Category: Press

HistoryMiami Museum is proud to announce a new traveling exhibition exploring the topics of freedom, equality, and civil rights in America. Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow, on view starting October 11 and running through April 2023, highlights the long struggle of African Americans for full rights as citizens, including the right to be accepted and to feel safe, with future exhibitions widening the lens to include other historically marginalized groups.

Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow, curated by the New York Historical Society, explores the struggle for full citizenship and racial equality that unfolded in the 50 years after the Civil War. When slavery ended in 1865 a period of Reconstruction began (1865–1877), leading to such achievements as the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution. By 1868, all persons born in the United States were citizens and equal before the law, but efforts to create an interracial democracy were contested from the start. A harsh backlash ensued, ushering in the “separate but equal” age of Jim Crow.

This exhibition will examine the meaning of citizenship for African Americans following the abolition of slavery, through Reconstruction and the Jim Crow era.

The exhibition is organized chronologically from the end of the Civil War to the end of World War I and highlights the central role played by African Americans in advocating for their rights. It also examines the depth and breadth of opposition to Black advancement, including how Jim Crow permeated the North. Art, artifacts, photographs, and media illustrate these transformative decades in American history and their continuing relevance today. Exhibition highlights include:

• Portrait of Dred Scott (ca. 1857), a Missouri slave who sued for his freedom and lost after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that no Black person, free or enslaved, could ever be a U.S. citizen;
• Thirteenth Amendment (1865), signed by President Abraham Lincoln, which permanently abolished U.S. slavery;
• Slave shackles (1866) cut from the ankles of 17-year-old Mary Horn, who was held captive even after slavery was abolished the year before, until her fiancé asked for help from a Union soldier who removed the chains and married the couple;
• Uncle Ned’s School (1866), a sculpture by artist John Rogers depicting an improvised classroom created by African Americans during Reconstruction;
• Marriage certificate (1874), of Augustus Johnson and Malinda Murphy, who made their long-standing relationship legal during Reconstruction;
• activist Ida B. Wells’ pamphlet Southern Horrors (1892), which reported that 728 lynchings had taken place in just the previous eight years and was written to “arouse the conscience of the American people to a demand for justice to every citizen”;
• World War I toy soldier diorama featuring African American troops in the 369th Infantry Regiment known as the “Harlem Hellfighters”; and
• Maquette for artist Kara Walker’s Katastwóf Karavan (2017), a 2018 public sculpture installed at Algiers Point, New Orleans, featuring provocative silhouettes that depict slavery and racial stereotypes.

Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow concludes with an exploration of Black military service during World War I and the struggle for equality in the decades to follow. With the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act, the most significant civil rights bills since Reconstruction, these laws signaled the end of legalized Jim Crow, though the struggle for full citizenship continued.

The lasting impact of the Jim Crow era has inspired a history of significant racial justice efforts led by Black Miamians. As a supplement to Black Citizenship, HistoryMiami Museum curated Stories of Resistance from Black Miami, an oral history project co-created by the museum and individuals involved in past and contemporary movements, explores Black Miami’s long and ongoing struggle, resistance, and resilience in response to racial injustice. The diversity of Miami’s Black communities, including African Americans, Haitians, Bahamians, Afro-Latinos, and others allows Stories of Resistance to feature culturally diverse perspectives on the trajectory of racial justice efforts in Miami from the 1950s to the present. The exhibition will feature interviews notable activists in Miami including Thelma Gibson, Betty Ferguson, and Lonnie Lawrence.

Major funding for the new initiative was provided by Michael and Julie Weiser.

HistoryMiami Museum is proud to announce it is one of eight Smithsonian Affiliates across the country collaborating on Earth Optimism Youth Action and Leadership for Sustainable Communities (EOYAL), an educational program designed to empower high school students to take environmental action on issues facing their community. HistoryMiami Museum is the only Affiliate participating from Florida in this two-year initiative supported by the Smithsonian. 

