Category Archives: News

Hugh MacLeod says BLOGGING MATTERS!

Freedom is Blogging in Your Underwear in stores TODAY!

Share

News: ARTLURKER Presents Miami Writer’s Prize 2012

ARTLURKER Presents Miami Writer’s Prize 2012

Deadline: May 4th, 2012
Reception: May 24th, 2012, 7pm til 9pm, Locust Projects

The Miami Writer’s Prize 2012 is open for submissions.
www.artlurker.com/miamiwritersprize

ARTLURKER, a Miami based online publication for the contemporary arts, is proud to announce it is accepting submissions for the third year of the Miami Writer’s Prize, an annual prize that aims to encourage residents of Miami to write about contemporary art and foster accountability for contemporary art discourse through reinforcement of the blogging format.

Eligible entrants may submit one original review of a recent art-related event. The winner, in addition to having their entry published on ARTLURKER.com, will receive an honorary stipend of $800 dollars in return for an eight-post placement as a Guest Blogger on ARTLURKER.com.

This year’s prize is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and artist Carlos Betancourt, sponsored by Locust Projects and judged by a panel of preeminent writers/web publishers – Hrag Vartanian (HYPERALLERGIC), Hunter Braithwaite (THEREISNOTHERE), Noah Becker (WHITEHOT MAGAZINE) and Paddy Johnson (ARTFAGCITY).

The Miami Writer’s Prize 2012 is now open for submissions.

Closing Date is May 4th, 2012.

The winner will be announced via www.artlurker.com on May 18th, 2012.

A soiree in their honor will be held at Locust Projects (3852 North Miami Avenue) on May 24th, 2012.

Prize Requirements:
To qualify, entrants must:
•Be over 18 years of age and reside in Miami Dade county
•Have had no more than three pieces of their art writing published in a print publication (previous online publication, except for on ARTLURKER.com, is permitted)
•Email one previously unpublished review of a recent art related event, approximately 800 words in length to writersprize@artlurker.com

Entries must be submitted:
•As a Word (.doc) attachment
•In English (translations are accepted, but this must be acknowledged)
•Without images

Guest Blogging Requirements:
•Posts must be art related
•Author must have first hand experience if writing a review of a recent exhibition or event

About The Judges:
Noah Becker lives and works in Victoria BC, Canada and New York. He is a contemporary artist, musician, curator, and editor-in-chief of Whitehot Magazine. In 2009, Becker was nominated for the Royal Bank of Canada Painting Prize, which toured his work to Musee D’Art De Montreal. Becker’s work has featured in successful solo and group exhibitions in New York, Switzerland, Canada, and Miami, and most recently included in the exhibitions Plank Road and Hunt & Chase at Salomon Contemporary, 6 Degrees of Separation at Claire Oliver Gallery, and Mie Portraits at Freight + Volume.

Hunter Braithwaite founded the Miami-based contemporary arts website thereisnothere.org in August 2011. In addition to running TINT, he is a regular contributor to artforum.com, Whitehot Magazine, and Asian Art News. Before moving to Miami, he lived in Shanghai and did basically the same thing.

Paddy Johnson is the founding editor of Art Fag City. In addition to her work on the blog, she has been published in New York Magazine, artreview.com, Art in America, The Daily, Print Magazine,Time Out NY, The Reeler, The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post, The Guardian, New York Press and writes a regular art column for The L Magazine. Paddy lectures widely about art and the Internet at venues including Yale University, Parsons, Rutgers, South by Southwest, and the Whitney Independent Study Program.

Hrag Vartanian is a Brooklyn-based writer, critic, editor and cultural worker. He is the co-founder and editor of Hyperallergic. He tweets a lot (@hragv), reads even more, likes to look at art, doesn’t call his parents enough and his biggest claim to fame is that he was gay married in Toronto to his publisher, which only goes to prove that sleeping with your boss gets you everywhere.

