Urban Miami Tour - Art Scenes

MIAMI

Urban

During the 50s Wynwood developed as an industrial hub but after the construction of the free way the neighborhood got neglected be coming a Puerto Rican gang zone; but during the 2000s it got gentrified with businesses of all kinds along side private art collections but keeping its industrial edge — so get ready to be part of the gentrification of Wynwood (plus tagging the streets)

Time period: 2000s-now

Movie/book: Vandal (2019)/Street Art Icons by Jessica Goldman Srebnick

Soundtrack: Pitbull/Flo Rida’s music

Fashion: colorful outfit, tank top plus statement sneakers

Budget:

Hebstreit: Map of Miami; Digital,

Segregation by Design: Displacement due to urban renewal map; Digital, 2022

This tour would take you through the streets of Wynwood: the bohemian/hipster neighborhood of Miami that has become one of the capitals of street art in the world where you can find private art collections, concept stores, dispensaries, street wear shops, art galleries and cool restaurants of all types and budgets; and where. The area is characterized by: rehabilitated warehouses, empty lots and shops of all kinds with colorful murals. The area got developed in the 50s as an industrial hub with clothes factories and warehouses, but after the construction of the freeway in the 80s it got segregated. Auto-repair shops and small apartments replaced the factories and by the 90s Wynwood turn into a dangerous place with Puerto Rican gangs; half empty lots with abandoned warehouses and tags everywhere.Thankfully everything was about to change! Graffiti would go from illegal to a tool to beautify neglected neighborhoods — and some taggers transitioned from rebels to respected artist like Atomik, Crook & Chrome and ZeFlorist. Millionaires brought their private art collections to the area using old industrial buildings as their museums with the Rubell Collection pioneering in 1993 (now it is in a bigger building in Allapattah). Latter on Martin Marguelles plus Gary Nader fallowed the trend by bringing their questionable art collections to the neighborhood — some of these “art pieces” can be regarded as trash. In December of 2009, Tony Goldman innagurated Wynwoodwalls, where he took an old mechanic shop and asked different international street artist to do murals on the garages and walls of the abandoned building and it was a success! Since then the whole neighborhood has been covered in murals unconsciously creating what I called the Miami Look. Influenced by the colors of Latin America, the NYC pop art movement and the tags of LA gangs but with a fascination for capitalism; this artistic style is characterized by: bold lines, flat surfaces and bright colors with some using luxury bags or shoes as their canvases. The Brazilian Romero Britto, the local Jen Stark and the New Yorker Alec Monopoly are the main representatives of “this style” that has been popularized on social media (with many wannabes copying the aesthetic). The Museum of Graffiti opened its doors in 2019 as the first institution to trace the art movement from the wagons of New York to the art galleries of the world, with works by KAWS, JonOne and Bansky. The gentrification of Wynwood along the success of Art Basel Miami had made the city one of the 5 capitals of street art, and an obligated stop in the art market circuit. The tour suggests checking out some cool stores and brunch at Smorgasburgh Miami in the morning; visiting 3 street art small museums during the afternoon; and checking out some private collections plus some barbecue at night — and don’t forget to get a can a tag the streets in the process.