Over the course of 2022-2024, HistoryMiami will work with two groups of high school students and their teachers from Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Together with matching funding from HistoryMiami, the Smithsonian will assist HistoryMiami with the funding for field trips, educator stipends, teacher training, seed funding for student action projects, paid student internships, guest speaker honoraria, and mentorship. The program’s overarching goal is to empower students, specifically schools in vulnerable neighborhoods, who stand to suffer disproportionately from climate change.  

“HistoryMiami Museum is excited to partner with the Smithsonian, Smithsonian Affiliate organizations and two Miami-Dade County public high schools on the Earth Optimism Youth Action and Leadership for Sustainable Communities project to deep dive into environmental education,” HistoryMiami’s Manager of Education and School Initiatives, Olgasabrina Rueda, said.  “Students will take on leadership roles and explore current environmental issues facing their communities and will engage with local and national stakeholders as they create solutions to support local communities.” 

By building students’ environmental and justice literacy, and giving them opportunities to practice leadership skills, the Smithsonian, HistoryMiami, and the other Smithsonian Affiliates aim to engender future generations of change makers. Earth Optimism is rooted in hope for the future and focused on all the ways that everyone can become an environmental citizen. 

“Research shows that young people are experiencing high levels of eco-anxiety today. And yet, their knowledge of the causes of climate change and ecological degradation, and the range of successful solutions for a variety of environmental challenges, is limited,” said Brian Coyle and Jennifer Brundage, EOYAL co-directors and Smithsonian staff. “By collaborating with its trusted partners in communities across the U.S., the Smithsonian intends to build a community of practice that provides educators with high-quality resources for teaching and developing environmental leaders and provides students with crucial support to become the changemakers we need them to be in their communities.” 

With the help of mentors, student teams in each city will design an action plan for a specific issue that they will present to a jury of Smithsonian scientists and educators. Student teams will receive seed funding to execute their projects at the community level during the spring semester, and their efforts will be publicized on Smithsonian websites and social media platforms. Additionally, one student from each participating city will receive a paid summer internship to pursue their interest in conservation and sustainability. In addition to HistoryMiami the cohort includes Smithsonian Affiliates in San Francisco, Calif.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Bozeman, Mont.; Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas; Dubuque, Iowa; Raleigh, N.C.; and Baltimore, Md. In August 2023, the Smithsonian will host a summit for educators from across the country at its Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, Maryland, to discuss the effectiveness of resources, the impact of student actions, and methods for scaling the effort to more schools and communities. 

The Earth Optimism Youth Action and Leadership for Sustainable Communities program (EOYAL) is made possible by the Jeff Bezos gift to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.

More than 60 images capture a collision of 2020 events to tell stories of love, disbelief, rage and change.

HistoryMiami Museum is pleased to announce the launch of CAPTURE: A Portrait of the Pandemic, created by one of Miami’s most sought-after club DJs, Rahsaan “Fly Guy” Alexander. The museum’s Center for Photography serves as the backdrop for Alexander’s largest show to date, with dozens of never-before-exhibited photos.  The exhibit will open to the public with a VIP event on the evening of August 4 and to the general public on August 5. The exhibition’s more than 60 images are a visual representation of experiences and attitudes resulting from the life-altering year of 2020 when our community struggled with the realities of a pandemic, racial injustice protests, homelessness, and the entertainment industry on the brink of implosion. 

“What started as a cathartic project to lift my spirits during the pandemic became a passion project for future generations that tells the human story of life continuing through tragedy,” said the artist, whose family ties to Guyana, New York, and Miami are central to his work. “While many of the images are jarring, I believe the stories behind each photo will have a lasting effect on everyone by connecting the dots between that moment in time and how human reactions impact others.”

Images focus on themes ranging from protests to nightlife, using both black-and-white and color imagery to tell moving stories of love, disbelief, rage, and change. Alexander’s poignant display is anchored around three of his favorite photos, “Racism is a Pandemic,” “Listen to Her,” and a mesmerizing photo of his mother called “Mom Dukes,” taken from a distance during quarantine.

