MOCA Will Celebrate Three Exhibitions During Miami Art Week

The Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami (MOCA) is the place to be during Miami Art Week! The museum will celebrate its newest exhibitions, "Didier William: Nou Kite Tout Sa Dèyè," Leah Gordon's "Kanaval," and Chire "VantaBlack" Regans "To What Lengths" on Thursday, Dec. 1 with a Miami Art Week reception. On Saturday, Dec. 3, the museum will host artist and curator-led exhibition tours. The museum will also offer extended hours throughout the week.

"Didier William: Nou Kite Tout Sa Dèyè," on view from Nov. 2, 2022 to April 16, 2023, is the largest retrospective of Didier William's career. Translated as "We've Left That All Behind," the show presents an in-depth look at the Haitian-born, North Miami-raised artist's career and memory among the very neighborhood where he once grew up. Curated by Erica Moiah James, Ph.D., the exhibition will feature over forty works spanning multiple mediums and including some of his newest paintings. Complementing the painted work and speaking to the close relationship of painting and printmaking in William's practice, are new drawings and artist books. The show also includes William's first monumental sculpture: a 12-ft.-tall wooden body emblematic of a religious column present in Haitian worship rituals.

In a blend of personal reflections, biographical anecdotes, and art historical moments, some of the works in the show recontextualize historical iconographies and ideas, stripping them of their "known" truths and transforming each into something entirely new. By doing so, William playfully and unapologetically reclaims autonomy over a fragmented record of history, engaging his personal connection to the complexity of immigrant narratives and queer identity to create opportunity for investigation and redemption.

In conjunction with the exhibition, the museum will partner with ten-time Emmy award-winning producer and director Marlon Johnson to produce a documentary highlighting the artist and will partner with a vast network of scholars to present a series of public programs. The museum will also publish an accompanying exhibition catalogue.

Opening November 9, 2022 is "Kanaval," a retrospective by photographer, filmmaker, curator, and writer Leah Gordon that documents twenty years of Carnival in Haiti. Curated by Adeze Wilford, the exhibition consists of a series of black-and-white photographs taken on a mechanical medium format camera. The images are contextualized by a series of oral histories relayed by various troupe leaders, who also oversee the design of the costume and generate the narratives surrounding Carnival. Their stories reflect the wealth of invention, fable, and self-generated mythology prevalent in much of Haitian culture. The photographs will be accompanied by a new feature-length documentary on the carnival providing a kinetic counterpoint to the portraits.

Also, on view outside the museum during Miami Art Week is MOCA's most recent "Art on the Plaza" commission, VantaBlack's "To What Lengths," which will be open to the public on MOCA Plaza from October 14, 2022 through Jan. 20, 2023. Selected in MOCA's 2022 Open Call to artists for its "Art on the Plaza" series, "To What Lengths" will showcase a key component of VantaBlack's artistic practice by reflecting on legacy building and preservation as foundational to Black culture and other diasporic peoples. The South Florida-based artist will explore how ideas about legacy are woven into everyday actions by activating five palm trees on the MOCA Plaza with large-scale braids, adorned with beads, metal, and artificial sunflowers and gardenias. The braids of each tree will follow stylings representative of the women in VantaBlack's family. Organized by Amanda Sanfilippo Long, "Art on the Plaza" is presented by MOCA, with major support from the North Miami Community Redevelopment Agency (NMCRA).

Upcoming programming includes:

• Miami Art Week Reception | Thursday, Dec. 1; VIP Reception (by invitation only): 6-8 p.m.; Public Reception: 8-10 p.m.
  • Details: MOCA is presenting a reception on Thursday, Dec. 1 to celebrate its newest exhibitions "Didier William: Nou Kite Tout Sa Dèyè," Leah Gordon "Kanaval," and Chire "VantaBlack" Regans "To What Lengths." Featured artists and curators will be present, and guests will enjoy cocktails and canapés in MOCA's Paradise Courtyard.
  • Cost: $20, which can be paid at the door. $10 for seniors and students. Complementary admission for MOCA Members and Miami Art Week VIPs with proof of membership/VIP status at the door.
  • RSVP: To RSVP, please visit: https://111401.blackbaudhosting.com/111401/Miami-Art-Week-Reception-2022

• Public Talk and Curator Tours with Didier William, Leah Gordon, Erica Moiah James, Ph.D. and Adeze Wilford | Saturday, Dec. 3, 11 a.m.
  • Details: The public is invited to enjoy a walk-through of MOCA's two signature Miami Art Week exhibitions. Explore the work of artist "Didier William: Nou Kite Tout Sa Dèyè" in conversation with curator Erica Moiah James, Ph.D., followed by a tour of "Kanaval" with curators Leah Gordon and Adeze Wilford.
  • Cost: Free with museum admission, which can be paid at the door. MOCA Members and Miami Art Week VIPs can have their admission waived by showing proof of membership/VIP status.
  • RSVP:
    • To RSVP for the "Didier William: Nou Kite Tout Sa Dèyè," tour, please visit: https://111401.blackbaudhosting.com/111401/Exhibition-walk-through-with-Erica-Moiah-James-and-Didier-William
    • To RSVP for the "KANAVAL" tour, please visit: https://111401.blackbaudhosting.com/111401/Exhibition-walk-through-with-Leah-Gordon--Adeze-Wilford

The museum's extended hours for Miami Art Week:

• Sunday, Nov. 27 - Tuesday, Nov. 29: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
• Wednesday, Nov. 30.: 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
• Thursday, Dec. 1: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (Open Hours), 6 p.m.-8 p.m. (VIP Reception by invitation), 8 p.m.-10 p.m. (Public Reception)

• Friday, Dec. 2-Sunday, Dec. 4: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
• Saturday, Dec. 3: 11 a.m. (Artist and Curator-Led Exhibition Tour)

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