On Tuesday, June 23 Knight Foundation staff members and summer interns attended a performance of FUERZABRUTA at the Adrienne Arsht Performing Arts Center as guests of Dennis Scholl, the Communities Program Director for Miami. 

FUERZABRUTA is an interactive visual spectacle that packs six to eight hundred people into a dark room for an hour. Eight cast members manipulate the dynamic set pieces with their bodies and engage the audience with disposable props and pumping music. A giant treadmill and a plastic pool suspended over the heads of the audience make up most of the set. 

It’s easy to get swept up in the sensory show; audience members touch, throw, dance and move from place to place like the actors do. In a recent performance, one audience member got carried away and was kicked out for repeatedly punching the plastic pool.

The show has been touring for three years, debuting in Argentina and traveling across the U.S. as well as to countries like the U.K., Brazil and Mexico. One cast member noted contrasting energies between audiences in New York and in Miami. Another performer said that in Argentina the show is considered more a theatre piece than a work of conceptual art. Apparently the experience changes from city to city and from night to night, but everyone agrees the real party happens on the weekends.

In just a few months, architect Frank Gehry’s latest creation will dominate Miami’s artistic scene as the New World Symphony’s arts “laboratory,” where the musical and the visual will be combined into one dynamic arts experience.

In December 2007 the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation granted New World Symphony a Knight New Media Endowment of five million dollars. The money will be used for media innovations in the arts such as online broadcasting of performances, a digital music library, and integration of video art and music in the symphony’s new building.

The building seeks to allow a performance space for NWS while incorporating animated art and new media technology into the concert experience. Working with video artist Tal Rosner, who listens to musical pieces, sketches his reactions, and develops them into video graphics, NWS has already begun integrating the music world with novel video artwork. In Rosner’s interpretation of both Benjamin Britten and Igor Stravinsky’s works, changes in tempo, dynamic, and tone are all expressed visually in mutable combinations of color and line projected onto a screen behind the musicians.

Gehry’s design will take that music-video combination to the next level by permitting both art forms to exist throughout the hall rather than confining them to the traditional stage and back-drop. Acoustic sails all around and above the hall help to completely envelop listeners sitting in any section, and the experience is enhanced with two extra platforms for musicians situated in the middle of the seating areas. The design eliminates the division between audience and performer. In one large space, the music, the art, and the active listening and watching mingle to form an altogether new artistic experience.

It is impossible to predict the response to this kind of artistic collaboration. The new environment might overwhelm the senses; art purists may reject what could be viewed as a muddying of both media.

On the other hand, detecting change in an animated image alongside change in the music might help visual learners engage with the works. With shows as short as twenty minutes, or “journeys” as long as two to three hours, art will be available to anyone, at any concentration, in either musical or visual form. It is an opportunity for the arts in Miami to soar to a new level of accessibility.

Just a few months ago, the space was totally vacant. The several stories of performance space seem to have shot up in a matter of moments. More exciting than its seemingly quick arrival, however, is of course the building’s promised mission to challenge and change the Miami art world.

For more information, visit New World Symphony’s new campus online.

Marc Fest is Vice President of Communications at Knight Foundation.

Knight Foundation’s president and CEO, Alberto Ibargüen, gave a commencement speech at Miami Dade College today. Here is what someone tweeted about it:

• Alberto Ibarguen: do not be passive; Miami is still being made. What happens here can determine the shape of our nation.
• Alberto Ibarguen: learn to treasure solitude and get over loneliness.
• Alberto Ibarguen: the importance of Miami is our connection to the rest of the hemisphere.

You can read the whole speech here.

Please join us at Knight in welcoming a new colleague and congratulating two of our own for a lifetime achievement award and a new elected position.

Welcome to Dennis Scholl, the new Miami Program Director for Knight.

From the press release,

Scholl will work with local leaders to identify opportunities for investing in innovative ideas and programs. His efforts will include leading the Knight Arts Challenge, a $40 million initiative to unite South Florida through the arts.

