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A new gallery at Barry University is inviting visitors to explore the depth and diversity of Black diasporic histories through the work of 19 artists.
The Container Project, presented by the Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator, asks a single curatorial question: What is in your container? Each artist responds to that prompt through their own medium and theme, creating an exhibition that reflects the multiplicity of Black and Caribbean heritage — particularly as it exists in South Florida.
The exhibition was curated by Rosie Gordon Wallace and Breeana Thorne.
Inside South Florida visited the gallery to see the work firsthand.
One piece by local Miami-based artist Shayla Marshall uses braided hair as its medium, incorporating rice, a chest, and checker pieces. The work references the historical practice in which enslaved people preserved parts of their history by hiding rice in their hair braids.
Other works in the exhibition include a piece by Sydney Rose Maubert, described as an ode to South Florida that draws on Cuban and Haitian heritage rooted in Homestead, and textile-based work by Javon Brown that integrates multiple fabrics and hats.
The exhibition is framed around the idea that Black identity — and Caribbean identity — is not a monolith.
"The Caribbean itself has a multiplicity of heritages and cultures. You have those who were enslaved, or the descendants of the enslaved, or those who are coming from the African diaspora. You will also have the indigenous populations that do exist there. You have those who had, in so many ways, looked at the newer kinds of immigrants that had come over, whether it is the South Asian populations or the South Indian populations as well," Executive Director of DVCAI, Tanya Desdunes said. "We're looking at the defining and the black Global Diaspora. We're trying to look at the Caribbean and position it in a way that speaks to the multiple heritage and cultures that also exist in Miami. We are not a monolith. The Caribbean is not a monolith, and being black itself is not a monolith. In all of those representations, we want to make sure that each piece is celebrated."
The Container Project is on view at Barry University as part of the Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator's programming.
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