Event
Geographies of Trash Walking Tour with Ahol Sniffs Glue
In Collaboration with FIU Ratcliffe Art + Design Incubator
In Collaboration with FIU Ratcliffe Art + Design Incubator
Panelists
David Anasagasti, Artist
Melissa Harmon, PBS, Principal Director, Content,
Dr. Rebecca Friedman, FIU Director, Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab, Professor of History
Neil D. Ramsay, FIU, Research Associate, Ratcliffe Art + Design Incubator
Laura Guerrero, Curator Oolite Arts
Moderated by: Dr. Jacek J. Kolasiński, FIU, Director of Ratcliffe Art + Design Incubator, Professor of Art + Art History
Join us at our 924 gallery space on Lincoln Road for panel discussion “Conversation on Socially Engaged Art Practice” hosted in collaboration with the FIU Ratcliffe Art + Design Incubator. The panel will be followed by a walking tour of Miami Beach led by artist Ahol Sniffs Glue. This event is an activation of Ahol’s project at FIU Ratcliffe entitled, “Geographies of Trash,” in which he transforms discarded objects from Miami’s cityscape into coveted works of art. As he tags pieces of “garbage,” elevating them to the realm of “art,” Ahol photographs them, posts the images on Instagram, and leaves them for a lucky person to discover and take home. Participants of this tour will receive a POAP (“Proof of Attendance Protocol”) NFT minted by Ahol as a collectible memento of this tour. Ahol Sniffs Glue is one of the 47 artists currently on view at Oolite Arts summer exhibition, “It Was Always About You….”
About the Artist:
Ahol Sniffs Glue is a Cuban-American artist from Hialeah, Florida. His raw yet instantly recognizable street murals evaporate the divide between high and low art. He often draws inspiration from the urban environment and systems of society which dehumanize its inhabitants. He is best known for his signature drowsy eyes, reflecting his unique vision of life, labor, and unrequited love of the mean streets of Miami.
About the Panelists:
Jacek J. Kolasiński is the founding Director of the Ratcliffe Incubator of Art + Design in the FIU College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts, is an Associate Professor of Art at the Art + Art History Department at Florida International University where he previously served as the Department Chair for six years. He came to the United States from Poland where he studied history and philosophy at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations. Kolasiński received his MFA and BFA from Florida International University in Miami, and his Ph.D. from the prestigious Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Poland. Through his creative work, Kolasiński has tested complex trans-disciplinary collaborative productions, multimedia installations, single and multiple channel video projections, 3d digital fabrications, as well as community-based, and site-specific projects. He is a research-based artist who actively engages with art historical and artistic communities.
Dr. Rebecca Friedman has served at Florida International University as the Director of the European Union Center of Excellence/European and Eurasian Studies for over eight years and since 2012, she serves as the Faculty Fellow in the Office of the Provost and in 2019, she was named Director of the Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab, one of FIU’s Emerging Preeminent Programs.Her research focuses on the history and culture of modern Russia. Her monograph Modernity, Domesticity and Temporality in Modern Russia: Time at Home explores how, from the nostalgic landed estate with its backward gaze to the present-focused and efficient urban apartment to the utopian communal dreams of a Soviet future, the idea of time was deeply embedded in Russian domestic life.
Neil Ramsay is visiting faculty in residence at Ratcliffe Art + Design Incubator and instructor for design and visual arts at Florida International University. He also works as a NEW INC mentor, Hudson Community Incubator advisor, creative capital consultant, founder of the experimental art space, ArtsUP! and concepts, and a consulting director of FATVillage Arts District in Fort Lauderdale. As a creative economist, business advisor, designer of experiential learning platforms, artist, speaker and mentor with an interest in nonlinear solutions, his current practice focuses on a cross-sector integration of economics, art, and education. He has a professional history ranging from clinician to controller across industries: medical, maritime and e-commerce. Ramsay spent several years in what he endearingly refers to as “the world behind non-disclosure agreements,” consulting early-stage companies. He has also observed a broad range of internal business operations, a spectrum he believes helped form a lateral problem-solving style in the support of new projects/ventures.
Melissa Harmon is the Senior Director of Production at South Florida PBS and media trailblazer. She is a digital media and communications advisor with more than 20 years of experience in local and national news. She has a Bachelor of Science in Communications from Florida International University. She served as Senior Producer of the Nightly Business Report (PBS)/WPBT2 for over six years. She led the editorial decision making for public television’s iconic business news program through the financial crisis, the housing bust, the 2012 election, and the fiscal cliff, sequester, and stock market highs of 2012–2013. Before that, she served as the program’s head writer and backup producer for eleven years, producing and fielding series, award-winning special editions, and daily segments. Before joining PBS, she worked as a Morning News Anchor and News Director at WFLC/Cox Radio for over five years. She served as News Producer, Anchor, and Host at Cox Miami stations WIOD, WFLC and WHQT from 1991 – 2002.
Sat, Sep 2, 2023
9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Oolite Arts
924 Lincoln Road
Miami Beach, FL 33139