Best of the Arts 2003

[maciej_florek]

Shakespeare was an outsider artist operating on the fringes of reputable
society Londons city fathers stipulated that Elizabethan theaters had to be
built outside the city limits, viewing theatrical folk as being barely a
notch above cutthroats and pimps in terms of socially redeemable value.

Do you know who any of those city fathers were? Who were the big real estate
honchos of the time, the hot fashion designers, the celebrity chefs? Who
owned the trendy stores; had the market cornered in the crucial wool trade?
Who was considered a hot babe, the Elizabethan J-Lo? Any names come to mind?

You heard of Shakespeare, right?

The point is that art does matter in some ultimate, crucial sense thats
attested to by the fact that it survives its what we still care about long
after the remnants of most other human endeavors have crumbled to dust and
been forgotten.

And so, in too few pages, we recognize just some of those who in a shaky
economy and with a State government in place that seems to relate to cultural
activity as if it were a particularly virulent strain of citrus canker
continue to provoke, entertain and often enlighten us: Miamis artists.

If Miami is remembered at all, more than likely it will be thanks to them.

[maciej_florek]

Best Theater Company

GableStage

From the 9/11 memorial The Guys through the mind games of The Shape of Things
and the Mae West fantasia Dirty Blonde, the theater verit Tabletop and a
consummate The Diary of Anne Frank if what would have been a banner year for
just about any other theater company somehow didnt equal the provocation and
pizzazz of GableStage seasons past, it just shows how much weve come to rely on
Joe Adler to light our theatrical fires. Last summers post-Best of Chinese
Coffee was the best of the bunch.

Location: 1200 Anastasia Ave., Coral Gables

Phone: [phone]



Best Play
Seventy Scenes of Halloween (Mad Cat Theatre Co.)

This play was greeted with savage incomprehension and viciously trashed by our
entrenched local mainstream critical establishment who were appalled by this
neo-Theater of the Absurd dark comedys non-linear assault on middle class
normalcy and its hare-brained assumptions. We loved it. But then, we enjoy the
rush of walking out of a theater bracingly disoriented, suddenly alive to all
the colors (and possibilities) wed forgotten were there.

Location: 3000 Biscayne Blvd., Suite 100, Miami.

Phone: [phone]

Runner Up: Chinese Coffee (GableStage)



Best Original Play
Retch, Ivonne Azurdia (Mad Cat Theatre Co.)

Running almost exactly a year ago at Miami Light Projects intimate Light Box
Studio on Biscayne Blvd., this sassy assemblage of incisive and witty
monologues/tableaux for five actresses mostly riffing on the theme of
intelligent and talented young women ranting against their lot in a largely
brain-dead, male-dominated world insinuated itself into our memory banks on the
strength of its in-your-face spunk and refreshingly direct smarts.



Best Director
Joseph Adler, Chinese Coffee (GableStage)

Adler drew terrific performances from Paul Tei and Michael Gioia in this
complex rendering of a sea change in the relationship between a struggling
novelist and an unsuccessful theatrical photographer propelled almost solely
through dialogue. Not a nuance of Ira Lewis quasi-Chekhovian psychological
insight and sly humor was missed and it gripped you like a good action movie.

Runner Up: Paul Tei, Seventy Scenes of Halloween (Mad Cat Theatre Co.)



Best Actor (Dramatic)

Paul Tei Chinese Coffee (GableStage)

Daredevil Paul Tei assayed a whole new range of subtle colors and effects in
portraying angst-ridden outsider writer Harry Levine. At the time we thought
that Tei, known for his impetuous bravado, might have reined himself in a tad
more than necessary in sensitive intellectual mode, but the fact that we
remember this as the finest performance of the year, lo these many months
later, has us convinced he was right on.

Runner Up: Michael Munoz, Shopping and F*#cking (EDGE Theatre)



Best Actress (Dramatic)

Melissa Almaguer, The Shape of Things (Florida International University)

Probably not many people outside the theater crowd at FIUs South Campus saw
this inspired and innovative student staging last summer of Neil LaButes
cynical Pygmalion tale, but Almaguer turned in a terrific and subtly riveting
performance as a manipulative MFA candidate who sadistically trashes the line
between life and art. Working with palpable intelligence, from the inside out,
this young actress has the goods.

