2022-2023 Annual Highlights Report

MAKING ART HAPPEN FOR 25 YEARS

Annual Highlights

September 2022 - August 2023

Founded by artists for artists in 1998, Locust Projects is Miami’s longest running nonprofit alternative art space. We produce, present, and nurture art and the exchange of ideas through commissioned exhibitions and projects, artist residencies, summer art intensives for teens, and public programs curatorial practice.

Founded by artists for artists in 1998, Locust Projects is Miami’s longest running nonprofit alternative art space. We produce, present, and nurture ambitious and experimental new art and the exchange of ideas through commissioned exhibitions and projects, artist residencies, summer art intensives for teens, and public programs on contemporary art and curatorial practice.

As a leading incubator of new art and ideas, Locust Projects emphasizes boundary-pushing creative endeavors, risk-taking and experimentation artists. Over the past 25 years, Locust Projects has commissioned more than 200 exhibitions featuring 485 artists at all career stages and highlighting out-of-town artists-in-residence building a network of peers. We invest in South Florida’s arts community by annually providing artists with WaveMaker empowering creative careers by supporting the administrative work of being an artist through an onsite artist resource hub, including a future Knight-funded and access to LegalARTLink’s pro bono legal services.

As a leading incubator of new art and ideas, Locust Projects emphasizes boundary-pushing creative endeavors, risk-taking and experimentation by local, national and international artists. Over the past 25 years, Locust Projects has commissioned more than 200 exhibitions featuring 485 artists at all career stages and highlighting Miami artists alongside out-of-town artists-in-residence building a network of peers. We invest in South Florida’s arts community by annually providing artists with WaveMaker Incubator grants and empowering creative careers by supporting the administrative work of being an artist through an onsite artist resource hub, including a future Knight-funded Digital Innovation Lab, and access to LegalARTLink’s pro bono legal services.

In 2023 Locust Projects kicked o its 25th anniversary with the inauguration of our new space in Little River. The 8,000 square foot former warehouse opportunities for supporting experimental artistic production, allowing Locust Projects to continue to o er artists the space, time, and resources scale in ways that are not possible in traditional venues.

In 2023 Locust Projects kicked off its 25th anniversary with the inauguration of our new space in Little River. The 8,000 square foot former warehouse offers expanded program opportunities for supporting experimental artistic production, allowing Locust Projects to continue to offer artists the space, time, and resources to take risks and work on a large- scale in ways that are not possible in traditional venues.

Key to our success is our community of supporters. Please consider supporting the INCUBATOR ANNUAL FUND or joining the INNOVATORS and

We’re excited to share highlights from the past year with you. Thank you for your helping us to MAKE ART HAPPEN!

531 applicants

9 exhibitions

20 public programs

14 artists

5 Miami artists

9 non-Miami based artists

NEW HOME

Propelled by a matching grant from Dede Moss, Locust Projects was able to secure a long-term lease and move to a new home in Little River this year. The new space is double the size offering more programming and commissioned exhibition opportunities to artists. With 17-foot high ceilings, an open floor plan, and access to a large enclosed courtyard, the new space is an expanded laboratory for local, national, and international artists to experiment with new media and materials. The larger space has allowed for the build out of a project room as well as offering studio spaces to artists and housing our future Digital Innovation Learning Lab.

EXHIBITIONS

Supporting local, national and international artists at all career stages, Locust Projects is the only Miami organization dedicated to producing and presenting ambitious and experimental site-specific installations by local, national and international artists.

We are distinct in supporting artists in creating large-scale installations and providing them with curatorial guidance, artist fees, production budgets, and two to ten week residencies.

We foster connections to Miami’s arts community and the public through free public programs and free admission. Locust Projects has presented more than 209 commissioned projects by over 485 local, national and international artists.

Leo Castañeda: Herramientas (Levels & Bosses)

September 10 -

November 5, 2022

Leo Castañeda: Herramientas (Levels & Bosses) was made possible, in part, with support from Oolite Arts’ Ellies Creator Awards in 2018 and 2021; Emergent Strategy Ideation Institute’s Praxis Projects in 2022; The Harpo Foundation in 2021; and a Locust Projects Wavemaker Grant in 2018. The artist and Otro Inventario wish to thank ICA Miami, MUD Foundation, and Studio Shell for their support of Herramientas (Levels & Bosses).

WATCH NOW! Behind the Scenes with the Artist

“Locust Projects is the first gallery that allowed us to prototype what working with programmers could look like. Now we have an exhibition showing a prototype for the prologue of the game we hope to launch in the nextfew years.”

— Lauren

Monzón, Co-founder of Otro Inventario

Zac Hacmon: mia

September 10 -

November 5, 2022

Zac Hacmon: mia was made possible, in part, through support from an Artis grant.

WATCH NOW! Behind the Scenes with the Artist

“As an installation artist, you don’t always get the opportunity to transform the space, to cover the walls, to take the ceiling down and that’s something that Locust allows you. For me this show is very significant to finally actualize something that I had in my head for such a long time. ”

— Zac Hacmon

PUBLIC PROGRAM

WORLD BUILDING IN THE AGE OF AI

November 2, 2022

Castañeda’s program was a hybrid inperson/online event featuring Leo and members of new art-house gaming studio, Otro Inventario in a discussion on the development of Herramientas: Levels & Bosses game + exhibition. The artists revealed their creative processes and technical tools for worldbuilding through Artificial Intelligence. Laurie Rojas provided contemporary art historical context to ground the work within a lineage of digital art.

