• 3670-3680 Charles Ave. Miami, FL
Miami Place Marker
2023
Instagram.com. 30 minutes, 2 sections each
Proposal
Over the past few years, Miami has seen the unveiling of many new built structures. As parts of the city reinvents itself, additional construction projects try to outdo the last and the only thing that stand out are those highrises blocking the skyline. This moment calls for different modes of engagement with audiences and locations that are not commonly found in public art venues. Individuals can find subtle ideas, deliberately attempting to perplex the texture of the known and unknown by incorporating ancestral African forms that serve as location markers. The project, Miami Place Markers, will be activated through Instagram Live, and extended invitations for the public to participate in a “walking practice” with artist Onajide Shabaka.
Biography
Onajide Shabaka, born Cincinnati, Ohio, 1948, lives and works in Miami, Florida. Shabaka received an MFA from Vermont College of the Fine Arts (2000) and a BFA from Florida Atlantic University (1993). Shabaka’s investigative and researched based practice underscores the environment and material culture, open-ended assemblages, and questions regarding ecology and history within notions of the African diaspora and Native American cultures. Shabaka has participated as artist in residence at numerous programs, awarded artist’s grants, public art commissions, and included in both public and private collections.