April 9, 2020
Dear Friends,
Miami MoCAAD wants you to know that our thoughts are with you. The health and well-being of our community is our number one priority. We seek to be a source of encouragement and strength. Throughout centuries, the resiliency of African Diaspora culture and art inspired a way forward. In seeking to provide encouraging moments, we begin by featuring several women artists and images of their art in recognition of April as International Black Women’s History Month. In this difficult time, their work reminds us that black women have proven themselves the backbone of our strength. We include other “Moments” for taking a break to explore music, a virtual workout with Venus Williams and resources to support artists, you and our community.
We wish you and your families, friends and colleagues well during this difficult time. We thank all who are working to help us in this time of need from first responders and health care workers to food deliverers and social service providers. We protect ourselves, each other and our community by staying inside to stay away from COVID-19.
We are in this together,
The Miami MoCAAD Team
Onward!
PRESENTING: MIAMI MoCAAD MOMENTS
MIAMI MoCAAD Art MOMENT
In honoring April as International Black Women’s History Month, we celebrate women who are the descendants of Africa and seek to promote visibility, contributions and achievements that positively impact communities across the globe. Miami MoCAAD salutes Rhea Leonard, Kandy Lopez-Moreno and Sharon Norwood, who were featured in Miami MoCAAD’s inaugural exhibit, Reconstructing Identity: An Exploration of Identity and Diaspora Through Artistic Practice , curated by Donnamarie Baptiste.
Rhea Leonard (b. 1991) MFA, Florida International University, BFA New World School of the Arts, is an African-American artist, born and raised in Miami, who utilizes drawing, printmaking and sculpture in her art practice to investigate psychological aspects of racism, antiblackness and microaggressions of today’s society on the black body.
For more click here .
Kandy G. Lopez-Moreno (b. 1987) MFA, Florida Atlantic University, BFA, University of South Florida, is an Afro-Dominican visual artist and Associate Professor at Nova Southeastern University. Her work explores race, the human defense mechanism, constructed identities, visibility and armor or persons living in Marginalized communities.
For more click here .
Sharon Norwood (b. 1991 Jamaica) MFA, Florida State University, BFA, University of South Florida. Her practice deals with identity, race, gender, beauty and class, using the line as a way to explore complex relationships.
For more click here .
Oolite Arts Relief Fund. Artists looking for financial assistance can receive up to $500 in funds to make up for income they’ve lost due to COVID-19. Head here to apply . Applications are open through April 16. The Miami-based Oolite organization has also collected some other resources on their website, including details about their other awards and grants.
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. The Foundation is offering $1.6m in emergency grants to individual artists affected by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. With the help of its Regional Re-granting Program partners, grants of $100,000 will be allocated to artists in 16 US cities that can be used to help cover basic expenses such as food, rent, medical costs and childcare . Re-granting programs currently exist in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Baltimore; Chicago; Cleveland; Denver; Houston; Kansas City; Miami, Minneapolis; New Orleans; Philadelphia; Portland, Maine; Portland, Oregon; Saint Louis; San Francisco and Washington DC.
Support for Arts Organizations. The Knight Foundation has engaged consulting firm, FMA, which works with nonprofits, to respond to questions about relief programs offered by the federal government as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Knight is making available the recording of a webinar presented by FMA on how arts organizations interested in applying for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) can apply. The PPP provides funds to small businesses to pay up to eight weeks of payroll costs. Inside Charity has a detailed outline explaining how eligible nonprofits may take advantage of this program. To get you started, FMA has posted a PPP toolkit on its website. Other resources for navigating the help available through the CARES Act include: Independent Sector ; Council on Foundations ; National Council of Nonprofits ; and Americans for the Arts
MIAMI MoCAAD Music MOMENT
As many are quarantining or socially distancing themselves to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the party has moved online. DJ D-Nice has been holding hourslong jam sessions from his home in Los Angeles. He plays all the hits, new and old, but you never hear the same song twice. (NYTimes)
For more click here .
MIAMI MoCAAD Fitness MOMENT
Venus Williams started a daily live short workout on Instagram. She does squats and curls and such, and encourages her viewers to join in. Don’t have weights at home? Don’t worry, she uses water jugs and Champagne bottles as weights, too. (NYTimes)
For more click here .
Click the logo icons below for various resources!