PUBLIC PROGRAM

INVISIBLE NICARAGUA

November 1, 2022

Hacmon’s program, Invisible Nicaragua, was a roundtable exploring the context of Mia. The zoom conversation featured Hacmon, Alexa (who the show was inspired by) and Nicaraguan-born, Miami-based artist Marisa Telleria, moderated by curator and writer Emerith Herrera Valdes. Hacmon and Alexa spoke about their multi-year collaboration that informed Mia.

Sound, Stories:

Ania Freer

Helina Metaferia

Ambrose Rhapsody Murray

September 10 -

November 5, 2021

Guest Curated by Heike Dempster

Film Stills from Helina Metaferia’s,

Film Still from Ania Freer’s,

Exploring ancestral realms and engaging in the process of rewriting histories/herstories, Sound, Stories, the sixth in a series of guest curated video exhibitions in Locust Projects’ Screening Room that launched in fall 2019, moves across the oceans that connect the African Diaspora. The exhibition posed the questions: What is contained in the language of the people, What are the narratives, sounds and identities inhabiting the landscape? This series of videos engages in layers of epistemological considerations and renegotiate perspectives of relation between cultural identities and space— moving from the Jamaican countryside to the waters of North Carolina and the contemporary gallery space— where we meet to contemplate the power of narrative and heritage and addressing power structures and celebrating community.

Riva Maid

Film Stills from Ambrose Rhapsody Murray’s, Deep Waters

Ronny Quevedo: ule ole allez

November 29, 2022 -

February 4, 2023

Ronny Quevedo: ule ole allez was supported in part by Funding Arts Network.

OPENING PROGRAM

COMMUNITY DAYS

November 20 and 21, 2022

Locust Projects invited the Miami community to come and activate Ronny’s installation ule ole allez in our Main Gallery before it opened to the public.

Ule ole allez honors the passion for play found in Miami’s Caribbean, Central, and South American soccer and futsal communities. Players came to the gallery during the first two days of the 2022 FIFA World Cup to participate in friendly matches using ink and chalk covered balls. As a form of collaboration, the players’ movements were captured through marks left behind on the gallery’s walls and floors creating an accumulation of color and action.

T. Eliott Mansa: Room for the Living/ Room for the dead

November 29, 2022February 4, 2023

T. Eliott Mansa: Room for the living/Room for the dead was made possible in part with support from Oolite Arts’ Ellies Creator Awards.

WATCH NOW! Behind the Scenes with the Artist

“Locust Projects gave me the experience to be able to encorporate the audience into an interactive space. Moving forward I want to find ways to engage the audience in other ways beyond the materiality of what I deal with.”

— T. Eliott Mansa

CLOSING PROGRAM

MORNING JOY

January 28, 2023

A closing cookout and celebration! The artist invited friends and family to gather and share a moment of joy as we closed out Room for the living/Room for the dead and Locust Projects’ final days in its Design District location. Guests dropped by for a fish fry by Heavyweight BBQ and semi-formal card and domino tournaments throughout the day.

Portals of Introspection:

Dimitry Chamy

Mikey Please

Duke Riley

Paul Ward

November 29, 2022 -

February 4, 2023

Guest curated by Donnamarie Baptiste

Film Still from Paul Ward’s, Mami Wata (Luck is Alive)

Film Still from Dimitry Chamy’s, Portals (of the Night Garden)

“Often used to refer to internal selfawareness, or looking inward, the word introspection evokes varying thoughts and feelings among individuals depending on their experiences and emotions. The selected films reveal different journeys of introspection used to accomplish a desired outcome.

When one is truly passionate, what seems complicated can become simple, and the mundane can become extraordinary. Highlighting connections between humans and our environment, artistic desire and how we navigate through life each day, this collection of films delves deeply to understand our engagement and place in the world.”

— Donnamarie Baptiste, Guest Curator

Film Still from Mikey Please’s, Marilyn Myller

Film Still from Duke Riley’s, FLY BY NIGHT

Rafael Domenech: assembling beneath a desire for sabotage

February 4 - April 9, 2022

Domenech’s architectural intervention at Locust Projects is redefined the exhibition experience as an active machine for production and dialogue rather than a repository space for passive viewing. Activations, conceived as a series of “chapters” informed by Domenech’s history of working with artist’s books and experimental publishing formats, punctuated the run of the show, evolving in and through the community’s active participation.

WATCH NOW!

Behind the Scenes with the Artist

“Locust Projects helped create a diversity of practices and voices for the city, by develping a space where artists can come and explore ideas without the financial pressure, with no ovjectives or goals outside of being there to make art.”

— Rafael Domenech

Chapter 1: Conversation with Talia

Heiman

February 18, 2023

A conversation in the in-progress installation assembling beneath a desire for sabotage on process and exhibition design between Rafael Domenech and Talia Heiman, who served on the curatorial team for the 58th Carnegie International in Pittsburgh, building on the artist’s recent pavilion there and the work that was in progress at Locust Projects.