Share

News: Hertz On Demand Joins Decobike to Provide Miami Beach Residents Another Way to Get Around

Hertz On Demand Joins Decobike to Provide Miami Beach Residents Another Way to Get Around
www.hertzondemand.com
www.decobike.com
www.facebook.com/HertzOnDemand

As an extension of The Hertz Corporation’s launch of Hertz On Demand in Miami Beach, Florida, Hertz On Demand is proud to announce a partnership with Decobike, the Official City of Miami Beach Bike Sharing & Rental program. Decobike and Hertz On Demand represent the greenest and easiest way to get around Miami Beach and the surrounding areas. Both programs encourage locals and visitors to use sustainable, innovative and convenient modes of transportation.

Based in Miami Beach, Decobike is offering Hertz On Demand members one month of free Decobike service. In addition to that, Decobike members that sign up for Hertz On Demand car sharing service will receive $15 in driving credits upon enrollment. The promotion begins on March 1, 2012 and will continue through March 30, 2012.
Hertz On Demand and Decobike share similar values in regards to the concept of green mobility. Both companies offer customers an affordable, simple way to travel while reducing the environmental impact of car ownership. Similar to how Hertz On Demand rents vehicles by the hour, day, or week on a 24/7 basis, Decobike allows for customer to rent a bike 24/7 at any of its locations.

Decobike is the Official City of Miami Beach Public Bicycle Sharing Program. The fleet continues to expand and currently includes a system of 85+ solar-powered bike sharing stations with 1,000 Decobikes. The system is conveniently available to residents and visitors 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Since its launch in March of 2011, there have been over 680,000 rides on Decobike. The system which was recently expanded to include all areas of Miami Beach, offers local residents a great value, including “unlimited ride” memberships and an expansive membership rewards program.

Hertz on Demand, Hertz’s global car sharing club, has more than 850 vehicles, 120,000 members and more than 250 locations worldwide, including corporate offices and universities. Hertz on Demand offers a variety of vehicles available for online reservation at competitive rates. All cars are equipped with Eileo® technology, and benefits covered by the hourly rate include gas, insurance, GPS turn-by-turn navigation, 24/7 roadside assistance, 24-hour Member Care Center communication, and 180 free miles per day.

Share

Philanthrofest Unites South Florida’s Not-For-Profits For First Ever Large-Scale Community Event on April 14, 2012

Philanthrofest Unites South Florida’s Not-For-Profits For First Ever Large-Scale Community Event

The free outdoor event will raise awareness for local organizations on April 14, 2012

MIAMI, FL – (March 20, 2012) – PhilanthroFest, the first of its kind outdoor festival showcasing South Florida’s philanthropic organizations, community resources and cultural arts, will take place Saturday, April 14 from noon to 6 p.m. at Midtown Miami’s Greenspace (110 NE 36 Street, Miami, FL 33137).

During the free, large-scale community event, South Florida residents of all ages will have the opportunity to learn about more than 75 philanthropic organizations and resources in a family-friendly atmosphere while enjoying musical performances, local artwork, delicious food and live entertainment.

PhilanthroFest was created with the goal of increasing volunteerism, community engagement and donor investment throughout South Florida. By engaging community partners, PhilanthroFest will deliver a sustainable annual event that helps educate and support South Florida organizations and the community overall.

“In these difficult times, when the federal government is cutting funds for social programs funded by local governments, we have to turn to the community for support,” said City of Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado. “PhilanthroFest 2012 showcases this support.”

In addition to support from City of Miami Mayor Regalado and Miami-Dade County Mayor Gimenez, PhilanthroFest has the support of many notable community leaders and organizations including The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Miami Foundation, The City of Miami Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), Catalyst Miami and many others.

The outdoor event is the brainchild of Life Is Art and Miami Crawls, which share years of event production, volunteer management, fundraising and marketing experience.

