Miami’s rich Black history showcased in museum event at historic Overtown site

Marilyn Holifield, co-founder of the Miami Museum of Contemporary Art of the African Diaspora, and Keon Williams, founder and owner of The Urban entertainment venue in Overtown. Miami MoCAAD.

Dorothy Jenkins Fields states:

On Monday evening In Miami’s Historic Overtown, a dark blue velvet sky provided a perfect canvas for the Miami Museum of Contemporary Art of the African Diaspora (MoCAAD)’s new digital exhibition, kicking off Soul Basel and Miami Art Week in style. The event also celebrated the premiere of the documentary, “This Life: Black Life in the Time of Now.”

“Our team has created a hybrid museum that leverages technology to inspire curiosity, expand accessibility and innovate virtual and in-person museum experiences,” said Marilyn Holifield, the museum’s co-founder and visionary for this extraordinary new project.

“The virtual exhibit, hosted on the Microsoft portal, serves as an art gallery for students, inspiring art and technology projects.”

Miami MoCAAD Virtual Museum.

New memories were made at Monday’s museum opening. Under the curation of Anthony Bogues, the inaugural director of the Ruth J. Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice at Brown University, “This Life” showcased a captivating and illuminating journey into Black life globally.

Through the lens of four artists — Rosana Paulino, Renold Laurent, Nontsikelelo Mutiti and Mark Thomas Gibson — “This Life” wove together a mosaic that confronts societal structures, explores beauty, reflects oral languages and celebrates the resilience of Black female art forms.

The documentary featured Emmy-nominated writer and poet Christell Victoria Roach, a descendant of Overtown’s pioneer Ward-Ingraham family. When the evening ended, Marilyn Holifield proudly showcased MoCAAD’s new logo.

As the crowd left, there was talk of the night’s amazing setting at The Urban, a destination located on the land assigned to our ancestors and now open for all to celebrate life’s greatness.

• Dorothy Jenkins Fields. Miami’s rich Black history showcased in museum event at historic Overtown site. December 09, 2023 5:00 AM. Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/visual-arts/article282790728.html#storylink=cpy

Our Mission

Miami MoCAAD is a virtual museum with a mission to discover, commission, collect and preserve the work of the most advanced contemporary artists of the Global African Diaspora and its mother continent Africa. As a museum of the future, Miami MoCAAD will embed technology in exhibitions, programs, and practices, going beyond digital art offerings to explore ways technology can elevate experiences, educate and reach audiences around the world.



SAVE THE DATE

Mark your calendar for Miami MoCAAD’s next virtual reality exhibit & documentary, “The Day I Heard the Sounds of the World”, new art by Marielle Plaisir, which will be shown March 21, 2024, at the Historic Lyric Theater, 819 NW Second Ave., Miami, FL.

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