Chapter 2: Social Factory

February 22, 2023

A collaborative lamp-building workshop during the project’s construction where participants created a collective poem-mural which was deconstructed into individual fragments and turned into light sculptures. The lamps became part of the exhibition and participants were able to claim their lamp once the exhibition closed.

CHAPTER 3: 25th Anniversary Benefit Dinner Honoring

Dede Moss

February 25, 2023

This year’s Benefit Dinner celebrated a significant 25-year milestone and new chapter in our new home in Little River. Domenech’s installation served as the setting for a unique interactive dining experience created by the artist in collaboration with Le Basque caterers..

CHAPTER 4: Community Celebration

March 4, 2023

The public celebration of the opening of Rafael Domenech’s assembling beneath a desire for sabotage drew hundreds of friends old and new who enjoyed Shorty’s BBQ and drinks as well as the opportunity to meet the artist and explore the interactive installation. Attendees walked through the freeflowing rooms layering their own experiences within what the artist calls an “active machine of production” versus a passive viewing experience.

CHAPTER 5: DANCE NOW MIAMI x SUSIE K TAYLOR

THE THINKER’S THOUGHTS

June 21, 2023

The second to last Chapter in Domenech’s evolving project featured a newly commissioned performance by Dance NOW! Miami inspired by the installation envisioned by Susie K. Taylor. The matinee and evening performances invited the audience to move with the performers as they activated various “chambers” of the installation, compartmentalizing and deconstructing the architecture of the space while taking them on a journey of self-discovery and rebirth.

Special thanks to Dance NOW! Miami Artistic Directors Hannah Baumgarten and Diego Salteri and DNM Associate Director Allyn Ginns Ayers (also Locust Projects’ LegalARTLink Director) for their openness to embracing experimentation and collaboration in creating this new work and activating the exhibition with their vision.

CHAPTER 6:

Locust Art Builders (AKA LAB)

June 20 - July 21

For the final Chapter of assembling beneath a desire for sabotage the artist invited the 2023 LAB students to reuse recycle or repurpose his installation allowing it to live on through their interventions and vision. Students were instructed on how to safely dismantle the materials and reconfigure them for their collaborative exhibition.

LAB MFA: Nicki Duval and Robbie Trocchia bout

July 22 - August 5, 2023

Duval and Trocchia, MFA candidates in Digital Arts & New Media at University of California Santa Cruz, spent their residency developing a new iteration of bout, a work that deconstructs competitive boxing and the work of early 20th-century realist painter George Bellows, erasing boundaries between arts and athletics.

The performance at Locust Projects featured Miami-based boxers, Jhon Matos and Nick Plessett, as collaborators in an expansion of the original choreography. Staged after dark in the Courtyard at Locust, spectators witnessed what the artists describe as, “tropes of Bellows’ brutal works reconfigured through a tender collaborative structure. Sound and gesture work together to destabilize and question codes of masculinity in boxing, offering a queer grammar of touch that participates in the lineage of performance work by artists like Cassils.”

The artists also created a new single-channel video that remixes the performance, amplifying the gestures and transforming the temporality of boxing in a dynamic display of sound and motion.

NEXT GENERATION

Now in its 13th year, Locust Art Builders: Summer Art Intensive for Teens, aka LAB, is a unique five-week pre-college program for high school students with an interest in art, design, and exploring creative careers.

LAB promotes contemporary art and project-based learning as a means to encourage creativity, critical analysis, and problem solving, while building communication skills. LAB extends Locust Projects’ nearly 25-year commitment as an incubator of new art and ideas, by supporting experimentation and innovation in artistic practice with the next generation of South Florida artists.

This year’s diverse group of 20 students from 9 Miami-Dade County high schools were selected through an online open call process for the opportunity to learn from Co-Directors and Lead Artist Mentors Loni Johnson and Chire Regans among other professional artists in a dynamic five week on-site program and build an art exhibition from scratch in Locust Projects’ new art space in Little River. Each year’s exhibition evolves as a unique and timely reflection of the current issues and ideas impacting youth today.

Special thanks to workshop presenters and guest speakers: Victoria Ravelo, Tom Mickelson, Laura Navoa, Tom Virgin, Jen Clay, Eddie Brown, Nicole Combeau, and Lorie Mertes.

“At first collaborating with fellow students was hard as I was not used to team work and felt like I could not express my views, however as I got to know them better I realized they offered help in fields I was not familiar with and a new perspective to every issue.”

— 2023 LAB Student

Stronger on the Other Side: The 2023 Locust Art Builders Exhibition

July 22 - August 5

“Stronger on the Other Side exposes how deeply the notion of conventionality is ingrained into our mentalities by showcasing the many ways we come face to face with pressures. Come and experience our transformative journey as we begin to embrace the challenges and emerge stronger on the other side.”

— Artist statement by

2023 LAB cohort

WATCH NOW! Behind the Scenes with the LAB students

INTERNSHIPS

As part of this commitment we extend paid opportunities to high-school and college-level interns each summer to support the summer art intensive and exhibition programs. Interns are given project assignments during their time at Locust. Castaneda’s and Angeletti’s projects included documenting both LAB over the five-week installation for a behind-the-scenes look at the LAB experience and development of the students’ collaborative exhibition culminating in their final project - the LAB documentary video—which both Juliette and Mila filmed, edited and sound produced. Our third LAB Intern Daniela Pearson was a past LAB student who returned because of their love of the installation process and was vital in supporting the student artists and assisting the Locust prep crew.