Runner Up: Autumn Horne, Prelude to a Kiss (Shores Performing Arts Theatre)



Best Actor (Comedy or Musical)

Shawn Kilgore, Blood Brothers (Shores Performing Arts Theatre)

Besides singing affectingly, Gillmore segued seamlessly from a funny and
convincing pampered rich kid into a finely-nuanced, subtly thought out
portrayal of a sensitive young man in achingly unrequited love.

Runner Up: Edison Farrow, The Nature of the Beach (at Shores Theatre)



Best Actress (Comedy or Musical)

Jennifer Hughes, The Sound of Music (Actors Playhouse)

Possessed of perhaps the loveliest voice in these parts, Jennifer Hughes played
the relentlessly effervescent Maria Von Trapp with an unaffected girl-next-door
genuineness that didnt cloy and was easy on the starry-eyed, gosh-gee-willikers
hokum. Something of a career (so far) award for a natural treasure of our local
musical theater scene.

Runner Up: Laura Turnbull, Blood Brothers (Shores Performing Arts Theatre)


Best Supporting Actor
Joe Kimble, Tabletop (GableStage)

Kimble was dead-on and utterly plausible as a regular Joe member of a film
production crew whos secretly gay and a sensitive romantic to boot.

Runner Up: Ricky J. Martinez, Blood Brothers (Shores Performing Arts Theatre)


Best Supporting Actress
Jaime Libbert, The Diary of Anne Frank (GableStage)

As Anne Franks still-waters-run-deep sister, Margot, Libberts subtle reactions
radiating quiet depth served as a cohesive reference point for a marvelously
detailed and heartfelt ensemble performance.

Runner Up: Autumn Horne, The Shape of Things (GableStage)


Best Musical
The Sound of Music (Actors Playhouse)

Actors Playhouses stylish and emotionally committed production of the Rogers
and Hammerstein classic featured primo production values, a fab cast and gobs
of starry-eyed kids in the audience. It lit up our Christmas season with its
message of authenticity and hope.

Location: 280 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables

Phone: [phone]

Runner up: Blood Brothers (Shores Performing Arts Theatre)

Location: 9806 N.E. 2nd Ave., Miami Shores

Phone: [phone]


Best Ensemble Performance
Seventy Scenes of Halloween (Mad Cat Theatre Co.)

Like perpetrators of a group mind f#*k, Paul Tei, Ivonne Azurdia, Michael Vines
and Samara Siskind brought to life a truly spooky kaleidoscope of ordinary
people next door/ knife-wielding ghouls that wiped the floor with our so-called
sanity, leaving it squeaky clean. Tei turned in a comedic tour de force of
rapier-sharp wit, and his arrestingly eccentric direction elicited the finest
performances of his other actors young careers.

Runners Up: Tabletop (GableStage); The Diary of Anne Frank, (GableStage)



Best Scenic Design
Tim Connelly, Tabletop (GableStage)

For a play that depicts a tabletop production crew in the actual process of
filming TV commercial product shots, Connelly created a functioning production
studio crammed with actual equipment that all worked flawlessly.



Best Sound Design (Theater)
Nate Rausch, Seventy Scenes of Halloween (Mad Cat Theatre Co.)

It would be hard to imagine a production in which the sound design was more
integral to the total effect. Rauschs complex tapestry of weird sounds, sci-fi
music interludes, ominous recorded fairy tale narratives and precise sound cues
topped the charts sound-wise.



Best Lighting Design (Theater)

Travis Neff, Seventy Scenes of Halloween (Mad Cat Theatre Co.)

A masterwork of complex precision and evocative effects, Neffs lighting melded
seamlessly with Travis Neffs brilliant sound design to fashion the spooky sur-
reality of Seventy Scenes.



Best Costume Design (Theater)
Catherine Zuber, The Sound of Music (Actors Playhouse)

Zuber served up Sounds wide-ranging farrago of costumes from stark nuns habits
to dazzling evening wear, from adorable kids garb and Alpine folk costumes to
storm trooper uniforms in grand but thematically effective and unified style.



