Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator Inc.
164 NE 56th St.
Miami, FL 33137
Accessibility: Ground Floor
Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator commitment to artists of Caribbean and diverse cultures ensures they receive validation, visibility and professional opportunities. Our artists break boundaries of traditional forms and work outside of institutionalized systems, they often must create new systems and infrastructures to sustain their practice. We promote, nurture and exhibit the diverse talents of emerging artists from the Latin and Caribbean Diasporas through an artist-in-residence program, international exchanges, community arts events and a dynamic exhibition program collaborating with art spaces and inhabiting the virtual landscape.
Email: rosie@dvcai.org
Programs:
Caribbean Crossroads
Our Caribbean Crossroads Series (CCS) is an artist-in-residence program that provides young and emerging artists of color opportunities for creative and professional development through mentorship, exhibitions, workshops, and arts administration. Students work beside DVCAI stable artists and curators to conceptualize, prepare, and install exhibitions and workshops. Students are introduced to Miami’s art resources with field trips to local galleries and museums. Additionally, CCS students work closely with Diaspora Vibe staff in day to day arts administration including planning programs, public relations /marketing, fundraising, general office work, greeting visitors, conducting gallery tours, and handling artwork.
International Cultural Exchange
Artist In Residence
DVCAI Artist in Residency is a nonprofit, interdisciplinary artists’ community and arts education facility dedicated to promoting artistic excellence by providing talented artists an opportunity to work and collaborate with some of the world’s most distinguished contemporary artists in the fields of visual, literary, and performing arts. Artists have studio space to think, create and meander through the neighborhoods of Miami. Artists are paired with a local Miami artists and they are required to have open studios and one community engagement.
Asser Saint-Val
Asser Saint-Val is a painter, sculptor and installation artist. His quasi-figurative images, by turns humorous and grotesque, bring together ideas, people and incidents central to modern debates about the definition and valence of Neuromalanin. Rendered in a blend of traditional art mediums and a wide range of unconventional, organic materials—coffee, chocolate, ginger, tea and chocolate among them—his pictures, objects and environments are a surreal fantasia on such loosely linked themes as under-recognized African American inventors, the politics of sexual desire, and the complex aesthetics, narratives and metaphors that attach to the organic compounds neuromelanin.
This theme is perhaps Saint-Val’s greatest preoccupation and is explored to some degree in every work in his oeuvre. His fascination with the materiality of neuromelanin, concerning certain dimensions of brain function and spirituality is evident in his play with the unusual, organic “skins” of his paintings. The molecular structure of the compound and the way it operates in the human body are suggestive sources of poetic possibility at the macro level, and are most powerfully linked in his thought and representational practice to profound ideas about the human relationship to the matter and mechanics of the cosmos.
www.assersaintvl.com
THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE
Casa del Caribe presents “The Philosopher’s Stone” by artist Asser Saint-Val. The project is a multi-sensory, interactive, public art installation that invites the viewer to explore contemporary art in unusual settings. The installation consists of a large-scale air sculpture elevated over a bed, and embedded with sounds, aromas, and tastes that the participant is invited to physically experience. The work is intended to engage the public in an abyss of imaginative meditation with direct reference to the phenomenon and power of the pineal gland, “the seat of the soul”. You are welcome to lie on the bed and wear a pair of binaural recording headphones. You will hear a non-linear conversation in four languages while experiencing thirteen different scents. Finally, you are invited to deepen your experience through your sense of taste. Asser Saint-Val is a native of Haiti. He lives and works in Miami, Florida.
Carol-Anne McFarlane
I believe art is empowering.
I believe in action towards social reconstruction.
A world of self-examination leads to self–improvement and empowerment.
I want all of us to be more conscious of social manipulation and its long-term effects.
I create artwork that brings this consciousness to the forefront so people can be intentional when responding to what we experience in the world.
My artwork is based on intersectional feminist ideas regarding gender and identity politics because self-examination leads to self-improvement and empowerment.
My name is Carol-Anne McFarlane (she/her) and I am a visual artist. I am an unapologetic visual voyager. I navigate worlds. I challenge and support others to become aware of their social conditioning that we all have been exposed to; and, I spark dialogue through which individuals can begin to find their own answers.