Along with the photography, HistoryMiami Museum will also showcase Rahsaan’s short documentary film, PIVOT: A 2020 Story, an introspective look at how this Miami resident rekindled his passion for photography.

“Rahsaan’s artistry captures the essence of a great collision of events, all under the pandemic umbrella. His memorable images won’t let us forget what Miami has endured together, and we are pleased to collaborate with him to present his vision to the community,” said Michael Knoll, Director of Curatorial Affairs and Chief Curator at HistoryMiami Museum.

CAPTURE: A Portrait of the Pandemic is a project of the HistoryMiami Center for Photography, which aims to collect, safeguard, and share the photographic images that tell the stories of our community and illuminate the Miami experience. The Center emphasizes documentary photography and serves photographers, researchers, and Miami’s diverse public. The opening VIP event for the public will take place on Thursday, August 4, from 5:30 – 9:30 p.m. at the Museum with a reception including food, drinks, and entertainment. The event is free to attend. Limited tickets will be available – register here. CAPTURE: A Portrait of the Pandemic runs through January 8, 2023.

The Summer Passport Program, sponsored by AT&T, gives kids and their families free admission to the museum from June 8th to August 16, 2022

HistoryMiami Museum is kicking off its Summer Passport Program, sponsored by AT&T, to provide free access to the museum for all children in Miami-Dade County. The program, which is available from June 8 until August 16, 2022, offers opportunities for children to experience an exciting educational adventure while exploring South Florida’s rich past.

The passports can be picked up at the museum’s front desk, located at 101 West Flagler St., Miami. Each passport offers free admission to children and their family members (up to four people per passport). After every museum visit, the child will receive a stamp in one of the passport’s four boxes. Once all four boxes are stamped, the child will be allowed to pick an exciting prize from a specially curated treasure box.

Throughout the summer, kids and their families can enjoy exhibitions exploring the history of Miami through its permanent displays, as well as collections like It’s a Miami Thing. Features of this exhibit highlight the museum’s vast collection of artifacts and archival materials, such as Seminole patchwork clothing, prints from naturalist John James Audubon’s Birds of America, and treasure salvaged from the 1622 Nuestra Señora de Atocha shipwreck, discovered 35 years ago off the coast of the Florida Keys.

Families can also explore Miami’s cultural diversity and the traditions that give our region its unique flavor in our Folklife gallery, and take part in one of our free family fun days held the second Saturday of the month. In June celebrate Pride, and in July Family Fun Day learn about the sea, and get ready to go back to school with the August Family Fun Day.  

Museum Hours & Fees:

Hours: Open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Wednesday– Saturday; Open noon – 4 p.m., Sunday Regular museum admission: free for students and their families (up to 4 people total) throughout the summer; for non-passport holders, $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students with ID, $6 for children 6-12, and free for museum members and children under 6

Emerging South Florida-based Documentary Photographers Invited to Apply for $25,000 Award, Opportunities to Create New Work, Engage Youth, and More

HistoryMiami Museum’s Center for Photography is launching a photography fellowship program for emerging, local documentary photographers to capture and amplify community stories, particularly those relating to Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and Latinx community members. The fellowship will provide one photographer with opportunities, including:

• A $25,000 award to support the creation of new work related to Miami.
• Select photography to be added to HistoryMiami’s permanent photography collection.
• An exhibition of the fellow’s work at the museum and/or offsite.
• An opportunity to collaborate with HistoryMiami’s Education Department to work with local youth.
• One or more public programs highlighting fellowship-related work.

“Thanks to a Perez Family Foundation CreARTE grant, HistoryMiami Museum will support local talent in documenting and sharing stories from our diverse community,” said Michel Knoll, Director of Curatorial Affairs and Chief Curator at HistoryMiami Museum. “We are eager to collaborate with photographers to build the historical record, exhibit new work, and offer a variety of learning opportunities.”

The Center’s core mission is to collect, safeguard, and share photographic images that tell the stories of our community and illuminate the Miami experience, in all its diversity. The Center emphasizes documentary photography and serves photographers, researchers, and the general public through its collection of historical images (numbering in the millions), dedicated photography galleries, programming, and more. This fellowship project intentionally aligns with the museum’s desire to address representational gaps in past collaborations, our collection, and the stories featured in our exhibitions and programs.  

