Join us to experience South Florida's coral reefs up close and personal with artist and master ceramicist Lauren Shapiro during a curated snorkeling expedition to Key Largo.
Learn about Lauren’s upcoming Blue Horizon Project, a future public sculpture that inspires environmental responsibility through participation and ceramics, and get a glimpse of her texture-capturing processes in the field, where she uses underwater photography to capture 3D models for casting ceramic molds. Our experience will be documented by a local lens-based artist, which will ultimately help Lauren tell the story and share the impact of this project on our community.
An all-day affair, the exclusive adventure begins at 11:45 AM at Silent World Dive Center in Key Largo and includes a boat ride to two coral reef sites. We will return at approximately 4:30 PM. All are invited to join after for an optional dinner nearby at The Buzzard's Roost, a waterfront seafood eatery with the requisite tiki bar and captivating cove views.
Your contribution of $120 will go toward underwriting the trip’s cost and supporting The Blue Horizon Project.
The Blue Horizon x Commissioner Snorkeling Expedition
Saturday, May 18, 2024
11:45 AM | Check-in
12:30 PM | Set sail
4:30 PM | Return
After | Optional dinner (not included, order and pay à la carte)
Boat Dock: Silent World Dive Center
51 Garden Cove Dr.,
Key Largo, FL 33037
The snorkeling expedition includes all snorkel gear, onboard snacks and beverages, and a dive guide. The captain and crew will also be on-site to answer any questions and help us swim with the seas. Registration opens May 6 and spaces are very limited.
You can also join Lauren in making the ceramic pieces for her public sculpture at this interactive workshop on land, free and open for everyone:
Sunday, May 26, 11 AM—1 PM | Vizcaya Village Farmers Market, Miami. Explore Vizcaya’s historic farm and village and enjoy fresh-made delicacies, hand-crafted goods, and a ceramics workshop under the banyan trees. Free and open for everyone, RSVP here.
About the Blue Horizon Project
Lauren Shapiro is a Miami-based artist who integrates ceramics and technology to explore natural ecosystems. Her Blue Horizon Project is a new public sculpture involving ceramic components molded from 3D-scanned coral reefs. Shapiro aims to unite artists and audiences by engaging the community in creating these ceramics through interactive workshops open to the public. The objects produced will be fired, glazed, and affixed to a monumental, sinking arch sculpture, evoking the sensation of descending into an underwater world where our city is submerged, transforming into an artificial reef colonized by corals. With rising sea levels threatening coral reefs, the project aims to raise awareness about incorporating underwater environments into urban landscapes and promoting environmental sustainability through art and civic engagement.
In 2023, Lauren received the “Anonymous Was a Woman” environmental arts grant from the New York Foundation for the Arts to support the development of this project. You can help advance, too, by making an individual donation here.
About the Artist
Lauren Shapiro (b.1984) is an artist and explorer who lives and works in Miami, Florida. She integrates ceramics and technology to uncover and communicate insights from the natural world, often collaborating with scientists to influence projects that highlight the diverse ecosystems of South Florida and beyond.
Selected solo exhibitions include "Future Pacific" (2020) at Bakehouse Art Complex, Miami, Florida; "Garden Portals" (2021) at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami, Florida; and "Fragile Terrains" (2018) at Bianca Boekel Galeria, São Paulo, Brazil. Selected group exhibitions include "Intricate Oceans, Coral in Contemporary Art" (2023) with Coastal Discovery Museum, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina; "Design Miami" (2021) with Todd Merrill Studio, Miami, Florida; and "Projektraum M54" (2017) in Basel, Switzerland.
Lauren earned an MFA from the University of Miami in 2016. She has received awards and commissions from the New York Foundation for the Arts (2023), Knight Foundation (2021), Andy Warhol Foundation (2019), Miami Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs (2020–2023), and Art in Public Places (2021–2022). Her artwork is part of the Soho House Art Collection and Jorge M. Perez Collection.
Rendering of The Blue Horizon Project, courtesy of the artist