Miami-Dade Public Library System

-Honoring the Library’s Three Graces in the Arts: Margarita Cano, Helen Kohen and Barbara Young-

(MIAMI, JANUARY 13, 2012) – The Friends of the Miami-Dade Public Library are hosting its first annual, Miami Moments – a fundraising evening which honors Helen Kohen, Margarita Cano and Barbara Young – the ‘Three Graces in Arts’ who have helped transform Miami into an international art center. The event takes place on Friday, February 10, 2012 from 7 p.m. – 11 p.m. at the Main Library, 101 West Flagler Street, in downtown Miami. Proceeds will benefit The Vasari Project and the Friends of the Library.

The event recognizes their achievements over the past 40 years of being at the forefront of Miami’s art movement. Kohen was The Miami Herald’s only permanent art critic, working at the paper for more than 20 years; Cano instituted the Library System’s arts program which included building a permanent collection of local and international artists’ works; and Young, a former librarian, who continued to grow the Library System’s permanent collection and curated many exhibitions. 

In 2000, Kohen founded The Vasari Project, an archive of visual arts history in Miami which is housed in the Main Library. The Vasari Project is the only collection of printed matter that documents the history of art in Miami from 1945 to the present. The archive preserves anything relating to, or reflecting, how the visual arts became part of our city’s cultural, social and economic life.

The evening will feature a silent art auction with works by Ed Ruscha, Christo and Emilio Sanchez, along with Miami-based artists such as Carlos Alfonzo, Fernando Garcia and Purvis Young. Other highlights include the Contemporary Vasari raffle, a ‘Three Graces’ video made possible by the Knight Foundation and music by one of the hottest bands in South Florida: The Spam Allstars. Guests are invited to take a self-guided tour of the unique collection of artwork which the Library has been collecting for the past 40 years. 

For event information and to purchase tickets, visit www.miamimoments.org.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Victoria Galan - Public Affairs Officer
Tel. 305.375.5180, galanv@mdpls.org

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