Even Artists Can’t Afford Their Art

Miami art isn’t just about mass-produced Britto anymore. It has found a home and named it Wynwood. As more craft micro-breweries open up their large garage-style doors, restaurants open up declaring that they have the best grain-fed burgers or the latest version of aioli. What is the price that Wynwood is paying for the sake of being labeled the art district? A neighborhood of warehouses, prostitutes, heroin and crime is all Wynwood was a few years ago. Now they have a farmer’s market, on-site roasted coffee and a Warby Parker.  

The history of Wynwood is one of development and growth. Ron Goldman, the man whose name you can see on some of the buildings, bought up many of the old warehouses that used to be wholesale retail. As all other warehouse areas, the buildings used to get tagged by “street artists.” They hired actual graffiti artists to do large pieces that seemed to mirror the wholesale retailer’s artwork. The tagging stopped and a pattern was noticed. With every purchase of a building, a new artist was brought in to fill the walls with color and skill that could be respected.  

With the boom in art covered buildings came the artists. Warehouses were turned into live-in studios and galleries, crime went down, and new businesses opened. Wynwood was the place to be, but with this comes the idea to further develop. There has been a huge spike in housing costs, which has caused the original artists to take off to places like Little Haiti, Little River and The Shores.

Wynwood has been declaring itself the art district, but with the design district just a few blocks away, it’s starting to look very similar. However, there are still events for young hipster parents with a sickening addiction to Kombucha and anything gluten free. There are some places that do not feed into the pretentiousness of it all, with $1 espressos and coladas for $1.50. I stopped at one of the cafes recently because it looked like a nice place to sit and enjoy art, but then I noticed a BitStop, the Bitcoin ATM.

I asked the barista how many times the BitStop is used. She said everyday and multiple times by art dealers.   

This was a shove back into the reality where it mattered more to be noticed. It is a place where most things are not accessible to most people. The art and glitz, the beautiful Teslas and the collector car parades, make you feel like you are a part of an all inclusive art club until they bring the bill at any bar or restaurant in the area. For Wynwood to declare itself the art district and not cater to those that make the art is like being slapped in the face with a stack of $100 bills.