Best Classical Ballet Company
Miami City Ballet

In a year that saw the signal recognition of participation in the International
Ballet Festival at the Kennedy Center with the likes of American Ballet
Theater, The Bolshoi and Kirov Ballets and the Royal Danish Ballet, Miami City
Ballet gave us a cool Copplia, some Swan Lake, the full-length version of
Edward Villellas fan-friendly The Neighborhood Ballroom, and, of course, oodles
of Balanchine t

[maciej_florek]

Best Classical Ballet Company
Miami City Ballet

In a year that saw the signal recognition of participation in the International
Ballet Festival at the Kennedy Center with the likes of American Ballet
Theater, The Bolshoi and Kirov Ballets and the Royal Danish Ballet, Miami City
Ballet gave us a cool Copplia, some Swan Lake, the full-length version of
Edward Villellas fan-friendly The Neighborhood Ballroom, and, of course, oodles
of Balanchine tastefully served up. Plus, in perhaps the neatest turn of all,
MCB managed to end the year in the black.

Location: 2200 Liberty Ave., Miami Beach

Phone: [phone]



Best Contemporary Ballet Company
Maximum Dance Company

The funding crunch resulted in a three rather than four program season and
pared down somewhat the number of provocative new works this year, but the Max
Dancers danced with fire and fervent conviction and premiered Yanis Pikieris
brilliant The Four Seasons and a powerhouse new version of The Rite of Spring
by Pikieris and David Palmer that took our breath away and ended the season on
a huge high.

Location: 9220 S.W. 158th Lane, Miami

Phone: [phone]



Best Modern Dance Company
Momentum Dance Company

Various bad breaks nixed the premiere of a hip-hop inflected version of Carmina
Burana by artistic director Delma Iles that sounds like it will be a blast, but
Momentum lit our Christmas with a Hot and Spicy version of Duke Ellingtons take
on the Nutcracker Suite plus sundry sizzling, substantial works to smoke and
beguile. This marvelously talented, amazingly dedicated companys been around
long enough to feel like family only they never let you down.

Phone: [phone]



Best Experimental Dance Company
Dance Now!

The Now! dancers bring a degree of theatricality and emotional interplay with
the audience to bear thats setting this troupe apart from the pack. Although
still a tad weak in the male dancers department, most of the companys female
dancers are possessed of engaging personalities and considerable acting skill
in addition to dancing up a storm. Add the kick-out-the-jams inventiveness of
Diego Salterini and Hannah Baumgertens choreography for an entertaining and
engaging brew indeed.

Location: 620 75th St., Miami Beach

Phone: [phone]



Best Male Dancer
Douglas Gawriljuk (Maximum Dance Co.)

Already firmly established among the upper echelon of Miami dancers, Gawriljuk
surprised us with a genuinely breakthrough year during which he accessed a
wellspring of in-the-moment genuineness, emotional authenticity and charismatic
self-assertiveness that blew Maxfans away. Like David Palmer at his best, his
performance in The Rite of Spring was scarily good.

Runners Up: David Palmer (Maximum Dance); Noibis Licea Ponce (Giovanni Luquini
and Dancers); Mikhail Ilyin (Miami City Ballet)



Best Female Dancer
Hiroko Sakakibara (Maximum Dance Co.)

Tagged to perform the role of the doomed sacrificial victim in The Rite of
Spring, this delicately prim ballerina literally dropped our jaws with the raw
power and ecstatic intensity of her performance. Hoo boy! La Gimnez was
magnificent as always, but this was the dance performance of the year. Hoo boy!

Runners Up: Marif Gimnez (Maximum Dance Co.); Callye Robinson (Miami City
Ballet); Dagmar Moradillos (Ballet Etudes); Barbie Freeman (Momentum Dance Co.)



Best Dance Concert
Maximum Dance Company, Program II

The premier of Yanis Pikieris impressionistic, emotionally vibrant neo-
classical ballet rendition of Vivaldis The Four Seasons was the centerpiece of
this breathtaking and inspired dance program. The entire company kicked into an
overdrive of emotional honesty and leave-it-on-the-stage bravado that signaled
a whole new level of max.


Best Choreographer
Diego Salterini & Hannah Baumgarten (Dance Now!)