An art collector for more than 30 years, Scholl has lead local and national philanthropic efforts in the visual arts. He served as founding chair of the Guggenheim Photography Committee, of the Tate Modern American Acquisitions Committee and of the Miami Art Museum Collectors Council. He has also served on the boards of the Aspen Art Museum, the North Miami Museum of Contemporary Art and the alternative art space Locust Projects, of which he was chair.

Congratulations to Damian Thorman, National Program Director for Knight Foundation on his election as Vice Chair of the National Fund for Workforce Solutions.

Congratulations to Susan Patterson, Charlotte Program Director for Knight Foundation, on receiving a lifetime achievement award at the Hornets Nest Girl Scout Council’s 4th annual Women of Distinction Award Luncheon. Here she is with her mother, who was her first Girl Scout leader.

From more than 1,500 ideas, 45 finalists will move on to the next round of the 2009 Knight Arts Challenge!

The Knight Arts Challenge is an experimental contest that aspires to bring together South Florida’s diverse community through the arts. Great arts ideas poured in from the community during the month of February, and the 45 finalists include galleries, an opera company, and an independent music store along with many more smart, funky, and meaningful ideas. Projects stand to receive a total of $4 million in matching arts grants, and the winners will be announced next fall.

The finalists are as follows:

VISUAL ARTS

3D Miami/Frederic Snitzer
To further position South Florida as a cultural destination by exhibiting the contemporary sculpture of 90 artists throughout Miami-Dade County.
Available Space
To enrich community life by creating temporary, interactive public art displays in empty storefronts and vacant lots in underserved neighborhoods.
BELIART/Bernice Steinbaum
To spark interest in the arts among school children by producing an interactive, educational DVD set that focuses on great works.
Christy Gast
To provide free materials for nonprofits, schools and artists by creating a clearinghouse for donated art supplies and surplus goods.
CIFO
To cultivate progressive architecture by commissioning young, local architects to create an outdoor urban refuge using green materials.
COOPER
To provide access to expensive tools by creating a communal facility where artists can use heavy machinery and metal-casting equipment to produce their art.
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
To expose new audiences to contemporary art by exhibiting the sculpture of Barry Flanagan and Tom Otterness on Fairchild’s grounds.
Friends of the Bass Museum
To promote imaginative thinking among school children through a curriculum-based art program.
Girls’ Club
To nurture the career of a South Florida artist by supporting an exhibit at an alternative gallery space dedicated to contemporary female artists.
Goldman Properties
To create a hub for creative activity in Wynwood by opening a multi-disciplinary office, performance and gallery space for a diverse group of arts organizations.
Greater Miami Convention and Visitor’s Bureau
To raise museums’ profiles by designating May as Miami Museum Month, when residents can join one of 18 museums and visit another for free.
Jerome Soimaud
To artistically explore Miami’s African-American neighborhoods by producing a free art exhibition entitled “Black in Miami.”
Locust Projects
To promote experimental art by commissioning three site-specific projects to be exhibited outside the traditional gallery setting.
Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs
To facilitate the exchange of ideas and goods by creating a ÒCultural CraigslistÓ where artists and groups can post openings and workshops, and can buy, sell or donate materials.
The Nature Conservancy
To highlight the importance of conservation by funding the Miami exhibition of “Design for a Living World,” a series of works by leading artists using sustainable materials.
Sculpture Key West
To promote contemporary art in a unique, historic setting by producing and documenting an annual sculpture exhibition at Key West’s two Civil War-era forts.
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
To highlight Vizcaya’s historic and artistic importance by commissioning site-specific artworks inspired by this National Historic Landmark.
Eli Weberman
To provide a cultural destination in Wynwood where artists can live, exhibit their work and mingle with potential customers, tourists and other artists.
Wolfsonian-FIU
To expand the reach of the museum by turning its exterior walls into a public art display.

