The Black Key Group (Whitney Lykins and Isabella Acker) created a special host committee of young, savvy professionals throughout South Florida to assist in creating, executing, and facilitating Pop-Up Piano Miami.
Artists include Rodrigo Gaya, Eric Estrada aka Wase One, Alexander Mijares, Ruben Ubiera, Desiree Kawass, Ivan Roque, Ross Von Rosenberg, and Arnaud Pages
Timothy Feager, General Manager of Steinway Piano Gallery of Miami, stated “Steinway & Sons is very excited about getting behind Pop-Up Piano Miami. We need to bring more awareness to the arts, and this is a great and fun way to accomplish this task.”
SUENALO, Locos Por Juana, Krisp, The Heavy Pets, Juke, JUke, Bells, and Arboles Libres! Click on the banner for dates and times.
During the week of Art Basel Miami Beach (December 6 – 9, 2012), Steinway & Sons Miami will present Pop Up Piano Miami 2012, a public arts project that premiered during Art Basel Miami Beach 2011. With the continued support of Steinway & Sons Miami and sponsors, this year the program is set to launch on a significantly larger scale by not only supporting local music and arts programs but also joining a global initiative. Eight pianos donated by Steinway & Sons Miami will be strategically placed across Wynwood, Midtown Miami, Downtown Miami, and Design District areas. Each piano will be crafted by eight artists. Art Basel week spectators will have access to tickle the ivories between three scheduled “pop-up” performances by talented musicians. After Art Basel Miami Beach week, the pianos will be donated to local charities. PUPM will also work to expand and implement specially designed music programs and workshops at some of the charities where the pianos will permanently reside. Additionally, this year PUPM will benefit Friends of the New World Symphony and the Kimbanguist Symphony Orchestra, Central Africa’s only symphony through a special fundraising concert event that will feature two legendary musicians.
Each year talented artists are chosen to customize the Steinway-donated pianos, making each an original, one-of-a kind, functional piece of art. The pianos are put on public display throughout the community during Art Basel Miami Beach Week making it one of the city’s most wide-spread music and public arts project during Basel Week.
Street music abound!! 2011 saw the likes of local favorites like SUENALO, Brendan O’ Hara, Raffa and Rainer, and national acts like ELEW giving free street performances. Keep your eyes and ears out for more this Art Basel season!
All of our pianos are donated to charities and music programs that face extreme funding shortages when it comes to Arts education. This photo is from the unveiling of our donation to the MAST Academy’s students.
Pop-Up Piano Miami is meant to help the community come together during the busiest time of the year. The public is invited to gather and enjoy the music, and even to tickle the ivories themselves.
Find more of Desiree’s work here.
Desiree Kawass, known to most as “Desi”, was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica. She attended Immaculate Conception Preparatory & high school and graduated at the age of sixteen. She then moved to Miami, Florida to pursue a career in Visual Art at Florida International University. Having discovered a new interest in the mechanics of the human body, however, Desiree embarked on a degree in Exercise Physiology, of which she obtained both a bachelors and masters degree. In addition, she was licensed as a dental hygienist in 2007. Throughout this educational journey, Desiree’s painting became secondary to her studies, only to resurface during her spare time. As time passed on, Desiree always felt as though something was missing in her life. Each endeavor she pursued became unfulfilling over time, never to compare to the contentedness which art brought to her life. She needed to paint, she wanted to paint and paint she did.
Desiree began with her Bamboo Series, a collection of paintings which focused on the detailed beauty of bamboo stalks. She expanded this series by utilizing more vibrant colors and tones and ultimately, larger canvases. She felt as though such vibrancy could not and should not be limited to small canvases. As she continued to rekindle her relationship with a paintbrush, her paintings became more meaningful, paying tribute to her Uncle by emulating his art with her interpretation of his work through her P-Tree series, a series that she holds very close to her heart. She then began experimenting with three-dimensional art – a form of art that truly made her happy. Labeled as her “Happy Times” series, these paintings do nothing more than exude happiness from the eyes of their beholders. This series became the immediate focus and the inspiration for Pop Up Piano Miami 2012.
