Locust Projects celebrates its 15 year with special events projects and events
“Since our move in 2012 into a new 5,000 square foot exhibition space in the heart of the Design District, we now have more than twice as much space to truly focus on better meeting our mission to serve artists and the community,” said Chana Sheldon, executive director of Locust Projects.
With our new space we can program more exhibitions, as well as provide new opportunities for artists such as weekly Roundtables, Locust Talks, our lecture/studio visit series and our public art initiative Out of the Box.” Exhibition spaces include Main Gallery, Project Room and the Lobby Gallery.
Locust Projects’ programming includes exhibitions, lectures, educational workshops, public commissions and professional development programs, all free and open to the public.
Locust Projects, founded by artists in 1998, continues to be driven by and responsive to artists’ needs. “Our mission is to provide what artists need to experiment with new ideas and methods without the limitations or sales pressure of conventional exhibition spaces,” explains Ms. Sheldon. “It is our desire to offer public exposure and professional support for contemporary artists, and to provide an approachable contemporary art venue for the public.”
15th Anniversary Celebration: Events & Special Projects
Locust Talks, a new series of free public lectures by visiting art professionals from diverse institutions across the country have been invited to talk about topics impacting artists and their communities, Lauri Firstenberg, director and chief curator of LAX Art, an independent non-profit art space in LA that produces and presents experimental exhibitions, will give a lecture on Thursday, April 18 at 7pm.
Complementing the Locust Talks, the visiting curators and directors are making visits to the studios of South Florida-based artists as a personal way to provide artists an outsider’s insight into their work, and an opportunity to develop on- on-one relationships.
“Artists involved in our Artist Advisory Committee have specifically expressed a need for more access to top curators, writers and arts professionals as an avenue to expand their practices and sustain their careers,” relates Ms. Sheldon. “As a result of the studio visits, we hope to broaden Miami artists’ sphere of influence, giving them the opportunity to build new relationships—and ultimately exhibition opportunities, with dynamic curatorial voices from across the country and internationally.”
Spring Fling, Sat., April 27, 7-10pm, at the Herzog & De Meuron-designed 1111 Lincoln Road. An opportunity to purchase cutting-edge art-works by leading contemporary visual artists, including Hernan Bas, Nathan Carter, Francesca DiMattio, Kate Gilmore, Liam Gillick, Jon Pylypchuk, Cristina Lei Rodriguez and Andrew Schoultz.
Miami-based artist JILLIAN MAYER. Saturday, May 11 Exhibition.
Project Room: Out of Place: A collaboration between Tracey Goodman and Valerie Snobeck CURATED BY JOANNA KLEINBERG ROMANOW, Assistant Curator, The Drawing Center, NY. On Exhibit through June 19.
Out of the Box (OOTB) is Locusts Projects’ public commissions program, which Ms. Sheldon believes “provides us an interesting way to increase community exposure to works of art in surprising and accessible public locations throughout the county.”
Fourth annual Bus Shelter Project , showing site specific artwork by commissioned Miami artists on bus shelters surrounding Miami’s Design District and Miami Beach. New York-based, Miami native Carlos Rigau’s new work will appear on over 30 bus shelters during the month of February.
Conceived specifically for Locust Projects, Replica Sign continues Rigau’s interest in artifice, display and perception. Rigau recognizes South Florida as a place inundated by artifice and replicas, nearly indistinguishable layers of fake and real, where it can be difficult to distinguish between simulacra and the authentic.(The artists’ public project takes place in conjunction with his current Project Room exhibition at Locust Projects entitled By Design, on view at the gallery through March 2, 2013.)
Artists now have the opportunity to avail themselves of Locust Projects’s brand new library of over 1500 personally collected art books from the past three decades, including artist monographs and a diverse array of catalogues of international exhibits. “In addition to the books being an amazing resource for the community, they are a perfect fulcrum, attracting artists of all levels and disciplines to find reprieve from their busy and hectic lives,” Ms. Sheldon enthuses. “It is our desire to create an inspirational place for artists to come in, hang out, read, exchange ideas, think, and daydream. The books are here and available for anyone to access at any time we are open.” The books have been donated by Debra and Dennis Scholl.