Daniela Pearson, a 2022 LAB student and graduate of STEM magnet school Barbara Goleman Senior High, supported day to day activities as well as installation prep.

Juliette Castaneda, a rising senior at the Maritime and Science Technology Academy, was responsible for the production of this year’s student-produced LAB video.

Mila Angeletti, also a rising senior at the Maritime and Science Technology Academy, worked closely with Juliette, documenting the interns’ experience making of the LAB video in a blog post and interview.

“The students were guided by both Chire Regans and Loni Johnson who constantly encouraged artistic growth. It was under their guidance that the students were exposed to deep-seated group conversations, stimulating art workshops, and informative presentations done by local artists. Through each of these individual experiences the students began to develop their artistic voice. After all, they titled their exhibition Stronger on the Other Side, and I think that itself encapsulates how they saw themselves once the program ended.”

— Mila Angeletti, 2023 LAB summer intern.

Read Mila’s interview with fellow intern Juliette Castaneda on creating the LAB documentary videos on our CLOSER LOOK blog.

ARTIST RESOURCES

Locust Projects supports Miami-based artists with a number of resources helping to support and sustain their creative careers including incubator grants and professional development opportunities.

WAVEMAKER GRANTS - WaveMaker incubator grants has awarded more than $570,000 to 116 of Miami’s visionary artists over the last six years supporting new, publicly accessible projects in non-traditional spaces across Miami-Dade. As a national regranting program of the Warhol Foundation, WaveMaker grants have provided seed funding for several of Miami’s artist-run initiatives and projects.

LEGALARTLINK - Artists of all disciplines can empower and expand their careers with support from LegalARTLink’s pro bono legal services and professional development resources including online webinars and on-site workshops.

The 2023 WaveMaker selection panel included: Terence Price, Miami-based artist and 2022 WaveMaker grantee for Finding Sue; Adeze Wilford, Curator at MOCA North Miami; Amelia Broussard, Director of Artist Initiatives and Exhibitions at Antenna Gallery, the Andy Warhol Foundation Regional Regranting partner in New Orleans; and Kalaija Mallery, Executive and Artistic Director The Luminary the Andy Warhol Foundation

WAVEMAKER GRANTEES

In the spirit of Locust Projects’ artist-driven mission, WaveMakers experiment and take risks, creating innovative work that is shared with the public in unconventional spaces.

After a dynamic selection process among 134 applicants, the Cycle 10 WaveMaker grantees receiving $6,000 each are: New Work / Projects: Trish Gutierrez and Nicole

Pedraza, Monica Lopez de Victoria, Laura Marsh, Karen McKinnon and Caecilia Tripp, misael soto, and Hsieh Yi

Chin; Long-Haul Projects: Nicole Nyariri and Third Portal; Research & Development + Implementation: Isabella

Marie Garcia, Luna Palazzolo, Christina Pettersson, Martina Malka Potlach, and Monica Sorelle.

WaveMaker Grants are made possible by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts’ Regional Regranting Program, a network of 32 partner organizations across the country.

Learn more about the 2023 WaveMakers here.

WAVEMAKER SPLASH PARTY

September 8, 2023

Locust Projects’ 2023 Splash! Party at Soho Pool House celebrated the 13 Miami artists and collectives who received WaveMaker incubator grants for publicly accessible, community-driven projects across Miami supported annually since 2015 by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts’ Regional Regranting Program.

More than seventy attendees, including Miami’s community of artists, current and past WaveMaker grantees, collectors, curators, and prominent members of the Locust Projects Board of Trustees mixed and mingled and got to know more about the award-winning artists and their projects. To commemorate the celebration, the first 50 attendees were presented with limited edition WaveMaker SPLASH! Towel design by past WaveMaker grantee, Onajide Shabaka.

LEGALARTLINK

At Locust Projects we are driven by a mission to provide access to opportunities and resources that nurture, sustain, and empower creative careers. Since it was founded in 2003, LegalARTLink at Locust Projects protects the livelihoods, businesses, and art works of Miami-based creatives of all artistic disciplines through access to pro bono legal services and education.Artists working in any discipline receive referrals to pro-bono attorneys, one-on-one legal counseling, and invitations to professional development workshops on a broad range of legal issues including copyright, trademark, establishing LLCs, contracts, family and business law, immigration, real estate, taxes, and more.

In 2022, LegalARTLink received a $30,000 Community Grant from The Miami Foundation to expand organizational capacity and awareness of LegalARTLink resources among Miami’s creative community.

Overall LegalARTLink handled a total of 200 cases during the 2022-2023 season, increasing cases quarter to quarter.

Contract-related issues maintained their position as the most common, with 58 cases (29.00%).

Copyright matters followed closely with 44 cases (22.00%).

The remaining 55 legal cases accounted for smaller percentages but a wider range of legal issues.

Additional accomplishments in 2022 include:

• Addressing diverse legal needs of numerous artists, providing 1-1 guidance meeings, referrals to our network of pro bono lawyers and access to educational resources.

