographs donated by the Martin Margulies Foundation, will also go towards the expansion of the Bakehouse Art Complex so they can eventually provide affordable housing for artists.
Miami Nonprofit Launches Virtual Sales Platform
Artnet
The Martin Margulies Foundation has gifted 50 photographs to the nonprofit Bakehouse Art Complex in Miami, which plans to sell the works through a new online sales platform that will help it expand its programming. The platform, called Fresh Goods, launches on November 30, ahead of the now largely virtual Miami Art Week. Proceeds from the first sale will also help fund the conversion of a portion of Bakehouse’s campus into affordable artist housing. (TAN)
Wynwood Norte Neighborhood Revitalization District wins preliminary commission approval
Community Newspapers
With a vote of 5 to 0, City of Miami Commissioners recently approved on first reading the Wynwood Norte revitalization plan.
The plan is intended to protect the neighborhood’s character while improving the area’s housing stock and creating economic opportunities for small business as well as new jobs for residents. The Wynwood Community Enhancement Association (Wynwood CEA) — comprised of residents, business owners, property owners and established community-based organizations like the Bakehouse Art Complex — shaped the plan and won support from local officials and the overall community over the past two years.
To fight gentrification, a working-class Miami enclave wins plan to spur development
Miami Herald
Residents and property owners who banded together in the newly rechristened working-class neighborhood of Wynwood Norte have won Miami commissioners’ enthusiastic approval for an innovative plan that would tame looming gentrification by spurring development.
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The zoning plan was supported by the priest at the local Catholic church, San Juan Bautista Mission, the head of the De Hostos Senior Center and the director of the Bakehouse Art Complex, a building that houses low-cost art studios and exhibition spaces. Bakehouse interim director Cathy Leff, also a member of the association board, said the rezoning will allow the nonprofit to move forward with plans to build affordable housing for artists and their families on the Bakehouse parking lot.
Oolite Arts celebrates local visual artists with The Ellies
Miami Times
VantaBlack
“2016 was a violent year in Miami-Dade County. I started to exhibit the portraits to create dialogue and meet the families. It pushed me in a direction I was meant to go in my work,” said Regans.
Four years later, Regans is at the Bakehouse Art Complex creating an award-winning “Say Their Names” mural of lives lost to police brutality and gun violence.
Miami Art Museums And Galleries You Can Feel Safe To Visit Culture Crusaders
Culture Crusaders
BAKEHOUSE ART COMPLEX
For 30 years, the Bakehouse Art Complex has given Wynwood an internationally-renown collection of artists from around the world. They’re re-opening to the public on November 13th, but you can still partake in their socially-distanced workshops like claymaking with artist Lauren Shapiro.
‘SAY THEIR NAMES’ MURAL IN WYNWOOD SHEDS LIGHT ON SOCIAL INJUSTICE
Culture Crusaders
Wynwood has always been the home of controversial murals and modern art movements. It’s a place where creatives can unabashedly share strong messages of inclusivity with people of different backgrounds and economic status. The latest artist to bravely share her work with the world is VantaBlack. Her new mural on the west side of the BakeHouse Art Complex is a loving tribute to the many lives lost to gun violence, domestic violence, and police brutality.
“Maritza Caneca, Pools” is on view at the Miami International Airport
Boca Raton Tribune
“Maritza Caneca, Pools” is on view in the Miami International Airport, gates D22 and D25, from now – March 28, 2021. The exhibition brings Caneca’s breathtaking photographs of pools in a collaboration with Division of Fine Arts and Cultural Affairs of Miami-Dade Aviation Department, supported by The55project and Bakehouse Art Complex.
Many artworks are visible from outdoors. Some museums and galleries offer appointments
Miami Herald / El Nuevo Herald
In nearby Wynwood Norte, Bakehouse Art Complex also is embracing the outdoors. Oct. 30, it presents artist Vanta Black’s mural, “Say their Names: A Public Art Memorial Project,” memorializing 250 victims of police and gun violence, on the western side of the complex along Northwest Sixth Avenue (Yes, you can see if from I-95.) When the complex reopens Nov. 13, look for “Maritza Caneca: Arts and Recreation,” a large-scale photo mural along Northwest 33rd Street, and Clara Toro’s “Stakeholders: Wynwood Norte” photographic series documenting the neighborhood, in the garden.
2020’s collision of crises reflected in artwork, on stages - and even on a billboard
Miami Herald
At the Bakehouse Art Complex, a cluster of art studios and exhibition spaces in Wynwood, activism is mainstream. On Sept. 29, director Cathy Leff will moderate a conversation on art and social justice featuring Nadege Green of the Community Justice Project, and art Chire Regans, whose mural “Say Their Names” memorializes victims of police assault, gun and domestic violence.