PERFORMING ARTS

Actors’ Playhouse Productions
To celebrate South Florida’s diversity by producing the first-ever musical in Spanglish on the Cuban migration to the United States.
City of Miami Mayor’s Office of Film & Cultural Affairs
To enrich Downtown Miami by presenting weekly performances during lunchtime.
Florida Grand Opera
To attract a younger audience to opera with a student matinee performance that features sets using projected and animated images.
Florida Grand Opera
To cultivate a new audience for opera by giving away 2,000 tickets to a performance of Carmen through a drawing.
Miami City Ballet
To celebrate the ballet’s 25th anniversary by producing five company premieres by choreographers who have shaped the group’s artistic identity.
Miami-Dade Parks
To increase community cultural offerings by expanding a free concert series at neighborhood parks to include both traditional American and Latin music.
The Olympia Theater at the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts
To expand the offerings at the historic theater — and ensure its sustainability Ð by creating an endowment fund.
Performing Arts Center Trust
To foster an understanding of the performing arts by bringing every Miami-Dade fifth grader to a production at the Arsht Center.
Mario Ernesto Sanchez/Teatro Avante
To support and enhance an award-winning Hispanic theater festival by adding a comprehensive Latin American theater conference.

MUSIC

Alliance for Musical Arts, Theater and Tutoring
To cultivate community pride by creating a Drum Line for 50 elementary school kids who will learn percussion skills and perform at local events.
Amy Rosenberg
To explore and celebrate Overtown’s rich music history by presenting an outdoor event featuring local musicians while historic neighborhood images are projected.
Chopin Foundation
To increase access to free performances by expanding the ÒChopin for AllÓ concert series, adding events in Palm Beach County and engaging local schools.
Miami-Dade Public Schools
To further develop local musicians by creating a mentoring program where professionals give guidance through master classes and collaborative performances.
Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Inc.
To increase opportunities for blind and sighted artists by expanding the center’s unique music inclusion program.
New World Symphony
To attract new and younger audiences by commissioning local artists to produce videos to accompany the music during select performances.
Performing Arts Center Trust
To broaden appreciation for South Florida’s gospel tradition by expanding Free Gospel Sundays at the Arsht Center.
Sweat Records
To strengthen a local resource by expanding community programming and creating an online site exclusively for buying local music and art.
UNCF/United Negro College Fund
To expand knowledge of a culturally significant musical instrument by supporting the Florida Memorial University Steelband Program.

FILM

Broward County Film Society
To celebrate cultures from around the world through a free film and community discussion series.
Miami International Film Festival
To strengthen the reputation of South Florida’s film industry by launching a marketplace where filmmakers and industry professionals can buy and sell film rights.
Plum TV
To increase the visibility of the visual arts community by producing a documentary TV series that follows key players as they prepare for Art Basel Miami Beach.

LITERARY ARTS

Hannah Kahn Foundation
To foster a dialogue through an author reading series.
Kathleen Hudspeth
To promote traditional print media and artists’ books by creating a communal print shop serving the arts community.

OTHER

BankAtlantic Foundation
To increase exposure to the arts by expanding a program that partners arts nonprofits with local elementary schools.
Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs
To ensure a thriving future for the arts by developing a plan to secure dedicated public funding sources for the arts in Miami-Dade County.
WPBT
To help local artists gain exposure by creating a regional arts news service that would provide free stories and electronic press kits for broadcast.

For more details, see the Knight Arts site.

Online applications for the Knight Arts Challenge, a community-wide contest to fund the best art ideas in South Florida, are due March 2nd (apply here.)

Last year, Knight Foundation awarded $8 million to 31 groups – such as sculptors, musicians, prominent institutions and recently formed galleries.

There are three rules (more explanation in the FAQ):

1. The idea is about arts.
2. The project takes place in or benefits South Florida.
3. You find other funding to match the Knight Foundation grant.