• Through comprehensive assistance in contract review, intellectual property rights, and copyright law, LegalARTLink empowered ~800 Miami creatives directly by connecting the with lawyers.

• Over $500,000 worth of pro bono legal services were provided to Miami artists

LAL Director Allyn Ginn Ayers participated as a panelist at impactful professional development talks for artists in collaboration with prominent organizations such as Miami-Dade Department of Cultural Affairs, Miami Dance Hub, Florida Dance Education Organization, and Homework Gallery (“Painting the Picture: Practical Advice for Career Artists”). Additionally, Allyn was recognized in Brickell Magazine’s “TOP 20 Professionals Under Forty” issue in May 2023 boosting the visibility of the program to new audiences.

ACTIVATING CONVERSATIONS ON NEW ART AND IDEAS

In line with Locust Projects’ vision that art and artists are essential to society, we inspire curiosity in new art and the exchange of new ideas through free public programs and partnerships with local artists and peer organizations, allowing us to go beyond the walls of Locust Projects and reach a wider audience.

This year’s partnerships included: Talks Miami with Oolite Arts, Bookleggers Library, Soho House, University of Miami Law School for LegalARTLink and Miami New Times Best of Miami, among others.

TALKS MIAMI

Talks provides direct access to the top curators and ideas driving contemporary art today, through a year-long series of conversations presented by Locust Projects and Oolite Arts.

Since launching the partnership in 2018, we’ve invited 34 arts leaders to Miami to talk about their curatorial vision and practice, the art and artists that have shaped their careers, and how they support the work of artists whether in museums or nontraditional spaces. Each also visits the studios of local artists, providing feedback and visibility that can build a bridge between artists working in Miami and the international cultural community.

WATCH NOW!

All Talks are available online at Talks.Miami

Photo courtesy of Anna Kucera

Photo by Celeste Sloman

Photo courtesy

2022-2023 SEASON

Rachel Kent | CEO of Bundanon Trust, formerly Chief curator of the MCA Australia

Larry Ossei-Mensah | Curator and Co-founder of ARTNOIR

José Diaz | Susan Brotman Deputy Director for Art at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) -

Postponed to Fall 2023

Jerry Saltz | Senior Art Critic for New York magazine

Gilberto Vicario | Chief Curator at the Pérez Art Museum Miami

Dominic Molon | Richard Brown Baker Curator of Contemporary Art and Interim Chief Curator at the RISD Museum

courtesy of of Larry Ossei-Mensah

Photo by Walead Beshty

Photo by Airi Katsuta

courtesy of Abby WarholaCourtesy

MIAMI NEW TIMES

BEST OF MIAMI

June 28, 2023

During Miami New Times Best of Miami 2023 Party on June 28, Locust Projects was featured in a Jumbotron activation at Marlins Loan Depot Park that was seen by hundreds of attendees.

Locust Projects took over the Jumbotron to showcase four videos by Jen Clay, Leo Castañeda, and Antonia Wright and Ruben Millares.

Featured works included:

Jen Clay: Night

Leo Castañeda: Levels and Bosses

Antonia Wright and Ruben Millares:

Job Creation in a Bad Economy

Antonia Wright: I Scream, Therefore I exist

BOOKLEGGERS

Bookleggers Library took over our Mobile Storefront Studio from November 2021 through our move in February 2023 with a curated selection of books related to each of our current exhibitions.

Bookleggers Library is a nonprofit mobile library that expands access to free books as a way of building community.

SOHO HOUSE MEMBERS WORKSHOP

April 6, 2023

We were excited to welcome Soho Pool House Art Club for a talk and activity with our upcoming artists Dahlia Elsayed and Andrew Demirjian.

Attendees learned about their collaborative work and participated in “Futurisms and Fictions,” a specially-designed hands-on workshop for Soho House members based on language, sculpture, and ceremony. They explored what a ritual object can look like and what it can represent, questing: What can be communicated through symbols, gestures, and form?

Can we collectively envision alternative futures through objects and their intentional use?

GETTING SOCIAL

17.1k followers

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167 subscribers

2.5k followers

GETTING SEEN

“The unpretentious nonprofit presents exhibitions and projects that are actually worthy of the modifier “experimental” — and, IMO, much more deserving of a visit than the shiny but consistently meh Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) museum just a few blocks away.”

— Hyperallergic

“Technically, it’s not a museum, but this longrunning, artist-founded space is notable for letting artists do anything they want, short of demolishing the building — and even then, some have come close. At a Locust show, you’re less likely to see paintings on the wall than you are to see paint stripped off the wall (Loriel Beltran’s 2010 show) or floors excavated and filled with junk (Daniel Arsham in 2014). It let muralist Ed Young paint the phrase “It Was Only a Blowjob” on the exterior wall, and in one of the last shows in their former Design District location, Ronny Quevedo turned the place into a futsal court. The nonprofit’s profoundly uncommercial spirit and willingness to give artists such free reign marks it as one of the more outsider spaces in the Miami scene, but in a city where money doesn’t talk so much as it shouts and curses, that’s what makes it all the more essential.”

