Written by Kerren Dieuveille
Hello Culture Shockers! We hope you are enjoying the sunny weather this season as the CSM team welcomes you back with a new blog series. Hop aboard as the CSM team takes you around Miami to visit a variety of museums and cultural sites on our Summer Road Trip.
Stop #1: Museum of Miami
The CSM team recently had the pleasure of paying two visits to the newly renamed Museum of Miami. Located in the same plaza as the Miami-Dade Main Public Library lay the two adjacent buildings where the Museum houses its temporary and permanent exhibits.
On the first floor of the South building are located two of four exhibits meant to encapsulate the history and diversity of Miami. On one side, an exhibit called It’s a Miami Thing houses an assortment of Miami memorabilia including a collection of orange themed merchandise, a Cuban refugee raft, a kit to look like Mr. 305 himself (bald cap and sunglasses included), and a chalkboard where visitors can become a part of the exhibit by drawing their “Miami thing.”
The other half of the first floor houses the other permanent exhibit in this section of the museum called Folklife Gallery. This gallery serves as a space to view the museum’s variety of artifacts showcasing South Florida’s cultural diversity including a Haitian “Recho Chabon”, a Cuban “Caja China”, Ukrainian Beadwork, a Trinidadian Steelpan, and a Quran.
Upstairs, you will be able to see two of the museum’s temporary exhibits that will be available through August 2nd. One exhibition, called Belonging in Transit, features photography by Carlos Muñoz, which gives a realistic glimpse into the lives of migrant communities through photos of hands, shoes, and workplaces.
The other exhibition was curated in collaboration with Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum and is called Yakne Seminoli or “Seminole World.” Over 25 Seminole artists transform history into art in this multi-medium collection which includes clothing, photos, dolls, and weaved baskets (my favorite being the Sonic-themed basket with “Gotta Go Fast” in the center and a Sonic figure racing towards a loop with an interior lined with gold rings).
In the North building next door, the Museum of Miami hosts Miami’s highly anticipated stop on the “Freedom Plane National Tour” by the National Archives, where, through July 5th, guests can view a small collection of some of the founding documents of the United States that bookmark the history of America’s journey towards independence. You can see an original stone engraving of the Declaration of Independence, the voting record of the constitutional convention showing the final vote on the constitution, and the Oath of Allegiance of George Washington, Aaron Burr, and Alexander Hamilton. After exiting the limited exhibition, visitors can view the Whitman Family Gallery, a permanent exhibit showing 100 years of an influential Miami Beach family through photographs and objects.
The entire upstairs floor of this building houses the museum’s permanent Tropical Dreams exhibit where guests can time travel through 10,000 years of South Florida’s history from the first arrival of people to the region to its modern reputation as a cultural melting pot and entry point for many immigrants from the Caribbean and Latin America.
Don’t miss out on the chance to view all of these exciting exhibits this summer at the Museum of Miami and follow us on our Summer Road Trip!
To visit yourself for only $5, secure your Culture Shock tickets here: cultureshockmiami.com/events/museum-miami.