More in this CBS4 article and the below video by Sam Rega and Josh Miller:

Questions? After reading the FAQ, please leave a comment below.

Jorge Martinez is Director of Information Systems at Knight Foundation. Below, he writes about Elevate America and Knight’s role in funding this project starting in 2007.

In 2007, Knight Foundation provided $250,000 to support a digital literacy program begun by the City of Miami. Elevate Miami was designed to help the elderly and young in our city’s underserved populations acquire the technology skills necessary to be an engaged citizen in today’s world.

Knight funded Elevate Miami’s Rites of Passage program. A collaboration between the City and Miami-Dade Public Schools, it provides the families of 6th graders that maintain high academic standards throughout the school year and pass technology skills training, with a new computer and access to the Internet. The program awarded new computers to 600 families in 2008.

At yesterday’s US Conference of Mayors meeting, Elevate Miami was singled out as a national role model for how public-private partnerships can work to bridge the digital divide in our cities, with Microsoft announcing a new program that will provide software and technology training materials to local governments and non-profits, to replicate the success of Miami’s program on a national scale, titled Elevate America.

Knight Foundation created the Knight Center of Digital Excellence to provide convenient, affordable, high-speed access – and its corresponding benefits in education, healthcare, economic development and government access to our communities. We welcome Microsoft’s entry, and look forward to building upon the work begun in Miami-Dade, by accelerating the adoption of digital literacy skills necessary to make our vision a reality.

What do you think about Elevate America?

Last night, four films showing possible futures for Charlotte, North Carolina were screened at six different area locations as part of Crossroads Charlotte, a project funded by Knight.

Image by Justin Ruckman

Justin Ruckman blogged:

Writer Alan Moore famously said in the Watchmen that the best way to engage your audience in a piece of fiction was to start out with the most tragic thing you could imagine. And Crossroads Charlotte: The Movie did just that. Starting with a scenario entitled Fortress Charlotte, gang members were involved in a drive-by shooting, an eight-year old girl was checked for weaponry via metal detector and an Iraq war veteran was denied entry into a homeless shelter … in the first few minutes. Ouch.

I never thought I would know what it would be like to live in Detroit, but now I think I do.

At the end of the pain, actual stats about city problems were displayed as we transitioned into the next scenario, lending creedence to the possibility of such a world coming to fruition. A trend that continued between each scenario.

The six locations were connected by video before the film; after the film, the audience discussed the different outcomes for the city and passed the microphone. Tonya Jameson has more on her blog.

The new CrossroadsCharlotte.com also launched last night, and has ways for community members to post events and stay in touch:

Congrats to the Crossroads Charlotte team on the site launch; what questions do you have on the possible future scenarios for Charlotte?

Opening February 1st, the Knight Arts Challenge is a community-wide contest to fund the best art ideas in South Florida.

The deadline for applications is 9 a.m. March 2, 2009.

The video below is the first in a series for the Knight Arts Challenge from Miami World Cinema Center (directed by Josh Miller and Sam Rega).

From the press release:

Last year, Knight Foundation awarded $8 million to 31 groups – such as sculptors, musicians, prominent institutions and recently formed galleries. The winning ideas included creating a two-year, fellow residency for up-and-coming artists run by the University of Miami and housed in the Design District; a Haitian jazz series; and little league-like network of children’s choirs serving disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Find out more about the Challenge on the site.

More: video from the event with winners of the first round.

Last night, thirty-one South Florida art projects were awarded grants in the first year of the Knight Arts Partnership, a $40 million effort to bring South Floridians together through the arts. Winning projects include a two-year residency program for up-and-coming artists, a Little League-like network of children’s choirs, and giant, inflatable sculptures in Bayfront Park.

Onajídé Shabaka of Miami Art Exchange and artist Daniel Arsham were in attendance and offered their thoughts on the current Miami art scene:

Watch video of Miami Program Director Lorenzo Lebrija as well as videos of the winners and details for each grant on the Knight Arts site and in the press release.