“PhilanthroFest is something we’ve been dreaming about doing for some time now,” said James Echols, co-founder of Life Is Art and PhilanthroFest; owner of Soul of Miami. “Through Life Is Art and Soul of Miami we have had the opportunity to meet the numerous philanthropic organizations that do phenomenal work throughout the local community and beyond. Bringing all of these groups together for one annual event provides an ideal platform to engage the community, while helping the organizations recruit new volunteers and donors.”

To learn more about PhilanthroFest, its participating organizations and vendors please visit www.PhilanthroFest.com. Follow PhilanthroFest on Twitter and Facebook for important event updates.

###

About Philanthrofest
PhilanthroFest (501(c)3) started by the team behind Miami Crawls and Life is Art. It was designed with the mission to SUSTAIN the South Florida community by encouraging community investment, ENHANCE the outreach of philanthropic organizations enriching the community, ENABLE opportunities for volunteer and donor base growth, PROVIDE social media education and training to enhance brand awareness, and CELEBRATE art, music, dance and fashion. For more information visit www.PhilanthroFest.com.

About Life Is Art
Life Is Art is a south-Florida based non-profit corporation founded in January of 2009 whose mission is to promote and support the arts and the community in south Florida through events and education. They do this primarily through the production of arts events: Art Shows, Fairs, Parties, Showcases, Networkers, Seminars, Workshops and more targeted at supporting south Florida artists and arts professionals. For more information, visit www.lifeisartfest.org.

About Miami Crawls
Miami Crawls is a socially conscious company that engages neighborhood communities, local businesses, and charities through the promotion of organized events for professionals that live, work and play in South Florida. For more information, visit www.miamicrawls.com.

Share

News: The Beacon Council video of Miami Marlins President talk on March 6, 2012

This information is supplied via the Beacon Council:

The Beacon Council releases video of Miami Marlins President
The Beacon Council frequently invites business and community leaders to speak to our members as part of our ACCESS series breakfasts. On March 6, Miami Marlins President David Samson was our guest.

More than 50 people attended, including Channel 10 reporter Todd Tongen and his cameraman, Miami Today reporter Scott Blake and his photographer, and a Channel 7 cameraman. Samson spoke candidly about the issues surrounding the new stadium deal. He did not read a prepared speech and came across forthright. We heard positive feedback from the audience.

What happened next is for a university journalism school to review. One or more misquotes in Miami Today made the story run like wildfire through national media outlets. Channel 10 reporter Will Manso released a clip to set the record straight. The rest of the media wanted the video and apparently could not use it from their “competitor.”

Our hired videographer gave it to us March 8 and we had the press come in to make copies because the 51-minutes-long 20-gigabytes video was too large to post on standard sites, such as YouTube or our website. One by one the press produced their own stories. Thankfully, Vimeo has the capacity to post and share.

Watch the entire video:

Beacon Council Mission: Create jobs for Miami-Dade County residents by helping businesses locate and expand here. We want families and residents in Miami-Dade County to prosper. Help us help others. Will you join us? Call Member-Investors at 305.579.1326

Share

Miami Escapes Luxury Travel


Miami Escapes Luxury Travel
Top Hotels, Restaurants, Activities
Miami and the Beaches

Miami ESCAPES is the vanguard of unforgettable experiences for the visitor to South Florida. The featured luxurious accommodations, fine restaurants, activities, and retailers are recommended for providing superb services for discerning travelers. Explore and book your hotel, reserve your dinner plans, or plan your next adventure knowing that each of the establishments are amongst the finest in Miami. Reserve online or call us at (281) 8-MIAMI / (281) 846-4264.

Book your travel at www.MiamiEscapes.com

Share

The Blue Piano Opens For Lunch

The Blue Piano Opens For Lunch

The Blue Piano opens it’s doors for lunch. After much success with the redesigned dinner menu, The Blue Piano welcomes the lunch crowd with an array of tasty new creations by a new director in the kitchen.