Here is what I want for all of us:
- To feel confident in your abilities to stand up for yourself
- To have the information to defend what you know is true and right
- To feel empowered to take on challenges by using education
- To be educated in current social structures and know we can challenge and reconstruct them
- To know that there are others that feel the same way and have had similar experiences
People who engage with my work increase their critical thinking skills and can communicate better in spite of the sociopolitical conditioning that we have absorbed.
My collectors collect my work to solidify their connection to their experience and worldview. They are committed to and practice social reconstruction. My collectors want to look at the world in a new way and that leads to living a more informed and empowered life.
Some of my influences include:
Mrs. Jan Leykauf, my middle school ceramics teacher at Parkway Middle School. She participated in the after school program and I was able to continue my work after school, instilling dedication into my practice.
Ms. Laurie Maurino, my high school art teacher. She said, “If you can draw the human body, you can draw anything.” She lead my first life drawing sessions and provided feedback that I still use today. She is the reason why I still draw from a live model all these years later.
Robert Stewart, my Photography professor. He pulled me aside one day to tell me he recognized my duality. I see it show up all the time now. We collaborated on a series of photographs after I graduated college.
Dr. Diana McClintock, one of my Art History professors. She had us travel to hear lectures and see current exhibitions and tied it back to what we were discussing in the classroom. I continue to go to talks and lectures. Who knew back then that she exposed me to what I would recognize as one of my strengths as identified by the book, Strength Finders 2.0?
Story time:
I have always been into art. I have early memories of showing my work and being recognized for my talents. In kindergarten, one of my drawings was handpicked for displayed at the Broward County Fair. It was exciting for the whole family to visit the fair just to see my work!
I continued making art. My middle school was a Magnet school for Performing and Visual Arts. One of my pieces won the Scholastic Art Award and traveled to New York to be on display for the public. Out of 300 entries, mine was chosen. Imagine that, my work traveled to New York before I did!
I decided to bring my Barbies to school one day in elementary school. One of the few white people in the school was in my class. She was my friend. When I played with my dolls, she wanted my white doll to play with. I told her it was mine. She told me that I should only play with dolls that look like me.
Fast-forward ten years; I get my first job in a toy store in a mall. I worked in a toy store at the mall in two states. More than once, I observed a white mother softly suggest to her daughter to choose the white doll, because “her hair is brighter.”
These experiences are related.
Here’s what I learned:
- I learned that art could be a catalyst for change. It made my family visit the county fair for the first time and sparked a tradition that lasted several years.
- The art I make stands out. It has garnered recognition repeatedly. It connects to the viewer and encourages sharing.
- I can pair my experiences with social critique to share my vision in challenging and reconstructing current social structures.
Since then I’ve done this:
- Shown my work in Art Fairs in Miami and New York
- Shown internationally in the United Kingdom and Jamaica
- Participated in Museum shows in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and Des Plaines
- Spoken about my work and experience on panels in Miami and New York
- Invited as a contributing artist on ArtGirlTV via SnapChat
- Participated in the Resident Artist program at the Lauderhill Arts Center
- Gave artist talks in Kansas City, North Miami, Pompano, and Quebec City
- Traveled to Belize, Guadeloupe, and Panama with Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator as a Cultural Ambassador
- Spoke about art and NFTs at the Art & Equity Summit in Spring 2021
You are already here. Let’s stay connected. Here’s how:
Collectors, curators, and art lovers of all kinds have signed up for my emails. In my emails, I share sneak peeks of up coming projects, books and ideas I am investigating, info on upcoming shows and projects, and occasionally offer up pieces for acquisition.
Rosa Naday Garmendia
Rosa Naday Garmendia | La Habana, Cuba| Lives and works in Miami
As a socially engaged, multidisciplinary artist with a commitment to social change Rosa Naday Garmendia blurs the boundaries of social activism and art making. Her practice is fed by her experiences as a woman, an immigrant and an industrial worker. As an artist activity and inquiry are at the center of what she does. She considers her practice a daily act of resistance. Rosa is an immigrant from a country that has faced hostilities from the United States since 1959. Her work is rooted in her personal relationship to colonization and the ruptures in family heritage that come forth as a result of forced migration.
