Some artists spend their entire careers looking for a gallery that will represent them and exhibit their work. And when they finally achieve this seemingly impossible goal, it can often be anything but smooth sailing – especially with no prior gallery experience to guide them.
In a move that could potentially change the lives of the FIU’s emerging artists, the College of Communication, Architecture + Art (CARTA), with support from the Berkowitz Contemporary Foundation, opened a student-run art gallery in Miami Beach.
The gallery in the heart of South Beach, just two blocks from Miami’s most anticipated and largest art fair, Art Basel, was officially opened to the public on Tuesday, May 25th, with the inaugural exhibition, Emergence: The process.
The exhibition showed a varied mix of contemporary art by six graduates of the Department of Art + Art History and scholarship holders of the Berkowitz scholarship.
Berkowitz Fellows from left to right: John Colon, Emma Ortiz, Claudia Newman, Diego Waisman, Elizabeth Pino, Brandi Long
“CARTA’s student-centric mission is to develop and maintain high quality, inclusive learning opportunities that prepare students for meaningful careers,” said Brian Schriner, Dean of CARTA. “This includes creating opportunities for students to collaborate with other students, faculty, communities and employers while learning by doing.
“Our opening of a student-run visual art gallery in Miami Beach gives our visual arts students the ultimate opportunity to create, display, curate, and even sell their artwork.”
And sell they did! On the first night of the gallery’s opening, artist and current Master of Fine Arts in visual arts student Elizabeth Pino sold her very first painting – the vessel.
Elizabeth Pino with Chloe Berkowitz, President of the Berkowitz Contemporary Foundation, and sold paintings, ship (bottom right)
“It’s a privilege to have a space to show your work as an artist, and it’s not something that is easy to get past,” said Pino. “I think this art gallery will be a great opportunity for art students because we’re going to learn so much that we can’t learn in class.”
The vision for the gallery arose from the desire of Schriner and Berkowitz Contemporary Foundation, President Chloe Berkowitz, to give art students the opportunity to experience the business side of the art world.
“There was a very important conversation with the dean about bridging the gap between artists and artists in the workforce,” said Berkowitz. “We spend all the time teaching them how to improve their craft, but no one teaches them how to read a contract, how to properly hang a painting, or how to take tax write-offs on their supplies. There are so many things that make a successful artist, so this program is a really nice and important transition for these students to become artists in the workforce. “
In addition to day-to-day business, a series of ongoing seminars also deepens the students’ knowledge of working with visitors, artist colleagues, collectors and publishers.
“This opportunity is a game changer for the FIU and for these students,” said David Chang, gallery owner and chairman of the Art + Art History Department. “This is the FIU’s first storefront gallery and its location is critical to the success of the program.”
According to Chang, the gallery’s prime location already attracts a lot of pedestrians, including collectors and other artists, giving students direct access to and interacting with other design professionals in the area.
The Miami Beach Visual Arts Gallery is free and open to the public Wednesdays through Fridays from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The opening exhibition can be seen until July 1st.
Learn more about the Miami Beach Visual Arts Gallery.
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