Deering Estate Festival of the Arts: Free Eco and Environmental Arts for Families
(MIAMI, March 21, 2014) - On Saturday, April 12th, from 3:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., families can enjoy a FREE arts adventure at the Deering Estate Festival of the Arts. Guests can experience, engage and explore the integrated relationship between people and the environment through interactive activities and performances including the National Water Dance event, a photography competition, an Eco-Scavenger Hunt and a Mangrove Boardwalk Nighttime Adventure Tour! This year’s festival features South Florida Eco and Environmental Arts and Artists - Visual, Literary and Performing. The Deering Estate Festival of the Arts showcases 27 literary artists, 61 visual artists, and 122 performing artists. Food and beverages available for purchase include Lan Pan Asian and CrepeMaker at the Culinary Café by the courtyard.
EXPERIENCE: From the moment families enter the Deering Estate at Cutler, they can follow their own path through historic and natural settings, and discover works and performances that are integrated into the man-made and natural landscape. The In Deep Exhibit features 100 indoor and outdoor works of sculpture and performances and installations throughout the day.
ENGAGE: Parents and children will engage with the environment through a variety of artistic experiences including ongoing poetry and participatory poems at the Fire Circle. Guests are invited to “Bring Their Own Perspective” (BYOP) and capture the day through photos for a chance to win a digital camera or a Deering Estate Foundation Family Membership. Photos can be emailed to [email protected]. The Deering Estate at Cutler is the perfect backdrop for this unique family experience.
EXPLORE: Visitors of all ages can wander through the indoor and outdoor exhibits and interact with performers, artists, and curators. On Saturday, April 12th, families are encouraged to follow a Festival map to find eco and environmental art installations for a chance to win binoculars or a Deering Estate Foundation Family Membership. Explore a unique South Florida coastal mangrove forest with flashlights in hand on the Mangrove Boardwalk Nighttime Adventure Tour!
Partner organizations include:
Playwright partners Lost Girls Theatre, Artist in Residence in the Everglades (AIRIE Residency), Coralmorphologic, FIU FCE-LTER, Tropical Botanic Artists, Keith Waddington (University of Miami), Locust Projects, The High Waterline Project, National Water Dance with simultaneous activity at over 90 Universities, Miami Dade College Dance Department and Earth Ethics Institute, Arthur and Polly Mays Conservatory of the Arts, R.R. Moton Elementary, New World School of the Arts, Miami Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) - Artworks, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and The Deering Estate Foundation, Inc.
Participating Artists include:
Deering Estate Artist in Residence Program: Michael Gellatly, Robert Sparrow Jones, Natalya Laskis, Mia Leonin, Nancy Martini, Gerry Stecca, Aida Tejada. AIRIE Residency: Harumi Abe, Wendy Call, Mark Dion and Dana Sherwood, Karen Glaser, Judith Greavu, Joanna Kidd and Danni Downing, Deedra Ludwig, Gustavo Matamoros, Christopher Reiger, Anne McCrary Sullivan. Invited Exhibitors Karla Caprali, Martin Casuso, Coralmorphologic Artists Colin Foord and Jared McKay, Xavier Cortada, Pauline Goldsmith/FIU FCE LTER and Tropical Botanic Artists (www.tropicalbotanicartists.com), Felice Grodin, Adler Guerrier, Babbette Hirschberg, Harry Hudson, Courtney Johnson, Alejandro Mendoza, Deborah Mitchell, National Water Dance, Margi Nothard, O, Miami Poetry Festival, Laz Oljalde, Gustavo Oviedo, Jose Pacheco, Ralph Provisero, Valeria Rocchiccioli, Samantha Salzinger, Colin Sherrell, Francisco Sheuat, Spoken Soul Festival, James Taylor, Eve Mosher and Heidi Quante - High Waterline Project, Leandro Vasquez, and Keith Waddington.
Festival Overview:
The opening event of the Festival of the Arts takes place on Friday, April 11th, with the reading of Messenger #4 (or How to Survive a Greek Tragedy) by Will Hollis Snider. Presented by our playwright partners Lost Girls Theatre, Andie Arthur and Katie Siegal, the play addresses how a character’s actions inadvertently change the world. Held in the Visitor Center Theatre, a newly enhanced venue made possible by a John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Grant. 7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.; FREE and open to the public.
On Saturday, April 12th, attend a morning String Masterclass “Musical Seedlings” with master violinist and pedagogue Charles Castleman, featuring South Florida’s finest young string players. 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.; FREE for Youth and $12 for adults.
The Eco and Environmental Art Exhibit In Deep opens to the public on Saturday, April 12th, at 3:30 p.m. The day features Family Friendly interactive activities such as an Eco-Scavenger Hunt and BYOP photography competition with prizes, a Nighttime Adventure Tour of the Mangrove Boardwalk Trail, as well as the Ekphrasitic Amble, a Twitter poetry response (#deeringpoetry) to onsite works.
At 4:00 p.m. is the National Water Dance Performance, a simultaneous performance with 91 participating National Organizations, Dance Schools and Universities. This beautiful movement choir with over 100 voices, musicians and dancers will grace the main lawn and boat basin of the Estate while it brings attention to our fragile waters. For a full participant listing please visit www.nationalwaterdance.org A corresponding onsite water awareness event and Shower Head Exchange will also take place by the Main Gate.
Following at 4:45 p.m. is the In Deep Curator’s Tour led by Exhibit Curator and Environmental Artist Lucinda Linderman and Deering Estate Exhibit Specialist, Kim Yantis. Get a behind the scenes look at the selection of artists and creation of works that showcase the many facets of eco and environmental art. Later in the evening at 8 p.m., participating artists and Deering Estate Assistant Director, Jennifer Tisthammer direct guests to an informal walking question & answer style tour of the indoor and outdoor works. Nature-based readings and ongoing poetry will occur in multiple locations with Literary Artist in Residence Mia Leonin, invited individual poets, Spoken Soul Festival, and O, Miami Poetry Festival participants culminating at the fire circle with participatory poems.
On Sunday, April 13th, the Living Artist Concert Series presents “A Spark of Genius: Nature’s Prodigies,” a celebration of musical imageries in nature and of natural sound. Guest violinist Charles Castleman and founding members of the Deering Estate Chamber Ensemble perform early chamber music works by Felix Mendelssohn and Erich Korngold. A Meet the Artist Reception begins at 6:30 p.m. with a 7:15 p.m. concert start. The cost is $25 for adults & $12 for youth (Grades K-12).
For more information on the Deering Estate Festival of the Arts, please visit www.deeringestate.org or call the Deering Estate Ticket Office at 305-235-1668 ext. 233.
With support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Deering Estate Foundation, Inc.
About the Deering Estate at Cutler
The Deering Estate at Cutler, a Miami-Dade County Park, is located at 16701 SW 72 Avenue in Miami. This 444-acre natural and archeological preserve and historic site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and serves as a center for education, culture and recreation. Historic house tours are offered daily at 10:30 am & 3:00 pm. Natural areas tours are offered daily at 12:30 pm (October – May). EcoAdventure Tours are also offered throughout the year for an additional fee. For more information on the Deering Estate's educational and cultural programs, please visit www.deeringestate.org.