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'Common Field Convening' Unites Artists

Over 350 Organizations Participating

Monica Torres

Miami is internationally known for its commercial, luxury art market, represented in the seasonal Art Basel, but the Magic City is also home to independent, experimental arts organizations that are breaking serious ground in the visual arts the entire year. These organizations, many of them non-profits, often struggle to find a space for expression in the burgeoning mecca of consumerism.

Two years ago, Bas Fisher International (BFI), Locust Projects, Dimensions Variable and Cannonball reached out to Common Field (CF), “a nationally-focused arts network connecting contemporary, experimental, noncommercial artist organizations and organizers.

CF provides artist-run and artist-centered organizations with a platform for visibility, learning, and exchange. The four local organizations, together with Common Field, recognized the perfect occasion to build a strong local network of organizations in order to create understanding and support. Beginning Thursday, Oct. 20 and through Sunday, at the Little Haiti Cultural Center, "Common Field Convening Miami 2016" will bring together local visual art organizations to focus on creative programming in a time and place of escalating capitalism and artistic enterprise.

The four-day program will consist of panels, breakouts, skill-shares, workshops, tours, and celebrations taking place from morning to evening. Light breakfast, lunch, and Saturday night dinner showcasing Miami’s cultural heritage is included with the tickets. "Common Field Convening" seeks to promote conversation between participants and the exchange information, which will help the organizations prepare for the year ahead.

Thursday’s opening ceremony includes a performance by Dream Defenders and a keynote by Edouard Duval-Carrié. Included in the program are the following panels and breakouts (smaller group discussions): “Rethinking Common Models: Creating Institutional Hybrids,” “Then and Now: History of Artist-run and Defunct Spaces,” and “Follow the Money: Ideas for Alternative Funding and Support.”

Whether you are an artist, a member of an arts organization, or just interested in discourse within the local creative field, you won’t want to miss this is a one of a kind experience.

The Convening will begin 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 20 and continue through Sunday, Oct 23.

Little Haiti Cultural Center
212 NE 59th Terrace
Miami, FL 33137

Find the full schedule and ticket information, as well as sign-ups for capacity-limited workshops at www.convening.commonfield.org/program

Photographer:

There are also a few correlating community events taking place throughout the city:

ABOUT THE COLLECTIVE 

Dimensions Variable (DV) is an exhibition space based in Miami and committed to the presentation and support of contemporary art. Through a collaborative exchange with artists and institutions, DV develops a contemporary art program that engages the community and promotes new and experimental practices. DV was founded in 2009 by artists Frances Trombly and Leyden Rodriguez-Casanova who direct the gallery.

Locust Projects is a not for profit exhibition space dedicated to providing contemporary visual artists the freedom to experiment with new ideas without the pressures of gallery sales or limitations of conventional exhibition spaces. Local, national and international artists are encouraged to create site-specific installations as an extension of their representative work. Locust Projects supports the local community through educational initiatives and programming that are free to the public.

Cannonball is a non-profit, 501(c)(3), arts organization dedicated to supporting artists, innovative forms of cultural production, and education to advance critical discourse and understanding of contemporary art practice. Based in downtown Miami, Florida, Cannonball’s artist-centric values are mirrored in its experimental programs, resources, and opportunities that respond to the needs of today’s artists and reflect our efforts to better understand the nuances and textures of South Florida.

Bas Fisher Invitational (BFI) is a 501(c)(3) artist run space dedicated to creativity, experimentation, and discourse in contemporary art. They aim to create a bridge between Miami and the International art world by curating a program that alternates between the local and the global. BFI is committed to building the Miami arts community by offering support for artist projects, in particular, WEIRD MIAMI, a platform for exhibitions and public programming that takes a behind the scenes look at the city and its artistic offerings.

Here are some of the many arts organizations taking part in Common Field 2016:

Common Field is a national network of artists organizations that launched officially at the Fall 2015 Common Field Convening (aka Hand-in-Glove) in Minneapolis, Minn. Four hundred and thirty self-nominating members from 40 states include artist-run and non-profit art spaces, publications, digital exhibition venues, festivals, residencies, collectives and collaborative organizers, curators, artists, and administrators working in a variety of mediums. Common Field creates visibility and viability for the field of artist organizations through connection, advocacy, research, and resources. The Convening provides an important outlet for national members to collectively plot futures for Common Field brainstorming research trajectories, resource exchange channels, and advocacy strategies for the second official year of the organization.

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