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Exhibitions at the Library
Art Services & Exhibitions Division
About
The Library System has a long history of cultural and educational exhibitions, and makes a special call to artists on a rolling basis for temporary exhibitions that correspond to selected annual themes and/or that highlight the library’s permanent art collection and services.
Additionally, the Vasari Project is an archive that documents the development of the visual arts in Miami‑Dade County since 1945.
For more information about the art collection, exhibition programs, call 305‑375‑5599 or e‑mail art@mdpls.org.
Art at the Library
Permanent Art Collection
A collection of over 7,000 works with focus on African American, Latino, and Miami artists. The Vasari Project
Dedicated to documenting, collecting and preserving Miami‑Dade County's art history from 1945 to the present. Virtual Art Exhibitions
Virtual exhibitions highlighting works from the library's art collection. Each exhibit features high-resolution scans of the artwork and is searchable.
A collection of over 7,000 works with focus on African American, Latino, and Miami artists. The Vasari Project
Dedicated to documenting, collecting and preserving Miami‑Dade County's art history from 1945 to the present. Virtual Art Exhibitions
Virtual exhibitions highlighting works from the library's art collection. Each exhibit features high-resolution scans of the artwork and is searchable.
A Visual Narrative
Miami-Dade Public Library System's Permanent Art Collection and Exhibitions
A Closer Look at the Artwork of Emilio Sanchez
Library Artist-in-Residence Program
Interview with Jacob Brillhart, Rocco Ceo, Victor Deupi
Library Exhibitions
Pedestrian 1985 & 2015
Street Photography In Downtown with Liam Crotty and David Spitzer
Current Exhibitions & Programs
MDPLS Author Series
Lunchtime Poetry & Jazz @ the Library
Featuring Caroline Cabrera and Madison Whatley
Thursday, August 1
Noon - 1:00 p.m.
Join us for an interactive poetry and jazz program featuring Caroline Cabrera and Madison Whatley, who will read their works while accompanied by live music performed by the Diego Melgar Jazz Trio.
Hosted by Miami-Dade County Poetry Ambassador Nicole Tallman and Library Curator and Poet Oscar Fuentes.
All ages.
It’s Possible to See Without Sight: A Multi-Sensory POP-UP Art Experience
Featuring guest speaker, Virginia Jacko, President & CEO of Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired
July 8 – August 30
Discover It's Possible to See Without Sight, an interactive exhibition featuring tactile, multi-sensory paintings created by various older adult student artists, on view now through August 30.
The exhibit features scannable QR codes at the bottom of each painting for an immersive experience. Simply scan the QR codes to hear a description of the inspiration behind each artists' incredible piece. Don't miss this unique opportunity to explore art beyond sight. Gentle touching of the artworks is encouraged.
Presented by Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired in collaboration with the Miami-Dade Public Library System's Braille and Talking Books Library.
Margarita Cano, Cuba: Paradise Lost, 2004
Cover to Cover: Book Arts in Miami
Presented by the Library's Vasari Project
June 29 – August 24
Closing Reception
Saturday, August 17
Noon – 4:00 p.m.
Light refreshments will be served with music by Baby B Strings.
Dive into the world of artists' books and zines with Cover to Cover: Book Arts in Miami. Explore the unique creations that stretch our imagination of what a book is and can be. These works of art challenge formal ideas and play with our sense of the traditional book form.
Featured artists and organizations include Margarita Cano, Tom Virgin, Purvis Young, Marilyn Gottlieb-Roberts, Claire Jeanine Satin, Carol Todaro, Barbara Young, Robert Huff, Jen Clay, Onajide Shabaka, Christian Feneck, Betye Saar, Edwin Beauchamp, Michelle A.M. Miller, EXILE Projects, IS Projects.
This exhibition was made possible through generous funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Miami-Dade County Cultural Affairs.
De Natura Libris
By Álvaro Alejandro López
June 21 – September 19
Revel on the bold photographic series titled De Natura Libris as it portrays our interactions with books – both physical and abstract. The corporeality of a book is captured through its structures, textures, forms and signs of use. Experiences brought on from reading and touching a book are ultimately individual, evoked by various attributes, such as the contents of a book, its textures and smells, the memories it awakens or simply the aesthetic beauty of its parts. By reading and using books, people create connections. Each journey through a book is personal, as are the interpretation of these photographs.
Martin’s Footprints: Marches in Coconut Grove & Goulds
By Symone Titania Major
June 28 – September 2
Martin’s Footprints: Marches in Coconut Grove & Goulds is a documentary photography series by Symone Titania Major, a recipient of the John S. & James L. Knight Foundation’s 2021 Knight Arts Challenge Award. The black and white photographs in this series document the duality of two historical marches that took place in Miami during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first march was held on June 13, 2020 in Coconut Grove as a protest toward police brutality. The second march was held in the Goulds neighborhood of Miami on April 10, 2021 and protested for an end to gun violence. This series was originally exhibited in 2022 at the Historic Coconut Grove Museum and a selection of these photographs have been shown at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the Augusta Savage Gallery as part of the group exhibition titled As We Move Forward curated by Nhadya Lawes and Juana Valdes.
Become Ocean: Art from World Ocean Day Celebrations
Curated by Ombretta Agró Andruff, Founder and Executive Director at ARTSail
May 1 - August 31
In commemoration of international World Ocean Day on June 8, ARTSail in partnership with the Blue Scholars Initiative, gives rise to the power of visual arts as a creative champion of environmental stewardship with their annual World Ocean Weekend Celebration. Crafted with the aim of promoting ocean conservation awareness, ARTSail offers an array of free activities during the event, including art installations, recreation, impact, science, education, and entertainment.
This exhibition presents a selection of the entire Ocean Flags collection, commissioned annually by ARTSail from different artists. These flags, celebrating the beauty and urgency of marine ecosystems, are unveiled each year at the World Ocean Day Celebration. Three artists/collectives have contributed since the program’s inception in 2021.
Featured artists: AMLgMATD, Beatriz Chachamovits, Deborah Mitchell (post June 8), Maria Useche (post June 8), Marina Zurkow with Una Chaudhuri.
