Coral Gables Illuminates Its Streets With New Art Exhibit
Calling all art enthusiasts—Coral Gables has transformed its streets with a free outdoor museum.
Illuminate Coral Gables opened to the public on Feb. 12. The contemporary art exhibit fuses art and light concepts to adorn downtown Coral Gables. It features pieces from sixteen local, national and international artists, as well as eight artworks placed around the city’s most preeminent landmarks.
“I embed myself with the locals to bring work from an outside appreciation with an insider perspective. This duality provides an experience where visitors can see things they loved, did not like, understand, and learn from,” said Lance Fung, Illuminate Coral Gable’s chief curator. “I aim to provide a rich experience in which not everyone needs to love everything; that’s not what great art should do. It should be about starting conversation and being relevant and thought-provoking.”
The exhibition seeks to shine a light on important issues affecting today’s society, such as global warming and immigration, and is set to become an annual experience for South Florida citizens.
Among the artwork pedestrians will be able to spot is Kiki Smith’s Blue Night, which employs augmented reality to reflect light through 42 suspended elements. Each has a blue background and holographic vinyl to depict constellations. Her work is about bringing light, hope, and joy to the festive Giralda Plaza.
David Gumb’s video installation Echoes of Souls and Echoes of my Skin is featured on the Actors Playhouse in Miracle Mile. It connects the breach between nature, science, technology, cultural heritage and art while paying homage to the deceased due to COVID-19 and social injustices.
Cai Guo-Quiang’s Fireflies features one thousand handmade silk Chinese lanterns that roam through the city in twenty-seven pedicabs.
You Are Here is a 15-minute-long video that is projected onto the west-facing wall of the Coral Gables Museum and was created by Jonathan Perez with Florida International University art students. It narrates the history of South Florida by tracing connections between seemingly disparate historical events, turning individual voices into a collective narrative.
“We can attract families just on the sheer scale and beauty of these works, but when you read its statements, they are extremely profound,” Fung said.
For a map to guide you when visiting click here.
Illuminate Coral Gables will run through March 13 and is open to the public on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Sundays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m and Fridays and Saturdays from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