In partnership with the Center, the Education Department will work with the photographer and youth stakeholders in documenting a subject of their choosing and lived experiences.

“On a daily basis, many of our youth are deprived of their humanity, but they have so much joy and beauty to share,” Director of Education Tina Menendez said. “Creating spaces for youth to genuinely feel seen, engaged, and heard is essential.”

Submissions for the 2022-2023 fellowship are due by May 31, 2022. Application details can be found at www.historymiami.org/photofellow.

Applications will be reviewed by a diverse committee of local documentary photographers, curators, other photography professionals, and/or museum staff. The selected fellow will be announced by June 30, 2022.

The project is made possible by a generous donation from The Jorge M. Perez Family Foundation at The Miami Foundation, as part of the CreARTE grant program. First established in 2019, CreARTE aims to bridge gaps in key areas impacting the creative community most, including access to affordable workplaces, cultural equity, and education.

HistoryMiami Museum hosts FREE event Saturday, November 13th

CultureFest 305 is back!  After taking the event virtual last year, HistoryMiami Museum (101 W. Flagler Street) will host the fifth annual event in person, November 13th from 11 AM – 4 PM.   The free activities celebrating life in the Magic City include a jam-packed day of music, dance, food, and art. This festival brings together the city’s finest traditional artists for a day of performances and demonstrations and activities for all ages. Discover all that makes Miami the diverse, vibrant, and extraordinary city we love!

Saturday, November 13, 2021

11:00 AM – 4:00 PM

FREE ADMISSION

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Festival Schedule 

Performances

12:30 PM – 1:15 PM  Willie Stewart, Rhythms In Conversation Percussion Performance

2:00 PM – 2:30 PM  Clarita Filgueiras & Flamenco Puro Dance Company, Flamenco Music and Dance

3:30 PM – 4:00 PM  Bachaco, Reggae Rock & Latin Roots

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Demonstrations

12:00 PM – 12:30 PM  Louines Louinis Haitian Dance Theater, Haitian Drumming and Storytelling

1:30 PM – 1:50 PM  Ukrainian Dancers of Miami, Ukrainian Folk Dance Demonstration

2:45 PM – 3:15 PM  Rhythms School of Dance, Indian Dance Workshop

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Ongoing Demonstrators

Stay tuned as we continue adding demonstrators and activity details!

11:00 AM – 4:00 PM

• Miami Beach lifeguard tower model-making, Alcibiades Cerrud
• Pan-Asian folk traditions, Asian American Advisory Board
• Local food culture, Edible South Florida
• Marimba music demonstrations, Mexican folklife, and cafesito, Mi Folklor y Cafesito
• Live painting demonstrations, Omar Corrales Mora and Futurama Art Galleries
• Connection Bingo, Radical Partners
• Live woodturning demonstrations, South Florida Woodturners Guild
• Ukrainian folk traditions, Ukrainian Dancers of Miami

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Ongoing Activities from 11 AM – 4 PM:

• Poster Signing with Artist, Izia Lindsay
• Take-Away Craft Activities
• Food and Drink Vendors

*Schedule subject to change

Anastasia Samoylova’s photographic collection visually captures the impact climate change has on human behavior.

– FloodZone, a climate-inspired exhibition boasting a 47-piece collection, opens October 15 at HistoryMiami Museum.  Created and curated by Miami’s own Anastasia Samoylova, it will fittingly have its most impressive and largest display to date in her residential hometown. Her art is acclaimed for its bold stance on the notions of consumerism and environmentalism, but balanced in its non-sensationalistic approach to changing landscapes resulting from climate change. 

“This project explores how we navigate our space around environmental changes, how we prepare for this moment, and how we live in at-risk areas while economic forces instill a sense of denial and disavowal,” said Samoylova, a Russian-American artist who moves between observational photography, studio practice, and installation.

