MIAMI ART SCENE PIONEER, LOCUST PROJECTS, ANNOUNCES A COLLABORATIVE EXHIBITION BY SOUTH FLORIDA HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

The LAB (Locust Arts Builders)
Opening Reception: Saturday, July 10, 7-10pm
Through August 2019

Pioneers in the Miami art scene, Locust Projects is pleased to announce a collaborative exhibition by a select group of South Florida High School students. Under the direction of renowned contemporary artist Monica Lopez de Victoria of the TM Sisters, nine local high school students will experience the invigorating and arduous process of conceiving and executing original artworks from June 28 to July 10, 2010.

These students, currently attending Design and Architecture Senior High, Hialeah Senior High, Miami Northwestern Senior High and New World School of Arts answered an open call and were hand-selected by a committee of local art professionals.

Participating Artists: Omar Alvarez, Leslie Chavez, Jason Flores, Luna Goldberg, Kevin Hobbs, Ximena Izquierdo, Vanessa Lacayo, Asher Mones, Christina Quinlan

As a hallmark that makes Locust Projects stand out from other art venues, the organization embraces cutting-edge exhibitions and innovation in art.  In furtherance of the not-for-profit’s twelve-year commitment to providing an approachable arts venue for the South Florida community, for the first time, Locust Projects has created an exciting new program in which a young generation of artists are given the opportunity to create a collaborative exhibition in a public venue.

The project will be developed and exhibited in Locust Projects’ 2,700 square foot space in Miami’s Design District and culminate in a publicized show, open to the public. The goal is to promote contemporary art and project-based learning as a means to encourage creativity, critical analysis, and problem solving, while building communication skills. This unique initiative will allow young artists to learn the practical and exciting aspects of creating a public exhibition in collaboration with their peers.

About Locust Projects
2010 marks Locust Projects’ 12-year anniversary. Locust Projects is alternative, not for profit exhibition space dedicated to providing contemporary visual artists the freedom to experiment with new ideas without the pressures of gallery sales or limitations of conventional exhibition spaces. Artists are encouraged to create site-specific installations as an extension of their representative work and Locust Projects offers them a vibrant Miami experience to develop their ideas and methods. Locust Projects is committed to offering an approachable and inviting venue for the Miami and international art community to experience the work and meet the artists. With more than 65 exhibitions, representing more than 210 local, national, and international artists, Locust Projects has supported site-specific and installation artworks featuring photography, video, performance, sculpture, drawing, painting and digital media making it a nationally-recognized art institution, and a landmark in the Miami art scene.

About the artist:
Monica Lopez De Victoria is a Miami-based artist that works in collaboration with Tasha Lopez De Victoria under the name TM Sisters.  Together the sisters work in the mediums of video, digital video performance, VJing, collage, social experiments, zines, clothing, installations, and interactive video created along with their brother Samuel.  The TM Sisters’ recent exhibition, WHIRL CRASH GO! at Locust Projects was featured in The Miami Herald.  The sisters’ work has been included in the international traveling exhibition “Uncertain States of America: American Art in the 3rd Millennium;” the Second Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, and PERFORMA 07 in New York.  Their work has been seen and written about in publications like L’Officiel magazine, The Guardian, STEP Inside Design, the New York Times, Vogue Italia, and on the cover of ARTnews.

This exhibition is made possible with the support from: Andy Warhol Foundation; Galt & Skye Mikesell; Hannibal Cox Jr. Foundation; Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, the Cultural Affairs Council, the Mayor, and the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners. Special thanks to Jonathan Eismann Restaurants.

For further information contact: Monica de Miguel

305.576.8570

locustprojects {at} yahoo(.)com

Whether the display is beautiful is up for debate. The Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego commissioned internationally-known artist Barry McGee — who has created murals throughout the world — to use the building as his canvas as part of a larger exhibition after initially getting the permission from the building’s owner.

Street art wins out (for now). Fight the powers that be!

Beats™ by Dr. Dre™ and Monster showcased one-of-a-kind Beats Studio headphones tricked-out by Primary Flight artists Tes One, Retna and Santiago, which will be auctioned on www.primaryflight.com in benefit of ArtCenter/South Florida’s arts education programs. Blue Print for Space is on view until January 2, 2010, and is free and open to the public.

Taking it back to the streets, more than 100 Primary Flight artists will now continue creating live murals and installations throughout Miami’s Wynwood Arts District. Typoe, Retna, Ewok, Dolla, Blek Le Rat, Fake is Good and She Kills He are among the visionaries appropriating public and private outdoor surfaces, day and night, through December 6, 2009. Primary Flight’s base camp is located at Wynwood Social Club (2501 N.W. 2nd Ave) but artgoers should walk the streets for an authentic taste of the work in context. Key locations include:

• Spinello Gallery – 155 Northeast 38 Street, No. 101 (Santiago Rubino)
• Margulies Collection – 591 Northwest 27th Street (El Mac, Retna)
• Eazy Street Gallery – 3501 Northwest 2nd Avenue (Tristan Eaton, Jeff Soto)
• Bakehouse Art Complex – 561 Northwest 32nd Street (Depoe)
• Electric Pickle – 2826 North Miami Avenue (Aiko)
• FoCi Art Fair – 3000 North Miami Avenue (Askew, Shepard Fairey, Revok, Reyes)
• Wynwood Social Club – 2501 N.W. 2nd Ave (Jim Darling, Galo, The London Police, Kenny Scharf)

Primary Flight’s lead curator, Books IIII, said, “This evening is testament to the fact that graffiti is alive and well in Miami. It doesn’t get any more real than this. Primary Flight looks forward to taking this show on the road.”

Anything - Jim and Tina Darling

Tes One designed Beats by Dr. Dre headphones (left)

Tes One and El Mac trick out Beats by Dr. Dre headphones

Tes One - Flashing Lights

Santiago Rubino tricks out Beats by Dr. Dre headphones

Reyes - The Letter R

Retna

Primary Flight Party at Shore Club

Primary Flight artist Cruz

Mike Feinberg and Ebony Bones

Meggs

The London Police

Jim & Tina Darling

Leblon Cachaca

I Would be like Jesus by Typoe

Flashing Lights by Tes One

Fan of Santiago Rubino's Stella Octangula

Cruz of Primary Flight at Don't Sleep, The Shore Club

Cruz at Don't Sleep, Shore Club

C215 - Portrait

Blue Print for Space Opening Night

Beats by Dre packaging by Santiago Rubino

Artwork by Shepard Fairey

Ron English with artwork - Grin on Grass

Art Center South Florida

ArtCenter Executive Director Jeremy Chestler with wife Tiffany Chestler (photo credit Meg Pukel)

Santiago Rubino

Art by Mike De Feo