Co-artistic directors of the Dance Now! Ensemble, the choreographic team of
Salterini and Baumgarten, continued in their fascinating groove with
provocative works that combined substance with a bracing, improvisatory feel.
With Giovanni Luquini and Esaias Johnson relatively quiescent this season, they
largely carried the banner for Miami in terms of cutting edge dance
explorations this year.

Runners Up: David Palmer & Yanis Pikieris (Maximum Dance Co.)



Best Original Dance Piece
The Rite of Spring, Yanis Pikieris & David Palmer (Maximum Dance Co.)

Max Dances proficient and prolific choreographic duo scored big time with their
most compelling and convincing foray into extended narrative mode yet. Their re-
visioning of the Stravinsky ballet classic brimmed with seething, elemental
emotions and brutal raucous energy and was a fitting coda to a season in which
the Max Dancers left it on the stage with inspired abandon and commitment.

Runners Up: Miles and Miles , Hannah Baumgarten & Diego Salterini (Dance Now!);
The Four Seasons, Yanis Pikieris, (Maximum Dance Co.)



Best Lighting Design (Dance)

Eric Fliss, The Rite of Spring (Maximum Dance Co.)

Master light guy Fliss contributed one of his most compelling and dramatically
effective lighting designs to this Maximum Dance tour de force. His gorgeous
work on the Maxers The Four Seasons ran a close second.



Best Costume Design (Dance)

Claudia Brown, Pavane for a Dead Infanta (Dance Now!)

Brown crafted astonishingly gorgeous and luxuriant costumes for this piece that
had the look of a Velasquez court painting come to life only even cooler
looking. Pavane ended way before youd had your fill of digging on the duds.


Best Symphony Orchestra
Miami Symphony Orchestra

Its visibility and viability challenged by a generally dismissive local English
language press, this far-too-infrequently-heard orchestra helmed by the
impressively-credentialed, penetratingly intelligent and judiciously fiery
Manuel Ochoa continues to inspire the perceptive (mostly Hispanic, alas) few.

Location: 10300 S.W. 72nd St., Suite 499, Miami

Phone: [phone]


Best Musical Concert
Miami Symphony Orchestra, Firebird Suite

In what turned out to be the Miami Symphonys final program of the season,
woefully under-appreciated maestro Manuel Ochoa gave us an eloquent Mozarts
Piano Concerto No. 17, and ventured beyond MSOs usual Romantic fare into a
powerful and authoritative Firebird Suite and a surprisingly soulful and
swinging Gershwins Concerto in F. Sadly, shortly after this breakthrough,
triumphant concert, Miami Symphony was forced to announce the cancellation of
the final concert of its modest season due to lack of funds.

Best Concert Series Classical
Concert Association of Florida
Economy going down the tubes? Art-haters running state government? Hey, no
problem. The indefatigable Judy Drucker and her Concert Association of Florida
still managed to provide South Floridians with a stellar concert season
featuring the likes of the New York Philharmonic, divas Rene Fleming and
Kathleen Battle, cello legend Mstislav Rostropovich, violinists Itzak Perlman
and Maxim Vengerov, pianist Evgeny Kissin and the Dance Theater of Harlem among
other world-class concert fare. Bravo!

Phone: [phone]



Best Concert Series Eclectic

The Rhythm Foundation

Founded in 1988 and working at various venues throughout Miami Beach, the
Rhythm Foundation brought us the best in live World Music, focusing on
outstanding artists from Latin America, Africa and Asia. Also produces the
popular monthly Curated Listening series at Aqua Lounge to keep you in the
groove current.

Phone: [phone]



Best Performing Arts Organization
Florida Grand Opera

Shining brilliantly amidst the gloom of hard times for arts organizations,
Florida Grand Opera gave us a gripping verismo pairing of Cavalleria rusticana
and Pagliacci,

[maciej_florek]

Best Performing Arts Organization
Florida Grand Opera

Shining brilliantly amidst the gloom of hard times for arts organizations,
Florida Grand Opera gave us a gripping verismo pairing of Cavalleria rusticana
and Pagliacci, an intelligently provocative Salome, a wildly inventive and
diverting La finta giardiniera, an intriguingly sung Le nozze di Figaro and a
heartfelt and lucid La Bohme. FGO, may she ever be as grand as this season.