Visitors to FloodZone will experience portraits of locals, flora, the concrete jungles that replace mangrove forests, wetlands, and farms, all embodied in lush greens, azure blues, and pastel pink colors.

HistoryMiami Museum Executive Director Jorge Zamanillo describes Samoylova’s photography as an evocativedocumentary project of the changing landscape: “What this busy community needs desperately is time to reflect on the changes happening around us. FloodZone gives us the space to pause and consider how current realities are impacting our South Florida community.”

The exhibition, on display at HistoryMiami Museum, 101 W. Flagler Street, will remain in place through April 17, 2022. Open Wednesday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., and Sunday noon – 4 p.m., admission is $10 for adults; seniors and students with ID are $8; children ages 6-12 are $5; Museum members and children under 6 are free. 

Guests enjoying FloodZone can also visit the complementary companion exhibition, storms and flooding in Miami, in the Photograph Collection Highlights gallery adjacent to FloodZone.  The exhibition is presented with the generous support of Miami-Dade County, State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, John and Susannah Shubin, Sheryl F. Gold, and the Touzet Studio.   For more information, visit historymiami.org.  

Objects provide a window into Miami’s history: Tequesta Artifacts, John James Audubon Prints, Walter Mercado Cape, Seminole Doll    

Unearthed Tequesta artifacts from 800 A.D., naturalist James Audubon prints, and famous gender non-conforming astrologer Walter Mercado’s cape all headline the newest HistoryMiami Museum exhibition, It’s a Miami Thing: Highlights from Our Collection. These treasures will be on display to the public starting July 29, just in time to celebrate Miami’s 125th birthday, as well as the Museum’s 81^st anniversary.  

“Our mission is to safeguard Miami Stories and one of the ways we do that is by collecting items that document the Miami experience,” HistoryMiami Museum Executive Director Jorge Zamanillo said. “This is truly the community’s collection, and we hope everyone will visit and enjoy these highlights that capture the uniqueness of our city.”  

It’s a Miami Thing was curated from over 30,000 objects and millions of archival items in the Museum’s collection, which  are carefully preserved.  The exhibition includes the Burdines sign from the original flagship store, Seminole patchwork clothing, architectural drawings of Miami buildings, prints from naturalist John James Audubon’s Birds of America and treasure salvaged from the 1622 Nuestra Señora de Atocha shipwreck, discovered 35 years ago off the coast of the Florida Keys. There is also an interactive component inviting visitors to reflect on and share their “Miami thing.” 

It’s a Miami Thing, on display at HistoryMiami Museum located at 101 W. Flagler Street, will remain in place through January 9, 2022. Open Wednesday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., and Sunday noon – 4 p.m., HistoryMiami Museum is currently offering complimentary admission through August 31.  Starting September 1, admission is $10 for adults; seniors and students with ID are $8; children ages 6-12 are $5; Museum members and children under 6 are free.  

The exhibition is sponsored in part by Miami Dade County, State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, Bermont Gold Wealth Advisory of Raymond James, and Mark Migdal & Hayden.

For more information, visit historymiami.org.

HistoryMiami Museum joins forces with Rosie Gordon-Wallace and Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator to launch project that opens to public June 5

HistoryMiami Museum  and  curator  Rosie  Gordon-Wallace of Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator (DVCAI) invited the public to celebrate Caribbean-American Heritage Month by experiencing the community’s newest mural, “This is Miami.” A vibrant and bold 130-foot long panoramic piece, the mural graces the entrance of the Museum and highlights Miami’s link to five Caribbean nations, three talented local artists and a century of Caribbean impact on South Florida. The project, also known as “Esto Es Miami,” “Se Miami,” “C’est Miami” and “Dit is Miami,” reflects the diverse languages found among residents living on the more than 700 islands, islets and reefs that lie in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of the Gulf of Mexico. 

“We are honored to be working with Rosie Gordon-Wallace and WALL’N Collective on the launch of this mural. This is part of a newly-established, ongoing mural initiative at the museum to highlight diverse voices from our community,” Executive Director Jorge Zamanillo said. “We wanted to create a vehicle for artists to answer the question “What Makes Miami, Miami?” And this exciting artwork is the first of many to come, all tackling that question through artistic expression.”  

