After a successful showing in 2021, the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami (MOCA) is bringing back its “Art on the Plaza” exhibit in 2022. The museum launched “Art on the Plaza,” a series of temporary public art installations on MOCA’s plaza last year to showcase artists, activate the space and connect the museum to the community. The 2021 series featured South Florida artists Reginald O’Neal, Morel Doucet and Stephen Arboite, Najja Moon, Nice n’ Easy and Studio AMLgMATD.
The 2022 display will feature artist Onajide Shabaka starting on April 22. Shabaka has lived in California and Florida, where his art practice is connected through historical/biographical themes related to geography, including African diaspora and Native American cultures.
For 2022, MOCA is providing the opportunity for local artists to submit their work through an open call. MOCA is requesting qualifications from professional artists to promote temporary installations on its public plaza. The museum will also host a series of programming to coincide with the art installations throughout the year. Selected artworks include but are not limited to: the building façade or architecture, interventions within or incorporating the fountain, free-standing elements, light-based artworks/projections, participatory artworks adhering to social distancing guidelines, or landscape-based artworks or earthworks.
“After a successful debut in 2021, we are thrilled to launch ‘Art on the Plaza’ again this year,” Chana Budgazad Sheldon says, MOCA Executive Director. “Offering South Florida artists the opportunity to submit through an open call supports MOCA’s goals of facilitating cultural engagement and fostering a connection with the community and beyond. ‘Art on the Plaza’ offers a boost of creative energy accessible to visitors and passersby. We are very pleased to commission and support local artists for these temporary installations.”
Interested artists are invited to make proposals for temporary public art installations that span three to four months, with projects opening in July and September 2022. Each selected artist can be awarded up to $13,000. The first commission’s installation will be on view from July 2022 through mid-September and the second commission’s installation will be on view from late September 2022 through January 2023. Amanda Sanfilippo Long, who currently serves as Curator and Artist Manager for the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, Art in Public Places program, is organizing the program.
“I am honored and excited to partner with MOCA once again to host ‘Art on the Plaza,’” Sanfilippo Long says. “This program brings imaginative contemporary art exhibitions and programming to a wide range of audiences while bringing diverse cultural and thought-provoking subjects to the forefront.”
For more information, email [email protected] using “2022 Art on the Plaza” as the email subject line.