— Douglas Markowitz

10 Best Art Museums in Miami

Miami New Times

FUNDRAISERS AND FRIENDRAISERS

Building on our vision to provide contemporary visual artists the freedom to experiment with new ideas by creating a culture of “yes,” Locust Projects offers many opportunities to support our exhibitions and programming in impactful and direct ways. Locust Projects relies on funding from annual fundraisers such as Bingo Bash and Annual Benefit dinners, as well as from support from donors to the Incubator Annual Fund, INNOVATOR members and individual donors. We were thrilled for the first time to be able to hold our fundraisers this year in our new home kicking off with a Housewarming Party pre-move!

HOUSEWARMING PARTY

November 19, 2022

Locust Projects welcomed more than 300 members of Miami’s arts community to its house warming party themed Dream With Us to preview our new home in Little River! Inside the 8,000 square foot warehouse space was a massive hovering holographic Oz-like house that cast prismatic light across the space.

Guests were greeted and entertained by the evening’s guest hostess, Queef Latina, as they “shopped” a housewarming gift ‘Wish List Wall’ of fixtures and furnishings to buy in support of the organization’s move in 2023.

Haute Tension, recipients of Miami

New Times’ “Best Local Album” in 2019, played an hour-long set in the courtyard while inside, DJ Esta spun tunes to groove to during the celebratory night marking the beginning of a new era for Locust Projects.

25th ANNIVERSARY BENEFIT DINNER

HONORING DEDE MOSS

February 25, 2023

The unique artist-envisioned dining experience honored longtime arts philanthropist and Locust Board Member, Dede Moss, whose visionary leadership matching grant supported the organization’s milestone move to an 8,000 square foot warehouse in Little River propelling Locust into its next chapter.

The event also celebrated the inaugural exhibition by artist Rafael Domenech who was in residence at Locust for a month building a massive, pavilion-like setting designed to transform over the course of the exhibition with each public activation, starting with the Benefit Dinner.

EVENT CO-CHAIRS: Diane Grob, Lourdes

Jofré Collett, Debra Scholl, Dennis

Scholl, and Munisha Underhill

The dinner, created by the artist in collaboration with Le Basque Catering, served as a “Gesamtkunstwerk,” or a work of art itself, upending traditional gala-goer expectations with a performative twist on traditional interactions between guests and servers along with an ever-morphing architecture. Guests activated the space dressed in single-hued monochromatic ensembles and enjoyed a menu of delicious delicacies in black and white.

BINGO BASH!

June 9, 2023

More than 250 artists, collectors, and patrons gathered at Locust Projects for a lively night of fun and games at BINGO BASH, a disco-themed Spring/Summer Fundraiser. This was the first BINGO BASH held since 2020and it did not disappoint!

The ultra fabulous ADORA and Teddy Behr served as the night’s MCs calling out bingo numbers to a room full of players hoping to get lucky and win one of the twenty curated art experiences and selection of artworks by Locust artist alums. The competition heated up when more than one person calling BINGO resulted in the crowd going wild over disco dance-off tie-breakers.

This year’s BINGO BASH fundraiser featured amazing works donated by current, past and upcoming exhibiting artists Leo Castañeda, Jen Clay, Rafael Domenech, Adler Guerrier, Pepe Mar, and Christina Pettersson, in addition to Locust Projects editions, local and international art experiences AND a special mystery art prize - an incredible painting by Jean-Baptiste Bernadet!

BINGO was followed by the BASH after party with ADORA spinning disco tunes bringing out everyone’s inner dancing queen under the glow of the mirror ball.

Delicious drinks sponsored by Bacardi, Unseen Creatures, and Topo

Chico, and tasty bites sponsored by Versailles, Shake Shack, and Half Moon Empanadas added fuel to the evening’s fun and revelry.

Bingo Bash was hosted by the INNOVATORS, Locust Projects network of art lovers connecting over a passion for the latest in art and ideas as part of the organization’s 25th anniversary year as Miami’s longest running alternative art space.

THE INNOVATORS

In February 2023 Locust Projects launched The INNOVATORS, anew social network of art patrons. Guests recieved an exclusive private look into Miami-based multimedia artists Antonia Wright and Ruben Millares’ studios on the Miami River. In addition to hearing from the artists about their practice and seeing a wide range of artwork, guests enjoyed delicious cocktails by E11EVEN Vodka and refreshing rosé by Out East and cool vibes from DJ Sombra.

Exploring and igniting a passion for contemporary art, collecting, and connecting through events like this, the INNOVATORS help MAKE ART HAPPEN by championing the creation of experimental new art at Locust Projects.

Learn more about The INNOVATORS here.

THE INCUBATOR ANNUAL FUND

In 2023 we relaunched ArtVentures, art-centric outings in Miami and beyond exclusively for Incubator Fund donors. The first stop downtown was a private tour with Fred Snitzer of his 45th Anniversary Show. A principal figure and trusted leader in Miami’s art scene, Fred has invested in and helped foster the art community since the 1970s.

We then headed to the Miami Design District for a private visit with Anthony East, Associate Director at Goodman Gallery to see the South African gallery’s Miami Seasonal pop-up in the iconic Buick Building.

The ArtVenture concluded with lunch at the newly opened Tacombi.

GRATITUDE

We are profoundly thankful to our donors who are vital in supporting our mission to help Make Art Happen.

In 2022 Locust Projects received $677,000 in funding from grant support, including grants supporting Locust Art Builders and fuinding from the Miami-Dade ADV General Support Program and the Florida Department of State, whose growing support have empowered us to showcase contemporary art and nurture artistic expression in South Florida.

