Celebrating Art + Pride

Beauford Delaney, Untitled, 1954

Dear Miami MoCAAD Community,

Welcome Pride! Celebrate culture, identity, and contributions. Pride Month traces its roots to pivotal historical moments, such as the Stonewall Riot and the Compton Cafeteria Riots, which became catalysts for change, symbolizing the resilience and unwavering spirit of individuals who fought against discrimination and police harassment.

As we honor the achievements of African Diasporic LGBTQ+ artists, we are reminded of the significance of their creative contributions. Their artwork speaks to vibrant diversity and challenges societal norms, aimed at inspiring conversations about representation, inclusivity, and acceptance.

We invite you to explore the artwork that pushes boundaries of understanding and compassion.

~ Miami MoCAAD

Nina Chanel Abney

Nina Chanel Abney, Femme Games, 2020

Nina Chanel Abney (1982-) is a New York-based artist whose artwork tells stories through the pop surrealist style. Her surrealist style creates vibrant, colorful, intricate art pieces that address many sensitive topics, including sexuality, race, politics, and religion. Her work is included in exhibits and collections worldwide.

Paul Mpagi Sepuya. Photo: Chris Bauer.

Mirror Study (0X5A9954), 2020, by Paul Mpagi Sepuya

Paul Mpagi Sepuya (b. 1982) is a Californian photographer who integrates his professional and personal life into his work to create raw images of the human form. Sepuya's photos include friends, lovers, and models and showcase intimate depictions of humans in "creative, desirous exchanges. His photos have been exhibited in solo shows and museums nationwide.

Michaela Yearwood Dan

Photo Credit: Sam Hylton

Michaela Yearwood-Dan, What's the Use in Yearning, 2021

Michaela Yearwood Dan (b. 1994) is a London-based artist who creates purposeful, colorful dimensional pieces that address themes including blackness, queerness, and femininity. Michaela's pieces span various mediums, including ceramics, murals, paint, and installation. Michaela’s work is included in permanent collections and museums in DC, Miami, and California.

Darrel Ellis, 1981

Darrel Ellis, Untitled (Self-Portrait),

Darrel Ellis (1958-1992) was a mixed-media artist whose unique approach to creating portraits with painting and photography depicted family through a reimagined lens, bringing a new life and fresh perspective in black and white. His life was cut short at the age of 34, but his work continues to be exhibited.

James Baldwin. & Beauford Delaney

Beauford Delaney (1901-1979) was an artist inspired by the Harlem Renaissance. He became a household name in New York, befriending and painting famous figures, including W.E.B DuBois, and creating colorful, vibrant, abstract contemporary art. His artworks were expressive with inspiration, drawing from the world around him and touching on topics of race and the economic climate that plagued him throughout life.

Beauford Delaney, Portrait of James Baldwin, 1965

Richmond Barthé

Richmond Barthé, a renowned sculptor, who made significant contributions as a trailblazer within the Black LGBTQ community. Barthé fearlessly embraced his sexuality and challenged societal taboos through his art, inspiring generations to embrace their identities. His groundbreaking work paved the way for greater acceptance of Black LGBTQ artists, leaving an enduring legacy of representation and empowerment.

RICHMOND BARTHÉ Feral Benga, 1986

Jacolby Satterwhite, We Are in Hell When We Hurt Each Other

This monumental video by multimedia artist Jacolby Satterwhite features digital bodysuits that translate the artist’s dance movements into animated, Black fembot forms, combining vogueing, 3D animation, and drawing. He has used 3D animation, sculpture, performance, painting, and photography to create fantastical, labyrinthine universes and explore the movement of his own queer body.

Bree Gant, Wend

BREE GANT: WEND is a multi-channel video installation that compiles nearly a decade of multidisciplinary artist Bree Gant’s auto-ethnographic recordings. Gant’s practice is grounded in the comprehensive study of time and movement. Movement of the body, groups of people, and time are embodied fluidly through their performance, photography, sound, and video work.

Beau McCall, Rewind: History on Repeat

Artist Beau McCall pays homage to his friends and their stories at an exhibition at the Ft. Lauderdale, FL Stonewall National Museum & Archives with artworks memorializing friends through collages of photographs, buttons, and ephemera. The artworks are pulled from McCall’s art book Rewind: History ON REPEAT, along with archived magazines, posters, and newspapers that captured Black LGBTQ life in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Runs through Sept. 8.

Chelsey Luster,

Appalachia I, loop, and pile wall yarn hanging, 2021.

Chelsey Luster is a curator and visual artist based in Baltimore, MD. Working to empower queer Black voices, much of Luster’s work aims to empower marginalized groups and adds to scholarship surrounding intersectionality and contemporary identity. Past exhibits (2021) include Sanctuary: An Exploration of Queer Safe Havens and Queer Euphoria: The Radicalness of Joy.

Keioui Keijaun Come Hell or High Femmes: The Era of the Dolls

Keioui Keijaun Thomas, No Longer Strange Fruit, is an exhibit presented by JOAN (Los Angeles) that brings together a selection of Thomas’ projects from 2012-2022, emphasizing the variety of ways the artist examines and engages with the ideas of labor, subjugation, and resistance. The exhibition includes video and sculptural installations, archival materials, performance ephemera, and a publication of the artist’s writings. Runs through July 15, 2023.

Listen to Miami MoCAAD's Pride inspired playlist

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Derek Conrad Murray explores the effect of LGBTQIA politics and identity on the concept of Blackness in art. The book explores the topic through a deep dive into various queer artists such as Mickalene Thomas, Kehinde Wiley, and more.

Derek Conrad Murray, Queering Post-Black

Tarana Burke, Brené Brown ,

You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience, and the Black Experience

Tarana Burke and Dr. Brené Brown bring together a dynamic group of Black writers, organizers, artists, academics, and cultural figures to discuss vulnerability and shame resilience.

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Zora Neale Hurston's stunning and layered African American folktale, introduces readers to her storytelling beauty. It will spark curiosity in children about how things in our world came to be.

Zora Neal Hurston, Ibram X. Kendi, Illustrated by Kah Yangni , The Making of Butterflies

DeShanna Neal and Trinity Neal; Illustrated by Art Twink,

My Rainbow

My Rainbow follows a mother’s quest to make her daughter feel included and seen …through her hair. Follow the Neal family as the matriarch creates a beautiful rainbow for her transgender daughter to provide a space to express herself however she likes.

Kimberly Drew explores the depth and range of art and how it intersects with politics, activism, and even ourselves. “Drew’s experience teaches us to embrace our fear and be true to ourselves. She uses her passion to change the art world and invites us to join her,” quoting Janelle Monáe, award-winning singer, actress, and producer.

Kimberly Drew,

Illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky

This Is What I Know About Art

Black Trans Femmes in the Arts

“Our mission is to create spaces for the production and preservation of Black trans art and culture by building community with Black trans femme artists and providing them with the resources and support necessary to thrive.” Through public programming, BTFA connects Black trans femme artists with each other and with the larger art community.

Miami-Dade County Artist Access Grant - Ongoing Deadlines

Funded by Miami-Dade County and in partnership with FUNDarte, the Artist Access Grant Program is designed to assist practicing professional artists in any medium or discipline residing in Miami-Dade County to pursue opportunities that will advance their practice and careers in demonstrable ways.