Location: 1200 Coral Way, Miami

Phone: [phone]



Best Multi-Purpose Performance Venue

Jackie Gleason Theater

The gorgeously restored Gusman Center downtown is cool and the Miami-Dade
County Auditorium is big anyway, but for versatility, sightlines and acoustics,
Miami Beachs Jackie Gleason Theater is the all-around champ. Symphony concerts,
touring Broadway mega-musicals, ballet spectaculars the Gleason has it all.

Location: 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach

Phone: [phone]



Best Monthly Cultural Arts Festival

2nd Thursdays

Seems like every day of the week has a number now Fourth Fridays, First
Mondays, whatever but Miami Beachs 2nd Thursdays set the standard for monthly
community-wide cultural arts festivals, and its still the most expansive and
best. Poetry readings, outdoor salsa extravaganzas, intimate classical music
concerts, modern dancers romping in hotel pools, curated listening to the
latest grooves from the Ivory Coast 2nd Thursdays, and Miami Beach, has it
all.

Phone: [phone]



Best Thing to Daydream About that Will Actually Happen

The Performing Arts Center

Scheduled to open in the 2004/2005 season, Greater Miamis Performing Arts
Center will be one of four major performance facility complexes in the U.S. for
dance, opera, theater and symphonic music and should launch Miami to genuine
major city status. Therell be a real downtown and everything!

Location: 1444 Biscayne Blvd., Ste 202, Miami

Phone: [phone]



Best Art to Hang Out In

Vizcaya Museum and Gardens

Comprised of the remaining 50 acres of Chicago farm machinery magnate James
Deerings 180-acre fantasia on the theme of an Italian Renaissance villa,
Vizcaya is a fascinating treasure trove of antique treasures and decorative
arts and its extensive formal gardens are a great place to chill and get your
bearings.

Location: 3251 S. Miami Ave., Miami

Phone: [phone]



Best Museum
Museum of Contemporary Art a.k.a. MoCA

Known for its provocative and innovative exhibitions, MoCA has established
itself at the forefront of the national art scene. Led by museum director,
Bonnie Clearwater, the museum has also had an enormous impact on the local arts
community. Throughout the year, MoCA has created and hosted programs that
provide local artists, filmmakers, musicians, artisans and students an
opportunity to exhibit their work and introduce their talent to a broader
audience.

Location: 770 N.E.125th St., North Miami

Phone: [phone]



Best Art Gallery
Frederic Snitzer Gallery

Its been around since 1977, a virtual pioneer in the cultural wasteland that
once was Miami. In the 25 years since he started his gallery, Fred Snitzer has
built one of the most prestigious art galleries in South Florida. Snitzer has a
knack for recognizing talent. He takes on young artists and helps them be it
financially, emotionally, or with a swift kick in the pants. Some of the worlds
biggest collectors shop with Snitzer. Many of his artists are now represented
with partnering New York galleries and prestigious galleries around the States
and throughout the world.

Location: 3078 S.W. 38th Court, Miami

Phone: [phone]


Best New Gallery
Rocket Projects

The brainchild of ber curator Nina Arias and art collector Nick Cindric, Rocket
Projects is Miamis newest contemporary art space. The opening on June 7th
brought together over 500 people and showcased two exciting exhibits which are
on display through Aug. 16th. Customized, a group sculpture show in the main
gallery, features works by Daniel Arsham, Martin Oppel, David Rohn and George
Sanchez. Assembly of an Allegory is a mixed media installation shown in the
project room by the collaborative trio FeCuOp.

Location: 3440 N. Miami Avenue, Miami

Phone: [phone]



Best Alternative Art Space
Objex Artspace
Based in Wynwood, Objex is a low brow gallery that features affordable artwork
for the any-man. Low brow is a term used to describe a street style of
contemporary art that lends itself to underground culture and attitude. A
decidedly offbeat no rules mentality characterizes the subject matter, which is
influenced by hedonistic sex, urban decay, political expression, outlaw types,
pulp art, beatniks, surfers and skaters. The artists represented create
innovative works of art based on the complexity of what is considered cutting
edge and underground priced from $50 to $1,000.