The Blue Piano’ s Chef Stan “Strong ” moved to Miami all the way from New York and brought down with him his home style cooking to the Buenavista neighborhood with what he calls “comfort food for the soul ”.

Some examples are: “The Soul Roll ” a grilled wrap filled with fried chicken, sautéed collard greens and black eyed peas; the F alafel Specia l which is a New York style falafel wrap with a Miami twist, a thunder bolt of chili sauce (on the side of course). He’ s also created the “BPB” or Blue Piano Burger, which is a beef burger featuring blue cheese, served on a French croissant bun. And for the vegetarians, the “Beet it ” Salad and The “Philly Cheese Vegge” that’ s like a Philly Cheesesteak but with portabello mushrooms, tofu and bell peppers.

The Blue Piano is Miami ’ s only destination serving up an incredible selection of rare wines and artis an beers alongside an eclectic live musical selection that features chilled out jazz, soulful blues and an ever-changing line up of local artists every night. And with its new menu and lunch schedule, it is now a “foodie” destination for lunch and dinner.

Share

Miami Unites to Fundación Bella – A “Beautiful” Campaign to Fight Breast Cancer

(Miami, Florida) – Mexican photographer, Martin Gavica, is the Founder and President of “Fundación Bella” (Beautiful Foundation), a campaign designed to raise awareness about breast cancer, and educate women on the importance of self-examination for early detection.

Gavica visited Miami during the month of February and scheduled photo sessions in a Brickell studio.  He photographed 208 women representing countries from all over the world, including Canada, US, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Uruguay, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, and Spain to name a few.  To date, he has photographed more than 5,000 women from all over the world.

 Gavica started the campaign as homage to his mother who died 2008 after a 9 year battle with breast cancer.  He has taken the campaign through all the states of Mexico and has also been invited to visit New York, California, Massachusetts, Washington, Texas, Arizona and Minnesota among other states within the U.S. “It’s not just about my mother anymore” – says Gavica – “it’s now about the survivors.  [The campaign] is moving along with its own force, and I’m just going with the flow.”    

To obtain more information about this campaign, please visit http://www.fundacionbella.mx (Spanish website). ■

 

- Nathalia Y. Bogani – “The Etiquette Girl”

Share

Introducing PhilanthroFest

As you know, we have worked diligently over the past few years to support you and our community. I rarely like to ask for favors, but now I need to ask for your kind indulgence in return as we launch a major initiative to help our community.

I would like to introduce you to our upcoming big project called PhilanthroFest (www.philanthrofest.com).

PhilanthroFest’s mission is to support philanthropy and culture by providing outreach, brand awareness and education opportunities to over 75 philanthropic and cultural arts organizations. PhilanthroFest is a large community festival on April 14th in Midtown Miami, celebrating the South Florida philanthropic and cultural community. Attendees will enjoy music, art, fashion, food and entertainment while learning about various non-profits and community resources that are available to our residents.

PhilanthroFest has the support of Mayor Regalado and the City of Miami. The Miami Foundation is our fiscal sponsor and partner. Catalyst Miami is a participating organization, as well. More organizations are coming on board all the time. It is being produced as a collaboration between Life Is Art/Soul Of Miami and Miami Crawls.

The festival takes place on April 14, 2012 in the middle of the Midtown Miami complex. Each qualifying philanthropic or cultural organization will receive FREE table space to promote their mission. In addition, PhilanthroFest includes an ongoing educational component, assisting organizations in continuing to build their message.

As an annual event and ongoing educational program, PhilanthroFest can mean a lot to our community, helping to build a strong base of services and culture. Mayor Regalado has already come out in support of it, as has the Miami Foundation and the Miami CRA, in addition to other organizations. I invite and encourage your support and participation. For more information, please see the press release.