Ms. Gordon-Wallace, originally from Jamaica, is best known for curating internationally diverse art exhibitions and being the founder of DVCAI.  She selected a trio of Miami’s most talented Caribbean muralists to draw upon their own experiences in Cuba, Haiti, and Trinidad and Tobago to help inspire the final collection of painted images, woven together in a tapestry of color that will captivate the senses of any visitor. Created by WALL’N Collective, made up of Caribbean artists Asser Saint-Val, Izia Lindsay and Rosa Naday Garmendia, the mural is an answer to the question, “What Makes Miami, Miami?  

“I want people to feel the warmth of the Caribbean – to feel viscerally welcome,” said Ms. Gordon-Wallace. “’This is Miami’ offers smiles and nods and recognition that you can find yourself in the artists’ collection of memories.  As a curator, this is what inspires me.  While you can’t mandate feelings, I don’t think one can walk through the lobby without seeing a vignette that resonates and connects with Miami’s Caribbean culture.” “This is Miami” will remain through the end of 2021. The mural and Museum, located at 101 W. Flagler Street, Miami, is free to the public.

HISTORY OF CARIBBEAN-AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH 

 In 2006, by proclamation, President George Bush announced the formal recognition of Caribbean-American Heritage Month. The campaign to designate June as National Caribbean American Heritage Month was spearheaded by Dr. Claire Nelson, Founder and President of the Institute of Caribbean Studies, to remind people of the impact Caribbean nations and immigrants have had on America’s history, past and present.   

Muhammad Ali in Miami: Training for the “Fight of the Century” opens February 25

Muhammad Ali versus Joe Frazier was billed as the “Fight of the Century” and, in preparation for the March 8, 1971 bout, Ali spent time in Miami Beach training at the famed 5th Street Gym. One-of-a-kind photos chronicling his preparations will now be on display at HistoryMiami Museum in a new exhibition titled Muhammad Ali in Miami: Training for the “Fight of the Century.” The images will be displayed from February 25 through August 29 within a new photography gallery dedicated to exhibiting selections from the museum’s extensive image collection.

With the support of the Knight Foundation, HistoryMiami Museum recently acquired the “ALI/MIA” portfolio of 20 silver gelatin photographs selected and handmade by photographer and Miami resident Andrew Kaufman. Seventeen of the images document Ali’s time training for the fight. Three additional images taken in 1981 capture Ali’s final fight, “Drama in Bahama,” against Trevor Berbick. The photographs were taken by award winning photographer Larry Spitzer and colleague Jebb Harris of the Louisville’s Courier-Journal, both of whom covered the Kentucky native for more than a decade. Kaufman’s portfolio is a portion of the work featured in the book Picture: Muhammad Ali, published by PSG.

“These photos captured a historic moment for Ali. He was just returning to boxing after his conviction for refusing to register for the draft in 1967 had been overturned,” HistoryMiami Museum Executive Director Jorge Zamanillo said. “These photos show him preparing to return to the biggest stage in sports at that time, and we hope everyone will visit the museum to view an incredible and rarely seen collection of images.”

“ALI/MIA” will launch a new gallery space dedicated to exhibiting highlights from the museum’s collection of more than two million historical images. Selections will be displayed on a rotating basis. The institution’s image collection documents South Florida history from the late 1800s to the present. Notable strengths include photojournalism, aerial photography, street scenes, architectural photography, and images of everyday life.

“We want to make sure the incredible photography that lives in our collection is widely accessible, so we created a special space to help us share it with the community,” said Michael Knoll, the museum’s director of curatorial affairs/chief curator. “We’re proud to open this new gallery by featuring ‘ALI/MIA,’ and we look forward to presenting more highlights from our collection within this space in the years to come.”

Open Thursday – Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., and Sunday noon – 5 p.m., HistoryMiami Museum is currently offering complimentary admission. For more information, visit historymiami.org.