Miami Beach Arts Trust:

Miami Beach Arts Trust

Miami Beach Arts Trust was founded in 1999 as a 501 (C)(3) organization by the City of Miami Beach with the primary goal of providing awareness of and funding for the Arts. In 2002, at the recommendation of the City Manager, the Trust separated from the City and became a stand-alone organization.

In addition to presenting workshops and spotlighting new artists in all areas of the arts, the Miami Beach Arts Trust also acts as the fiscal agent for smaller, non-profit organizations.

One of its greatest accomplishments is miamiartzine.com, an online publication now in its seventh year. Publisher and Miami Beach Arts Trust Chair Harvey J. Burstein conceived the idea of an online publication to better serve South Florida's arts community and arts lovers.

Each issue contains original articles and photographs by professional writers and photographers who are paid for their time and talent. It has also served as a career conduit for these contributors, as many of the writers and photographers have received other freelance jobs based on their work in miamiartzine.com.

The enthusiastic response from the arts community has contributed to the steady growth of miamiartzine.com.

 

Miami Beach Arts Trust Board of Directors:

 

 

Mission Statement:

A not-for-profit organization that provides information and training to local artists and arts organizations by funding special needs; Art Forums and Arts Clearing House. (Revised Mission Statement)

 

Address:

Miami Beach Arts Trust

 

Harvey J. Burstein

The chair of the Miami Beach Arts Trust and founder and publisher of miamiartzine.com.

Harvey J. Burstein is the director of the Burstein Family Foundation and has been prominent in the Miami art scene for many years. He co-founded the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and has worked closely with Art Center/South Florida and SAVE Dade, Ballet Gamonet Maximum Dance, First Night, Florida Room Film Festival, Lavender Footlights, Miami Light Project, Miami Performing Arts Center Legacy Plaque Project, New Israel Fund, New Theatre, Pridelines Youth Services, South Florida Dance for Life, South Beach AIDS Project, Swim for Life, Theatre League of South Florida, Weitzman Institute of Science in Israel, Carbonell Awards Committee, and the CAJE Miami Jewish Film Festival. His several honors include the Horizon Community Service Chicago Community Spirit award, the Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce Leadership and Support Awards and the Ambassador of the Arts Unsung Hero Award.

Roger Martin - Editor/Theatre Critic

Born and educated in New Zealand. Journalist and radio announcer. Fighter pilot Royal Canadian Air Force. Eastern Air Lines Captain. Actor: AEA, SAG (council member), AFTRA. Playwright: DGA. Carbonell Judges' Committee six years. Carbonell Awards Show Co-producer and MC. Fifty plus years Miami-Dade resident. Member: American Theatre Critics' Association.

Anna Collins

Anna Collins is a humor columnist, travel writer, and professional photographer. She has also been a standup comedian for over 20 years, performing everywhere from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, to gigs on the 1st level of Hell.  She was born in Zurich, Switzerland but grew up in Boston. Both places proved way too cold, so she now makes her home in South Florida. Anna is the co-author of Women are From Bras, Men are from Penus and the author of A View from a Broad the book - which is a compilation of her miamiartzine.com columns of the same name. Anna is also the owner of The Quirky Card Shop - a boutique greeting card company which features her original photography cards of dolls and mannequins in a  "quirky, fun, and slightly twisted" way. Visit her shop at www.TheQuirkyCardShop.com. If you need any more info on Anna, you'll have to show some ID.

Heike Dempster

Heike Dempster, born in Munich, Germany, relocated to Miami in 2010 after 15 years in the UK, Jamaica and the Bahamas. Heike graduated from London Metropolitan University and has done cultural studies research at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. After graduation Heike started a PR and international media company based in Kingston, Jamaica, representing primarily reggae artistes and producers. In 2008 Heike started her own radio show in the Bahamas and she continues to produce and host the show, albeit now on air in Turks & Caicos as well as online.Heike has worked as a publicist and journalist continuously since graduation, covering music, fashion, culture and most recently, art. Living in Miami has made Heike rediscover a keen interest in art and over the past two years she has written extensively about art in Miami including artist interviews, exhibition reviews as well as features about museums, galleries and street art.

Robert Dempster

Robert Dempster, born in Kingston, Jamaica, spent the past 20 years in Florida. Since graduating with a BA in Economics from Stetson University, Robert has lived and worked in Miami. Robert balances his corporate career with an interest in the arts. His knowledge of the city, its art scene, culinary landscape, nightlife and music scene informs his photography and writing. Recently Robert has dedicated more time to his writing and photography. His images and art exhibition reviews have been published in various outlets since.