Sponsorships are available. A PhilanthroFest sponsorship multiplies both the impact and reach of your money. Rather than reaching just one charity, like you would for a normal sponsorship, you reach dozens, helping the community in a big way. Not only that, but each organization will be promoting the event through their own channels, so your name gets out in front of many more people than a traditional charity event. For more information about sponsorship opportunities, please click here.

If you know of any philanthropic or cultural organizations who would like to participate, promotional space is FREE for qualifying organizations, click here to apply.

For any artists that you know, we have an open call for the art show during PhilanthroFest, click here for the call for artists.

Any help you can offer would be most appreciated. I look forward to hearing from you. Click here to contact us directly.

Share

Knight Arts Challenge Contest Opens For Applications – Submit your best idea 2/21/12 – 3/19/12

Knight Arts Challenge- Submit your best idea!

Such projects now have a home here in town because of the Knight Arts Challenge:
New World Symphony’s Sound and Sight Video series. Sleepless Night Miami Beach. Miami Lighthouse for the Blind. Bass Museum’s TC Temporary Contemporary public art project. AIRIE Encountering art in the Everglades. Miami-Dade County Public Schools Cultural Passport. Little Haiti Cultural Center’s Haitian Heritage Art Project. Florida Grand Opera in unexpected places. Dawntown Architecture Contest. Playground Theatre’s world premiere production of “The Red Thread.” Cuban Museum’s Sweet Home Museo Cubano. Rhythm Foundation’s Big Night in Little Haiti. Karen Peterson’s Inclusive Dance for MDPS students. DDA’s Downtown Miami Concert Series Summer Shows at the Gusman. Noches Tropicales/Tropical Nights free music and dance concerts in Miami Dade Parks. Free Gospel Sundays at the Arsht, Borscht Film Festival. O Cinema, Miami International Film Festival. South Florida Composers Alliance’s The Listening Gallery. Cleveland Orchestra and Miami City Ballet together. Bas Fisher Invitational’s Weird Miami Bus Tours. Seraphic Fire’s Miami Choral project. Peter London Global Dance Theater. City Theatre’s CityWrights training mentorship project. Hannah Kahn Poetry Foundation. Commissioned site-specific contemporary art works at Vizcaya….and so many more.

And all it took was a good idea!

Knight Arts Challenge Contest Opens For Applications
 
Bginning Feb. 21, South Floridians can begin applying for a share of millions in funding through the fourth annual Knight Arts Challenge. The community-wide contest to find the best ideas for the arts in South Florida is sponsored by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Applications will be accepted between Feb. 21 and March 19, 2012 at KnightArts.org.

There are only three rules for applying: The idea is about the arts; the project takes place in or benefits South Florida; and applicants must find other funding to match the Knight Foundation grant.

Individuals, nonprofits and for profit organizations are eligible to apply.
In just four years, Knight Foundation has invested close to $19 million in projects for the Challenge, which aims to bring South Florida together through the arts. Local arts supporters are doubling that amount with matching funds.

In 2011, the winning ideas included expansion of the Hispanic Theatre Festival, the launching of free concerts downtown and in Miami-Dade Parks, expanding the Artist in Residence program in the Everglades, launching a new dance company and initiating a teen creative writing mentorship project, among other creative endeavors that bring the arts into people’s everyday lives.

“This contest is about innovative ideas, artistic excellence and inspiring our community. The best projects will help weave culture into the everyday fabric of this region.  We want to hear from everyone with a great idea,” said Dennis Scholl, VP Arts/ for Knight Foundation, who leads the initiative.  

Have an idea? Visit www.KnightArts.org through March 2. The two-question application is designed to be simple to attract applicants who aren’t traditional grant seekers.

About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation advances journalism in the digital age and invests in the vitality of communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Knight Foundation focuses on projects that promote informed and engaged communities and lead to transformational change. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.

The contest is part of Knight Foundation’s five-year, $40 million Knight Arts initiative, to help bring the S.. FLA community together through the arts. Over the past four years, the Knight Foundation has invested almost $19 million in this community based contest.

Share