Beads rooted in Rhea Leonard’s art and culture
Miami Times / Biscayne Times
The socially distanced, slowed-down pace of Miami’s 2020 plague year has given many the time to focus on long-term projects, like learning to bake bread or reactivating rarely used skills for new business models. Black artist Rhea Leonard, attracting notice for her prints and drawings of Black bodies bearing the legacy of racism, is weaving with beads.
Bizarre Porcelain Sculptures by Artist Morel Doucet Tangle Limbs, Seashells, and Coral
Colossal
Based in Miami, artist Morel Doucet imbues his surreal artworks with a reminder that the natural world is ripe with entanglements. Often monochromatic, the slip-cast and hand-built porcelain pieces merge flora and fauna into dense amalgamations: a series of naked figures sit with coral, safety pins, and starfish as heads, while other assemblages feature a singular arm or pair of legs jutting out from a mass of sea creatures.
Prisons, fortresses and lighthouses: abandoned places transformed by design
Vanity Fair Italia
Bakehouse Art Complex is a disused former industrial bakery in Miami (specifically, in the Wynwood neighborhood), which was then bought and totally renovated by a group of artists in 1985. In its first capacity it was opened in 1926 and was one of the Miami's first industrial furnaces. It was closed in 1977 when many of the industries present moved to more peripheral areas.
Today Bakehouse Art Complex is an eclectic and dynamic Miami arts and culture center and houses artists' workshops and housing units. Its transformation, however, is far from over: Mateo Serna Zapata, one of the artists involved in the redevelopment process, considers the area still evolving even if it confirms that it will keep its artistic-cultural imprint.
Master Miami During Art Basel: An Insiders’ Guide To The City
…Discover up-and-coming local artists. “Miami is full of incredible artists who are enriching the local art scene all year long.” Her favorite places to find them are Fountainhead Residency, the Bakehouse Art Complex and Nina Johnson’s gallery.
Wynwood’s Bakehouse art center wants to rezone to build affordable housing for artists.
For 33 years, the Bakehouse Art Complex in Wynwood has provided artists with inexpensive studio space, workshops and exhibition galleries. Now it plans to go one big step further — by adding affordable housing to the mix.
The center, housed in a former industrial bakery building from the 1920s, has filed an application for zoning and land-use changes with the City of Miami that would allow development of up to 250 units of “attainable” housing for artists. As part of a broad new five-year strategic vision intended to secure the nonprofit’s future, the Bakehouse also hopes to renovate its sprawling Art Deco-era building, which is distinguished by a pair of unused silos.
The Bakehouse Art Complex in Miami’s Wynwood district—a nonprofit that offers studio residencies and provides local creatives with access to classrooms; exhibition spaces; a photography lab; and ceramics, woodworking, and welding facilities—wants to expand the scope of its impact in the city by building up to 250 affordable housing units for artists.
Bakehouse Art Complex Panel Merges Artists' Studio Tours With Climate Activism
Lauren Shapiro is one of five artists whose Bakehouse studio will be open to the public after the Art + Activism panel.
World Red Eye
South Floridians are breathing a collective sigh of relief after being spared the wrath of Hurricane Dorian. If meteorologists' predictions are correct, it's only a matter of time before the region finds itself in the path of another major hurricane.
Miami Moves: Bakehouse Art Complex
The City of Miami
Check out the latest Miami Moves! At Bakehouse Art Complex, a former industrial Art Deco era bakery in Miami’s urban core, you can see Miami artists working live in their element.
Four Miami artists whose work expresses who they are and where they live
The Miami Herald -INdulge Magazine
Michelle Lisa Polissint uses photography as a way of expressing her personal experiences. Photograph by Carina Mask and Christina Mendenhall.
Miami Art Spaces Live and Die by Real-Estate Ownership
The Miami New Times
THE BAKEHOUSE ART COMPLEX IS A NURTURING FORCE IN MIAMI’S ART SCENE
Cultured Magazine
“Rising real estate costs have made it nearly impossible for artists to find and maintain affordable studio spaces in Miami, and too many know the struggle involved in locking in a long-term space. That's why organizations like ArtCenter/South Florida, Bakehouse Art Complex, and Fountainhead Studios are so integral to the local art community.“
The Bakehouse Art Complex, founded to preserve affordable workspace for artists, is one of the most recognized organizations in Miami. For the past 33 years, they have been creating a platform for local, emerging and mid-career artists in the city.
COLLECTIVITY Open House & Preview at Bakehouse Art Complex
World Red Eye
Guerra on Bakehouse Installation 2018
Miami, FL – November 2, 2018 – Bakehouse Art Complex celebrated its 50-plus resident artists with a fundraiser and the opening of “Collectivity,” curated by Quinn Harrelson. The new show features 9 site-specific works created by Bakehouse artists
Across the street from Jose de Diego Middle School are the stark red-painted brick walls of the Bakehouse Art Complex. BAC offers workshop and gallery space to contemporary artists in Miami’s art district. Robert Chambers, a local artist and art professor at FIU sought to construct an installation that created a sense of community at Bakehouse.