Miami Dade College Art Gallery System. Art in an Educational Environment

By Marguerite Gil

There aren’t too many galleries anywhere that can boast forty years of continuous commitment to the arts. Most galleries don’t easily get past that first year test-run, which will either make or break any arts establishment. Dedication, obligations and frustration are an integral part of any artistic success story.

Enter Miami Dade College’s Art Gallery System (AGS). There are six different galleries that are a part of the MDC-AGS. Over 15,000 square feet of exhibition space in its network of galleries and public art spaces, has made this institution a devoted cultural landmark. The programming at the new AGS encompasses all aspects of the visual arts: painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, photography, architecture, design and decorative arts, video film and performance art.

Each gallery in the AGS organizes its own exhibitions and also programs a series of satellite events which include: lectures, opening night receptions, panel discussions, informal talks, planned school visits, arts in education programs, seminars on key issues, workshops and a host of outreach activities which invite the community to “get actively involved” in the arts process.

Over the last four decades, the six independent galleries at the College have hosted exhibitions by many of today’s most prominent artists such as Aaron Siskind, James Rosenquist, Carlos Alfonzo, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Purvis Young, Luis Cruz Azaceta and Ana Mendieta. The galleries have also served as a testing ground for young and emerging talent from South Florida such as Glexis Novoa, Luis Gispert, and Jay Ore.

The MDG-AGS’s ongoing mission has consistently been to encourage the appreciation and understanding of art and its role in society through direct engagement with original works of art and art-related creative processes.

MDC-AGS Art Director Jorge Luis Gutierrez, who is also chief curator for all of the galleries, had this to say about the college’s planning program “We are developing several areas of approach to the creative process. There is the traditional historical approach that was predominant in the 60’s and 70’s with a spotlight on drawing, painting and sculpture. Our Francisco de Goya’s The Disasters of War (Gallery North, June 14, 2007) documents the brutality of the Peninsular War (1808-1814) between Spanish guerrilla forces and occupying French troops in Spain and Portugal, and falls into that traditional category” Gutierrez continued by stating “but with the new technologies available today, we can also organize an exhibition like Please don’t hang up to be held at the Inter-American Campus Gallery on January 31st, 2007.

Our Inter-American Gallery will host this unusual exhibition, where anyone can photograph all aspects of our lives with their cell phones. We’re trying to incite people to deal with the present and show us their views and the innovative sides of the creative process. It explores new ways of creating and experiencing digital art. It’s experimental and interactive and highly important to our community. It entices people to come into our galleries and view the world through the eyes of young digital artists. With our multi-cultural South Florida society, we are establishing an approach that considers art a dynamic experiment that caters to the needs of its inhabitants. We’re also planning a formidable future exchange with Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America. A worldly art lab of sorts.”

The MDC-AGS 2006-2007 calendar will debut with a comprehensive Permanent Art Collection exhibition in all of the art spaces starting on September 21, 2006. Future shows will deal with religious iconography, architectural renderings, graphic arts and vision and sound.

Miami Dade College Art Gallery System
25 NE 2nd Street, Room 5501,
Miami, FL 33132
305.273.7186
www.mdc.edu