Garmendia was born in Havana, Cuba. She has pursued her fine art studies at various universities and art institutes, including University of South Florida, Parsons School of Design, University of Miami, Vermont Studio Center, and the Fort Lauderdale Art Institute. She has exhibited in Miami, New York, Salt Lake City, Cuba, Guadeloupe and Suriname. She has participated in International Cultural Exchanges and exhibition programs across the Caribbean. Garmendia speaks English, Spanish and Haitian Kreyol and is a teaching artist at the Perez Art Museum Miami. She is involved in her community working with children and homeless adults. Through the discourse of artistic representation Rosa continues to reaffirm that she is part of a larger community that transcends geographical borders.
SLUG MAGAZINE: http://www.slugmag.com/art-fashion/future-isnt-what-it-used-to-be/
www.rosanadaygarmendia.com
Shawna Moulton
Shawna Moulton is a multi-disciplinary artist and art educator based in South Florida. She was born in Freeport, Bahamas, raised in Kingston, Jamaica, and then migrated to the United States. At an early age, she discovered the magic of art-making, manifesting works of drawings, paintings, sculptures, and paper-making. In 2015 she graduated from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Arts with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts.
Her art journey has taken her to the Awagami Factory in Tokushima, Japan, where she learned traditional Japanese paper making. She has several years of experience working in museum education departments such as the Museum of Contemporary Art (North Miami), the Norton Museum of Art, the Young At Art Museum, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Arts Museum. Her role has been engaging the public community with conversations around art, teaching art techniques, and designing art curriculums.
Moulton has been in residence at the Bakehouse Arts Complex (2022) and is presently a member of the Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator. As Shawna continues to work on her creative practice, she is active as an independent teaching artist around South Florida.
The artworks she creates reflect her search for identity through her heritage as an immigrant in America, with deep connections to the Caribbean rooted in the richness of the African Diaspora. She believes that diverse stories are essential to creating a more just world for people to be seen and represented, and this is something she is deeply committed to manifesting through her art. Her work includes life-size paper-casting figures, illustrations on handmade paper, and watercolor paintings reflecting her journey into motherhood.
Artist Statement
I’m using art to reflect and find myself; I want to honor and connect with my ancestors and create a legacy for future generations. The core of my work is celebrating what it means to live a life by connecting with the past, present, and future. I use various mediums that diversify these different aspects of myself, using mixed media portraits, body casting, and watercolor.
SMART Projects
In 2016 I founded SMART Projects, outreach art workshops I led in South Florida and beyond. Creating and teaching art classes like paper-making, paper dyeing, bookbinding, clay sculpture, and more. I have done my workshops with the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Young At Art Museum, Broward Art Guild, I.S Projects, Bailey Contemporary Arts, MOCA North Miami, Norton Museum of Art, Community Bible Ins. & Seminary Brevard, Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, Bookleggers Library, and many public schools and child centers.
(267) 974-2059
shawnamoultonart@gmail.com
shawnamoulton.com
Thom Wheeler-Castillo
Thom Wheeler Castillo lives and works in Miami, FL; Graduated from PNCA, Intermedia. Wheeler Castillo is interested in the landscape and ecosystems, past (art history) and present (Environmental Studies); he works from an interdisciplinary approach in his relentless pursuit of poetry, art history, earth science and anthropology. He is Co-director at Turn-Based Press, an artist-run print studio, whose mission is to o er facilities for printmakers in Miami, Fl, as well as advance an appreciation for the medium and its history. He also produces works through experimentation and partnership that nurtures his visual work. One-half of the experimental Archival Feedback (along with Emile Milgrim), the duo engage in various critical dialogues of the moment, they approach the environment as a studio in the eld, their ears and tools guiding questions and intentions. The eldwork documents through sound a repeatable sensorial experience of the ever-changing landscape. AF expands their range working in other mediums including print-making, video, sound manipulation and installation and through collaboration with artists, musicians, and scientists
