SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 7PM – 10PM

 – Grand Opening
Guest Speakers include State Rep. Hazel Rogers; Consul General Franz Hall & Dr Joan Muir
Performances by poet Susan “Dr Sue” Davis and vocalist Kristine Alicia.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 3PM – 5PM

– Panel Discussion
“The Commerce of Natural Born Beauty,” leads an exploration of “How Black women in the hair/beauty industry are leveraging social media to grow their brands and how they manage to balance life and work in the Beauty Industry”

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 5PM – 10PM

 – Downtown Art-walk
“Healing Arts, Healing Foods” and features a Living Foods Workshop and various performances.

SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 6PM – 8PM

– Play 
“A Lil’ Diddy About Lyle & Christina,” is a play exploring the words, thoughts and feelings

that occur after an abrupt breakup. This explosive journey quickly grabs hold and refuses to let go until you’re emotionally spent. With a healthy balance of anger, laughter, sadness and desperation, this play will have you asking, “What would I do?” This production contains explicit language and violence; 18 and older is strongly advised.

SATURDAY, MARCH 7, 7PM – 10PM

– Thou Art Woman
G. Wright Muir, Nik Harris & PJ Hitchins host an evening of visual and performing arts celebrating LGBT Women.

SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 7PM – 10PM

– Closing Event
with special Artist appearance, Sean Henry (from Jamaica) and Karl “Jerry” Craig, plus various performances in music and spoken word

DAVID I. MUIR

David I. Muir, a native of Jamaica, is a fine art photographer living in South Florida. He has a special love for candid, cultural and lifestyle photography – signature components of his exhibits. He excels at capturing prix vrai cialis a whole story through his lens, which often emits strong emotion from viewers of his work.

Muir’s work has qualified for juried art contests as well as group and solo fine art exhibitions.

Muir’s love affair with photography began in the early 1980s when he would take his father’s camera to school and capture images of campus life in Kingston, Jamaica.

The transformation from hobby to profession propelled the growth of David’s portrait and event photography business, DAVIDiPhoto Inc. The commercial photography business is recognized as the premier event photography business of South Florida’s Caribbean- and African-American communities.

Muir co-founded and produces Caribe Arts Fest, an annual international art festival based in Broward County, Florida that includes events at the Museum of Art, in Fort Lauderdale, along with visual art exhibitions, performance art showcases and educational artist workshops.

Muir has been featured by numerous Jamaican and American media houses, including the Miami Herald, Sun-Sentinel, Hot105FM, NBC-6, ABC-10, FOX, CVM (Jamaican TV), TVJ (Jamaican TV), Jamaica Observer and the Jamaica Gleaner.

CATHLEEN DEAN

Cathleen is Director/Producer at BlackCat Media LLC. and adjunct professor in communication studies at Nova Southeastern University’s Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences. Cathleen Dean has spent several years as both talent and behind the scenes in radio, television, and film. In addition to writing and directing the short films Stories of Hope and Corporate Karma. She served as co-producer and co-director of the 2012 award winning film Runaway Afrique and is the Miami producer for the 48 Hour Film Project. Cathleen is an alumnus of Columbia University.

In December 2014, Cathleen was selected by the Art of Community Programing Committee to participate in a global public art project: The Inside Out Broward Project for the centennial celebration Broward 100 – Celebrating the Art of Community.

SEAN “IYA” HENRY

Sean “IYA” Henry – (water color, pastels, pen & ink, charcoal and mixed media)
Sean Henry, a 1987 graduate of the Jamaica School of Art and Founder and Design Director of Iya Limited, one of Jamaica’s leading screen printing and graphic houses is an artist to his core. Inspired by the scenes of life and nature around him, Sean sketches and paints the scenes. Sean explains that his work is therapeutic and that it provides him peace of mind.

Sean’s work is derived from his drawing, painting, photography and the combinations of these works, which are either water-colour, pastel, pen & ink, charcoal, and/or mixed media.  Lovers of beauty and art will get the opportunity to view the work of this talented artist as he stages his first showing in America.

PHILIP MICHAEL CURTIS

Philip Michael Curtis – Painter (acrylics and pastel)
An artistic protégé, Phillip Michael Curtis; foray into the art world began at the tender age of seven. His first effort, Last Supper, toured his native Jamaica, creating a buzz about the creative future of the pint-sized painter.

Curtis’ painterly style speaks to viewers lyrically. His work pops in vibrant colors and rich tones in his preferred media – oils, acrylics, and pastels. His visible brush strokes are carefully controlled, yet can be characterized as freely impressionistic.

The artist’s music series stirs the soul as he brings in focus the sounds, movement, and smokey ambiance of the nighttime jazz scene. Not only does Curtis put viewers in the audience, his tasteful nudes, portraits, caricatures, and genre paintings of his island home brings together his varied design styles.

Migrating to the United States as a teenager, Curtis studied at New York’s FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) and the Art Student League. He worked as a fashion and general illustrator and eventually moved to Miami where he worked as a courtroom artist. It was this skill that got him noticed – one of his paintings was featured in the film, Out of Timefeaturing Denzel Washington.

KARL “JERRY” CRAIG

 was born in Jamaica. He earned the NDD from St. Martin’s School of Art in London, England and an MFA from Maryland Institute College or Art, USA. He has been used extensively as Consultant for Art and Craft by UNESCO and OAS in the Caribbean and represented Jamaica at several conferences and State Visits, and delivered many papers at International Meetings and Universities.

A prolific artist, he has had one man exhibitions in England, USA and Jamaica as well as exhibited in many group shows in Jamaica, England, USA, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Japan, Hong Kong, the Caribbean, Mexico, Republic of Dominica, Cuba and Botswana.

Craig uses the jeweled colors of the Caribbean’s flora, Fauna and the undulating shapes of the landscape for inspiration for many of his paintings as well as symbols of the original peoples of the New World, Africa and the Orient. His work is a rich tapestry in an Abstract Symbolism style full of luxurious textured surfaces, symbols with vibrant color. His work gives birth to new internal languages of heart, mind and soul.

DON PARCHMENT

Don Parchment – Photographer.
Don’s first camera was a Kodak Baby Brownie, he owned whilst attending a boarding school in the St. Elizabeth hills of Jamaica. Students were encouraged to develop their hobbies, and his has grown into a lifelong passion.

In Jamaica he developed that passion into a professional career as a fashion photographer. In the late 1980’s, he relocated to New York where he expanded into product and catalog photography. Currently residing in Florida his photography interests have broadened to include life style, travel, corporate and social events. He particularly enjoys covering concerts and festivals.

Having spent many years honing his photography skills, his trademark became his uncanny ability to make people emote.

As a photographer his constant quest for beauty in people and places is what motivates him to create images that ignite a special connection between himself and the viewer. The pursuit of capturing these images in the art of photography is his unending passion.

IVA MCDANIELS

Iva McDaniels is a multidisciplinary artist. She holds degrees in Radio & Television Broadcasting, Communications, and Interdisciplinary Arts Education. Further, she is the author of the poetry book MOIST, a playwright, freelance spiritual and entertainment writer, and filmmaker. She currently resides in the rtist community of 1310 Gallery, Sailboat Bend Artist Lofts.