2022-2023 Grant News

• Ninth grant award from The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)

• $100,000 from The Andy Warhol Foundation for WaveMaker grants

• Inaugural grantee of the new Ruth Foundation for the Arts centering artists as active agents of change

• Awarded $750,000 over three years from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation towards a Digital Innovation Initiative grant propelling us into the digital realm of art.

GIVE MIAMI DAY 2022

Locust Projects finished # 3!! out of ALL visual arts organizations for Give Miami Day donations! We were wowed by the spirit of generosity that blanketed Miami’s nonprofits during the 11th Anniversary of Give Miami Day to the tune of $33 million in support, $62,800 to Locust Projects from 83 individual donors, surpassing our goal of $60k.

Locust Projects 2022-2023 exhibitions and programming are made possible with support from: The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; Diane and Robert Moss; The Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners, The Children’s Trust; The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; Ruth Foundation for the Arts; Florida, Department of State; The Miami Foundation; Diane and Werner Grob; Susan and Richard Arregui; The Albert and Jane Nahmad Family Foundation; The National Endowment for the Arts Art Works Grant; VIA Art Fund | Wagner Foundation Incubator Grant; Funding Arts Network; Hillsdale Fund; Kirk Foundation; and the Incubator Fund Supporting Sponsors and Friends.

2023 Locust Art Builders (LAB) is made possible through lead support from the Albert and Jane Nahmad Family Foundation, the Hillsdale Fund Inc, and the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor Board and County Commissioners, The Children’s Trust. State of Florida through the Division of Arts and Culture; The National Endowment for the Arts Art Works Grant; Additional support provided by Susan and Richard Arregui; The Kirk Foundation; and the Friends of the Next Generation.

2022-2023 SUPPORTERS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Debra Scholl, chair

John Devine, vice chair

Linda Adler

Juan Alonso

Richard Arregui

Elizabeth Bailey

María C. Bechily

Karen Boyer

Westen Charles, founder

Nicole Chipi

COOPER, founder

Rafael Domenech, artist board member

Bette Ann Fialkov

Dawn Adels Fine

Debra Frank, secretary

Diane Grob

Brian Heller Paul Jacober

Avra Jain

CORPORATIONS and FOUNDATIONS

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

IN-KIND

AVTC Production Group

Carlos R. Lago

Steven Lanster, treasurer

John Joseph Lin

Christopher Lomax

Stewart Merkin

Diane Moss

Jaime Odabachian

Elizabeth Petersen-Hoelle

Amy Pollack

Mette Tommerup, artist board member

Munisha Underhill

Elizabeth Withstandley, founder

Paul Berg, emeritus

Jorge A. Garcia, emeritus

Doreen Lima, emeritus

Adler Guerrier, honorary

Antonia Wright, honorary

Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs

Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts

Ruth Foundation for the Arts

Florida Department of State Division of Arts and Culture

Oolite Arts

National Endowment for the Arts

Hillsdale Fund

Albert and Jane Nahmad Family Foundation

VIA | Wagner Incubator Grant

The Children’s Trust

The Kirk Foundation

Artis

Bacardi

CDR Maguire

CHAWAR

Cultured

DACRA

DJ Peoples

Gander & White Shipping Inc

I’ve Been Framed

Jacober Creative

Kalexy Graphics and Signs

Le Basque Catering

Liquid Death Mountain Water

Miami Design District

Miami Herald

Tito’s Handmade Vodka

Tripping Animals Brewing

Unseen Creatures Beer and Brewing

Wet Heat Project

WLRN Public Media

Zachary Balber Photography

*As of September 1, 2023

INCUBATOR FUND

CHANGEMAKERS

Diane Moss

Diane and Werner Grob

Susan and Richard Arregui

EXHIBITIONS

Lead Sponsor

Diane and Alan Lieberman

Supporting Sponsors

Marie Elena Angulo and Henry Zarb

Carol Damian

John Devine

Tyler Emerson Dorsch and Brook Dorsch

Debra ad Barry Frank

Brian Heller

Paul Jacober

Rochelle and Steven Lanster

Adriana Malfitano

Corinne and Stewart Merkin

Anna Mora

Clara and Juan Toro

Miles Wilkin

Exhibitionists

Linda Adler

Sheldon and Florence Anderson

Sunita Bhagwan

Karen Boyer

Sydney Carpel

Talenia Gajardo

Avra Jain

Malinda Krantz

Doreen Lima

Lorie Mertes

John Meyer

Ellen Niland

Jaime Odabachian

Nedra and Mark Oren

Vivian Pfeiffer

Amy and Richard Pollack

Debra and Dennis Scholl

Mindy Solomon

Peter Warner

Debi and Jeff Wechsler

ARTIST RESOURCES

Supporting Sponsor

Elizabeth Bailey

Frank Destra and Alex Fluker

Nicole Chipi

María C. Bechily and Scott Hodes

Hal Philips and Greg Kendall

Faye and Jeffrey Roth

Suzanne and Carlos Viana

Friends

Juan Alonso

Bette Ann Fialkov

Jessica Dawson

Jill Ginsberg and David Kaplan

John Joseph Lin

Nedra and Mark Oren

Charity Von Guinness and Timothy Buwalda

Munisha Underhill

NEXT GENERATION

Supporting Sponsor

Juan Alonso Friends

Anna Mora

Roman Tsunder

ANNUAL BENEFIT DINNER SUPPORTERS

FRIENDS OF HONOREE DEDE MOSS

Helena Rubinstein Philanthropic Fund at The Miami Foundation, Diane & Robert Moss

