Dispatches from the Field by Misael Soto
In the Department of Reflection's 38th Fieldwork Dispatches, a video work by artist Misael Soto, we dive into a pivotal moment in Miami Beach history: the Democratic and Republican National Conventions of 1972, both of which took place at the Miami Beach Convention Hall. We spend some time on location at the convention center, walk the streets where hundreds if not thousands protested for weeks and visit Flamingo Park where many of those protesters camped.
About Misael Soto
Misael’s prolific practice in public art, which has been exhibited all over the world, includes the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami, at MCA Chicago, and Material Art Fair in Mexico City. They have participated in the ACRE Residency Program in Steuben, WI and HomeBase Project's HB Build Artist-in-Residence program in Berlin, and will participate in Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts Summer Residency Program in Omaha, NE and Santa Fe Art Institute's 2020 residency.
Born in Puerto Rico and based in Miami, Misael received their MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2018) and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor's Degree in Art History from Florida Atlantic University (2008). Misael was the first-ever Art in Public Life Resident with the City of Miami Beach's Department of Environment and Sustainability and Oolite Arts, where they founded the Department of Reflection.
The Department of Reflection presents a foil (or reflection) of municipal entities while producing creative moments of exchange between the municipal institution and its residents. The post-governmental agency collaborates internally with departments to push and interrogate the direction of their work for the community. Since 2018, DoR has worked with the Environment & Sustainability Department of the City of Miami Beach. Through said department, and alongside other city departments, DoR hopes to provide clarity to important city conversations that lead to new ways of thinking and potentially new solutions.
About the Exhibition
Misael's video is part of the exhibition Idioms and Taxonomies curated by Laura Marsh at Oolite Arts opening on July 22, 2020. Featuring 16 artists-in-residence whose practices investigate the dual roles of personal and cultural histories, conversations about how to depict subjects, protect cultural heritage, preserve architectural memory and reflect upon diaspora are all present considerations. In Idioms and Taxonomies, selected works conflate historical and contemporary points of reference, and their nuanced messages implore viewers to examine their relationships to space, community, and isolation, all of which are so very relevant.
Commissioner is a proud commissioning partner of "Department of Reflection - Fieldwork: Dispatches #38" by Misael Soto, an artist who bravely shared space with us earlier this year in our virtual conversation Creatives Convene on COVID-19.