Artistically Social
Amy Helps Us Through the Miami Summer
Amy Rosenberg is an attorney and arts advocate who founded the Overtown Music Project and the Arsht Center’s young patrons group. She is the co-founder of the environmental non-profit Dream in Green. Amy is a member of Art Basel’s Junior Host Committee and sits on the Board of the Funding Arts Network. She also serves on the New World Symphony’s Friends Committee as well as The Wolfsonian-FIU’s Visionaries Committee.
Summer doldrums have hit me as hard as Snooki hits a margarita. The constant swelter, drizzle and humidity fill me with a longing for iced cortaditos. (Does David’s even make those?) My mood brightens only when the occasional bushel of mangoes crosses my threshold or when I enter a well-ventilated museum. On the upside, culture is easing my midsummer meltdown.
MoCA
The Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami played host to my pre-pubescent fantasies with a night of art, ping pong and Christian Slater. MoCa presented video and sculpture artist Ryan Trecartin’s Any Ever, a non-sequential series of films with recurring motifs. I was awed by the aural experience and the living room-like set up. Trecartin has been on my list of artists to watch for the last few years (along with performance artist Xavier Cha and video artist Kalup Linzy). A ping pong table was situated in the outdoor courtyard and I managed to accidentally lob a few shots at artist Susan Lee-Chun and her husband Phil. Slater arrived on the arm of one of the MoCA staffers and no longer looks like the damaged pretty boy in the cult classics Heathers and Gleaming the Cube. Sniffle.
Friends of the South Beach Wine and Food Festival
My two favorite holidays, other than Thanksgiving, are Art Basel and the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. My evening out with the glammy foodies belonging to the Friends of the SBW&FF took place at the opening of 5 Napkin Burger. The group isn’t all foie gras and fregola, they support FIU’s School of Hospitality and Tourism all year long. Friends were able to dig into 5 Napkin’s haute hamburger in a chic bistro setting. The signature burger is 10 oz of fresh ground chuck topped with rosemary aioli, carmelized onions and melted gruyere on a soft white roll. Mmmm.
Miami Light Project
If you were looking to shake your booty, nothing beat MLP’s Dance Your A** Off dance party and fundraiser. The event took place in the new Lightbox Theater at Goldman Warehouse, a space you may remember MoCA occupied for several years. The space now houses multiple arts non-profits and has a central area for parties and performances. PR ubermench Larry Carrino, the lovely Karen Barofsky Reid and superlawyers Marlon Hill and Steve Weinger were spotted popping and locking amidst the revelers – Or maybe just having a cocktail.
Palm Beach Art Excursion
In effort to beat the heat and congestion of Miami, I fled county lines and stayed in Palm Beach for a few blessed days. Somehow, I ended up with a Miami experience in Palm Beach.
I was lucky enough to get a reservation at The Brazilian Court, sister resort to Miami’s Mayfair Hotel. The hotel was nestled in some serious foliage and could not have been a better respite from the hubbub of Miami. Besides having 1000 thread count sheets, the hotel also has a Frederic Fekkai salon and a Daniel Boulud restaurant. It was a bonus to bunk at the same place as Sonja Morgan, one of the newest additions to the cast of Bravo’s the Real Housewives of New York.
The Norton Museum impressed me with its permanent collection, including several works by artist Fred Tomaselli. Tomaselli uses pills, leaves and pages ripped from magazines in the creation of his often mind-altering, psychedelic works. What’s more, the museum’s in-house restaurant, housed in a pretty atrium, is catered by Miami’s own Lyon & Lyon.
Miami was again front-and-center when I dined at Michelle Bernstein’s Palm Beach outpost. Bernstein’s eponymous restaurant at the Omphoy Hotel, a swank spot that also hit my sweet spot with its fresh ingredients and luscious seafood offerings, has swoon-worthy views. Do not let anyone dissuade you: get the John Dory, it’s a dream. Michelle’s famous fried chicken is also on the menu.
Last but not least, I made it to Delray Beach’s Creative City Collaborative’s jazz performance in The Arts Garage, a multidisciplinary cultural hub for artists of all disciplines. I saw well-known jazz musician Melton Mustafa perform – also spotted: Ed Bell, WLRN’s Arts Beat program host and Bill Nix, vice president/chief program officer for the Palm Beach County Cultural Council.
Until next time…