Location: 500 N.W. 24th St. Suite F Upstairs, Miami

Phone: [phone]

Best Post-Impressionist Art for Sale
Carel Gallery
Ah, for the days when men were men, and painters were painters, and but we
digress. If youre still into art that looks like something you can recognize,
Carel Gallery is the place. Around since 1963, the gallery features post-
Impressionist and modern masters like Bernard Buffet and Raoul Dufy. Charming
and knowledgeable owner Michel Carel fills you in on the artists and their
works.

Location: 922 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach

Phone: [phone]


Best Solo Show
Hernan Bas, First Comes the Blood, Then Come the Boys

Bas, a 24-year-old Miami native and a graduate of the New World School of the
Arts, presented his second solo show at the Fredric Snitzer Gallery. The series
had a Goth / satanic ritualistic feel, combining photos of good-looking young
men with blood splatters and pentagram cutouts, but it is the raw narrative
about sexuality and desire that makes the work so compelling. Bas has been
distinguished as a young artist to watch since he was featured in the project
room of MoCA in 2001 where he presented Its Super Natural, an art series that
explored the ambiguous and possibly gay relationship of the Hardy Boys book
series.

Location: 3078 S.W. 38th Court, Miami

Phone: [phone]



Best Installation
Enrun

This dissipating installation by Miami-based artists Vicenta Casan and Nina
Ferre is a site-specific collaboration, which quietly evoked a minimalist
interactive feel. One entered the space to the sound of an arrhythmic dripping
mixed with moments of silence and the image of a woman standing. As one moved
through the space, the sounds progressed to light rain and then a rainstorm.
The images of the woman gaining speed as she removes her clothing is projected
on panels of Mylar with increasing numbers of holes allowing the image to
escape the surface. The culmination is the image of the figures naked flight
dissipating into space. Beautiful and ethereal, the artists convey a complex
message made simple through the use of sound and light.

Location: Buena Vista Building, 180 N.E. 39th St., Suite 211, Miami



Best Group Show
Inter.Play

Communication within fragile borders, exploring the dynamics of human
interrelations, answers about multiculturalism. All of these statements reveal
the back story to Inter.Play, an amazing, energetic group show that showcased
the superior talents of 25 local, national and international artists, including
Luis Gispert, John Espinosa, Nina Lola Bachhuber, William Cardova, Fernando
Paolmar, Pedro Reyes, Gavin Perry and Daniela Rosell. Curators Silvia Karman
Cubina and Patrick Charpenel proved photo, paint, ink, installations and video
indeed play well together.

Location: The Moore Building, 4040 N.E. 2nd Ave, 2nd Floor, Miami

Phone: 305-438-

[maciej_florek]

Best Group Show
Inter.Play

Communication within fragile borders, exploring the dynamics of human
interrelations, answers about multiculturalism. All of these statements reveal
the back story to Inter.Play, an amazing, energetic group show that showcased
the superior talents of 25 local, national and international artists, including
Luis Gispert, John Espinosa, Nina Lola Bachhuber, William Cardova, Fernando
Paolmar, Pedro Reyes, Gavin Perry and Daniela Rosell. Curators Silvia Karman
Cubina and Patrick Charpenel proved photo, paint, ink, installations and video
indeed play well together.

Location: The Moore Building, 4040 N.E. 2nd Ave, 2nd Floor, Miami

Phone: [phone]



Best New Arts Organization
Gen Art

This national non-profit organization showcases emerging talent in fashion,
film, music and the visual arts. Since opening their Miami office last year,
Gen Art has hosted nearly a dozen events that promote the works of local Miami
artists including residents of The House Gallery, Josefina Posch, Jiae Hwang,
and many others. Their membership base turns out for gallery style openings,
site-specific installations, and Gen Art often mixes art exhibitions with
fashion shows and promotional events. Gen Art also works to provide access to
the film, fashion and art worlds for those that are interested in these areas.

Location: 407 Lincoln Rd., Suite 706, Miami Beach

Phone: [phone]



Best Art Training and Local Artist Resource

ArtCenter/South Florida

Begun as a non-profit artist colony in 1984 by a small group of local artists,
the ArtCenter was a lynchpin in Lincoln Roads revival and has evolved into a
major regional cultural institution. Provides affordable studio space for
talented visual artists in all stages of career development, hosts cool
exhibitions, but the ArtCenters outstanding art training program may be its
most important contribution to the vitality of South Floridas visual arts scene.