Karen H. Bechtel & Will Osborne

Diane & Werner Grob

Giorgio Armani Corporation

FRIENDS OF RAFAEL DOMENECH

Sarah Arison

Elizabeth Baily

María C. Bechily and Scott Hodes

Berkowitz Contemporary Foundation

Dawn & Chris Fleischner

Arlyn Garnder in honor of Diane Moss

Karen Gottleib & Elliot Scherker in honor of Diane & Werner Grob

Lourdes Jofré Collett & Tim Collett

Debra & Dennis Scholl

FRIENDS OF LOCUST PROJECTS

Lino Campos on behalf of Northern Trust

Debra & Barry Frank

Paul Jacober

Malinda Krantz

George Lindemann Jr.

Adriana Malfitano

Elizabeth Petersen Hoelle & Will Hoelle

Richard & Amy Pollack

Hal Philipps & Greg Kendall

David & Sydney Schaecter

Fredric Snitzer & Ilene Soloff

Lawrence C. Weinstein

Alexa & Adam Wolman

FRIENDS

Juan Alonso

Pablo Annoveli

Susan & Richard Arregui

Lisa Austin

Dianne Beal

Francine Birgragher

Rita Cabases Gonzalez

Nicole Kristine Chipi

Jorge García

Sergio Garcia Granados

Carole Guest

Javier Hernandez

Deborah Hoffman

Jeff Krinsky

Rochelle & Steven Lanster

Marika Lynch

Stewart Merkin

Lorie Mertes

Gail Meyers

Benjamin Mollere

Anna Mora

Peter Menéndez

Nedra & Mark Oren

Christianne Mora

Dorothy & Aaron Podhurst

Axel Stein

Clara and Juan Toro

Munisha Underhill

Maitejosune Urrechaga

Walid & Susie Wahab

DONATIONS

Linda Corey

Stefanie Reed

Adam Weinberg

EVENT IN-KIND SPONSORS

Jacober Creative

Miami Herald El Nuevo Herald

Le Basque

Gander & White

Reserve Mouton Cadet

The Golden Hog Gourmet Market

Tito’s Handmade Vodka

Hagerty Garage and Social

Fun Wine

LOCUST PROJECTS CURRENT STAFF

Executive Director

Lorie Mertes

Development Director

Nuria Richards

Donor Engagement Manager

Mercede Hankins

Communications Coordinator

Sid Wolf

Grants Program Manager

Laurie Rojas

Exhibition and Program Coordinator

Tony Kapel

LegalARTLink Director, PT

Allyn Ginns Ayers

Chief Preparator and Facilities Operations Manager

Tom Mickelson

Chief Financial Officer

Christina Stewart

Annual Highlights Compiled by Sid Wolf.

All installation images by Zachary Balber Photography and all event images by World Red Eye and Locust Projects staff, unless otherwise specified.

ABOUT LOCUST PROJECTS

Founded by artists for artists in 1998, Locust Projects is Miami’s longest running nonprofit alternative art space. We produce, present, and art and the exchange of ideas through commissioned exhibitions and projects, artist residencies, summer art intensives for teens, and public curatorial practice.

Founded by artists for artists in 1998, Locust Projects is Miami’s longest running nonprofit alternative art space. We produce, present, and nurture ambitious and experimental new art and the exchange of ideas through commissioned exhibitions and projects, artist residencies, summer art intensives for teens, and public programs on contemporary art and curatorial practice. As a leading incubator of new art and ideas, Locust Projects emphasizes boundary-pushing creative endeavors, risk-taking and experimentation by local, national and international artists. We invest in South Florida’s arts community by providing artists with project grants and empower creative careers by supporting the administrative work of being an artist through an onsite artist resource hub and access to pro bono legal services.

As a leading incubator of new art and ideas, Locust Projects emphasizes boundary-pushing creative endeavors, risk-taking and experimentation artists. Over the past 25 years, Locust Projects has commissioned more than 200 exhibitions featuring 485 artists at all career stages and out-of-town artists-in-residence building a network of peers. We invest in South Florida’s arts community by annually providing artists with empowering creative careers by supporting the administrative work of being an artist through an onsite artist resource hub, including a future and access to LegalARTLink’s pro bono legal services.

Locust Projects is an arts incubator producing and presenting exhibitions, programs and projects. Our mission is to…

CREATE opportunities for visual artists at all career stages

INVITE risk taking and experimentation

ACTIVATE conversations around new art and ideas

In 2023 Locust Projects kicked o its 25th anniversary with the inauguration of our new space in Little River. The 8,000 square foot former opportunities for supporting experimental artistic production, allowing Locust Projects to continue to o er artists the space, time, and resources scale in ways that are not possible in traditional venues.

ADVOCATE for artists and creative practices

Key to our success is our community of supporters. Please consider supporting the INCUBATOR ANNUAL FUND or joining the INNOVATORS