Prior to this event, Desiree participated in the SOMI Art Walk, The Kiwanis Club of Little Havana – Art in the Park and Miracle Mile Art Walk, Artists Wanted – Art Takes Miami and Art Takes New York. For Desiree, however, the acceptance as an official Pop Up Piano Miami 2012 artist has been her greatest achievement yet. She still continues to define herself with her new series – Arbor Ballet. This series was finally born through the collaboration of her education and her artistic talents. Her education provided an abstract use of the mechanics of the human body whilst the inspiration of her P-Tree series set the tone to create this collection. She needed to paint, she wanted to paint and paint she did.
Find more of Rodrigo’s work here.
Rodrigo Gaya was born and raised in Miami. His passion for photography started when he first picked up his aunt’s film camera to shoot football for his high school paper. He continued shooting throughout college at The Michigan Daily, the University of Michigan’s student run newspaper, where he was appointed as the Managing Photo Editor in 2008. After graduation, he returned to Miami and has since been a part of the World Red Eye team starting in 2010. With his background in photojournalism, Rodrigo is well versed in various different types of photography and has technical knowledge with different camera and lighting systems. His passion is photography but his motivation is documenting human interaction with its surroundings. Documenting the truth in spontaneous moments of human life.
Find more of Federico’s work here.
Federico Carosio III is a self-taught artist whose work captures the intense light and rich colors of South Florida like no photograph can. Carosio’s eye for detail can be seen in the photo-realism of his early pop-art paintings, while his abstracts and sculptures reflect the bold colors of his native Colombia. But it is his landscapes and streetscapes (acrylic on canvas) that have made him one of South Florida’s most celebrated and successful painters. From the sun-drenched beaches of Key West and Miami Beach to the tree-shaded streets of Coconut Grove and Coral Gables, Carosio’s beautifully detailed paintings bring to life the region’s lush tropical splendor. Each work of art perfectly captures the vibrant colors and varied shapes and textures of South Florida’s tropical foliage…and the complex interplay of light and shadow that changes not just with the seasons but also with the time of day. Painting has been Carosio’s passion since he was a three-year-old boy living in Bogota, Colombia. Perhaps it was in his genes: his great uncle was the renowned Italian painter Lorenzo Carosio, and his father was an actor who painted and sculpted in his spare time, often with young Federico by his side. Carosio’s talent was recognized and nurtured as a child, and eventually he decided to make painting his career. He started painting professionally in Soho in 1974, but it wasn’t until he settled in Miami in 1979 that he discovered his passion for painting South Florida’s tropical landscapes. Carosio says his paintings are his way of sharing his love of nature with others. “I love creating things that are pleasing to me and others,” says Carosio. “And I love knowing that my paintings are giving people an appreciation for South Florida’s abundant natural beauty.” Carosio is a frequent exhibitor in one-man shows and at South Florida’s many juried art festivals. His paintings have been honored with a number of “Best of Show” awards and featured as the official poster for the South Miami Art Festival, South Miami Arts & Crafts Festival, Pinecrest Fine Art Festival and Key Biscayne Art Festival. Today, Carosio’s popularity extends far beyond South Florida, and his work hangs in homes all around the world. A single father, Carosio claims that his best work of art will forever be his two now-grown children, Federico and Bianca.
Find more of Ruben’s work here.
Ruben Gerardo Ubiera Gonzalez (born October 19, 1975 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Dominican neo-figurative artist, known for his strong use of the line, who has been drawing and painting ever since he had use of reason.
Ruben paints and draws in a style considered by many as Pop-surrealism, but he prefers to call it urban-pop, since he has lived most of his life in the urban, populated areas and most of his inspiration is derived from the interactivity between man and his urban environment. At the age of 15, his family moved to the Bronx, NY, where he was heavily influenced by the graffiti art that surrounded him, something he wouldn’t realize until much later in his life.
He strives in all his work to capture an essential part of his past, his present and his subjects through the use of the line and form. His work includes still-life and situational portraiture but Ruben tends to primarily focus on city landscapes.
His paintings are, on first examination, noted for being charged with “skateboard-isms”, paint drips and the constant presence of graffiti in some shape or form. But, after closer inspection, one notices the detail, sarcastic contrast, the social commentary and human struggle that’s felt by the technique and subject matter.
For press inquiries contact Jessica Wade Pfeffer at jessica(at)jessicawadeinc(dot)com
For sponsorship inquiries please contact Patricia Baro at patricia(at)mixedmediacollective(dot)com
For general inquiries please contact Isabella Acker at isabella(at)theblackkeygroup(dot)com
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