Location: 924 Lincoln Road, Ste 205, Miami Beach

Phone: [phone]



Best International Art Show

Art Basel Miami Beach

Art Basel put Miami on the map for something other than nightlife. An
unprecedented coup for the city, Art Basel Miami Beach was a new type of
cultural event, combining a contemporary art show with an exciting program of
special exhibitions, parties and crossover events including music, film,
fashion, architecture and design. Despite worries over a turbulent economy and
the impending threat of war, Art Basel Miami Beach was a huge success. Art was
purchased, artists were recognized and were doing it all over again next year
ensuring that Art Basel Miami Beach will become one of the most important
international art shows and a cultural and social highlight of the U.S.

Location: Miami Beach Convention Center, 1700 Convention Center Dr.



Best Interactive Art Event

Neutral Ground Video Installation & Art Party

A late night party and exhibit featuring live music and video installations
returned for its second year to the underpass of the I-395 freeway in Miamis
Overtown district. Considered one of Miamis most unique events, the evening was
the opening reception for artist George Sanchezs project dubbed La
Benedicion/The Blessing, an installation in which a significant architectural
monument addresses simultaneous issues of art, community, and development.
Sanchezs artwork serves as a focal point in engaging the surrounding context in
a meditation concerning its future, while challenging the community to
transform its landscape into a territory of opportunity.

Location: 1300 N. Miami Avenue, Miami



Best Public Art Piece
Wendy Wischer, Full to Wailing and Back Again

At its very core, this installation was a new form of art. Full to Wailing and
Back Again combined earth art and high technology. For a full lunar cycle,
Wischer projected an exact replica of the moon in the sky onto the south faade
of the Miami Herald building. When the moon was full, the projection was full,
when the moon was at a quarter, the projection was at a quarter, and the
installation continued to change daily throughout the cycle. The premise of the
piece involved using new ways to see old ideas and seeing old ideas in a new
way.

Location: One Herald Plaza, Miami


Best Traveling Show
Roving Fridays

This series of monthly art shows that usually takes place on the 3rd Friday of
the month began with just a handful of artists. Since the first Roving a little
more than a year ago, this art event has created a cult following and includes
more than 30 visual and performing artists. Sponsored by David Lombardi and
Lombardi Properties, each Roving Friday takes place at one of Lombardis empty
warehouse spaces in the Wynwood district.

Location: Roving in Wynwood, Miami

Phone: [phone]



Best Community Arts Education Program
Arts for Learning/Miami

Arts for Learning/Miami (A4L/Miami) is a community not-for-profit organization
dedicated to empowering educators, schools, and parents to more creatively
engage young people in learning through the arts, community resources, and
technology. A partnership between Young Audiences, Miami-Dade County Public
Schools, and Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs A4L/Miami
provides hands-on professional development and arts integration planning for
educators in schools; presents live arts in education programs for K-12
students through partnerships with local artists and cultural organizations;
and produces a dynamic, multimedia website (www.arts4learning.org) and CD for
teachers, after-school providers, artists, cultural organizations, and parents
to access and exchange valuable resources, best practices, and teaching ideas.

Location: 1900 Biscayne Blvd., Suite 201, Miami

Phone: [phone]



Best Private Collection
Katzenjammer Kollection of Konceptual Art

During the Art Basel and Art Miami art fairs Kitty and Herb Katzenjammer
generously opened the doors of their private Kollection to the public. The
renowned Katzenjammer Kollection is widely regarded as one of the most
important Kollections Of Kontemporary Konceptual Art in Florida and the world.

OK so its not really a private collection its an amazingly creative
installation by local artist David Rohn. Rohn not only originated the concept
of the Katzenjammer Kollection, but he also created the entire collection of
Konceptual artwork by invented artists whose names began with the letter K. He
also performed the part of Herb Katzenjammer, with his inflatable wife, Kitty,
at his side during the openings.

Location: Buena Vista Building, 180 N.E. 39th St., Miami



Best Subversive Art Act
The Flamingo Murders

An anonymous Miami artist went around town with red paint and slashed the
throats of the kitschy flamingos that the City of Miami was so proud of.

Location: Throughout Miami and Miami Beach