 

Steve Gladstone

Steve Gladstone, a native Floridian, has been working as a professional actor since 1974 and has been featured on regional stages throughout the Southeastern United States. A member of Screen Actors Guild since 1979, acting as SAG Florida branch President since 2002. He is currently co-president of the Miami Local for SAG-AFTRA. He continues to serve on the National SAG Performers with Disabilities Committee. Also a member of Actors' Equity Association. Steve is also a playwright and lyricist whose collaborative work, South of the North Pole, received the 1999 ASCAP Musical Theatre Award. He has also produced two wonderful children, George and Jennifer. When he was seventeen, he was diagnosed with a rare genetic eye condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) and gradually went totally blind by the age of thirty. "You're either a fighter pilot or a target and I chose pilot. I don't consider myself disabled--I'm just blind." Steve currently writes music reviews for http://www.miamiartzine.comand is the in-house blogger for www.insightfortheblind.org promoting literacy through the reading of audio books and magazines for blind and physically handicapped adults and children.

Luis Iglesias

Photography: besides being a way to capture unique moments in life or creating a piece of art, photography becomes part of human history by helping us navigate in time and revive the past. One shoot, with or without flash, is a moment in life that will never return until you are in front of it. It is the body language of a living non-stop history. Luis is definitely an art lover. He has volunteered at the Jewish Film Festival, Sicilian Film Festival, Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, LGBT Chamber of Commerce, the Winter Party and other events. As a health care advocate he has supported The American Diabetes Association Team Leader of Diabetes Walk, and is a supporter of American Cancer Association and environmental issues. He is a Leadership Academy Graduate and Activist. Luis is also a Member of David’s Café Breakfast Club.

Anthony Jordon Jr.

A Miami based photographer specializing in event/social, portrait, engagement and wedding photography. Clients such as the Miami & Broward-Palm Beach New Times (Village Voice affiliates), MIAMI Magazine (Modern Luxury Media), soulofmiami.org, McDonald's, Red Bull, Muscle Milk, Smirnoff, Absolut and GLAAD. He has also provided various photographic works in support of local non-profits and national charities such as Care Resource and the Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure. He has earned much recognition such as 1st place-Zone 3 during 2009's Sleepless Nights photo-marathon, 1st Place in the People Category of the Carnival Cruise Lines 2010 photo contest, and Featured Photographer and Best Black & White Photo of Best Photo Yet's blog in September-October 2010.

Marj O'Neill-Butler

Marj O'Neill-Butler, writer/photographer, is a member of AEA and SAG-AFTRA and has credits in film, television and theatre. She co-produced and directed over 300 productions as Managing Director/Producer of the Green Mountain Guild (Killington Playhouse) in Vermont for 24 years. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Dance from NYU. Marj is a playwright with myriad productions ranging from NYC to Texas to Seoul, S. Korea. The mother of two sons, she has lived in Miami Beach for twenty-three years.

Henry Perez

After being in the corporate world for over 30 years Henry picked up the camera to volunteer to take pictures for MAZ and found out that photography is his real passion. After 6 years Henry is a full time photographer with several clients and has had three one man shows.

Ruben Rosario

Michelle F Solomon

Michelle F. Solomon has been immersed in theater since she first played the role of Millie in Picnic at the age of 12. A graduate of Emerson College, Boston, Mass., with a master’s degree from the State University of New York, Michelle has been a theater critic at major and mid-sized newspapers, including executive arts editor of the Albany (N.Y.) Times Union and assistant features editor/entertainment at The Detroit Free Press. She was an on-air entertainment reporter for NBC affiliate, WDIV-TV and an executive producer at ABC affiliate, Miami’s WPLG-TV, Local 10. In addition to theater reviews for miamiartzine, South Florida Theater Review and Florida Theater On Stage, Michelle is a syndicated movie reviewer for Internet Broadcasting/Local10.com, involved locally in improv comedy, and recently got up the nerve to begin performing stand-up comedy at venues in South Florida.  Michelle is also an active member of the American Theatre Critics' Association.

Irene Sperber

Irene Sperber grew up in Maine, and quickly expanded her life to include blocks of time living in New York, Hong Kong and London before settling in Miami for the past 20 years. Irene has spent several months of the year in NYC for the past 30 years. A life long artist, the creative path has meandered through art-to-wear, pen and ink drawing, collage and ultimately photography, exhibiting in venues both locally and internationally. Free lance writing and essays now take precedence. Outside interests include hiking, biking and exploring back streets and hidden enclaves unsullied by modern life.