Join us for an engaging evening on February 20, 2025, from 7 PM to 8 PM, as we kick off the BackChat series with “Welcome to Miami Arts: Artists on Churning,” hosted on Zoom. This program serves as an introduction to DVCAI’s exciting new ArtsHere initiative in collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

Moderated by Amanda Covach from MoCA Nomi, the event will feature esteemed guest speakers Asser Saint-Val and Rimaj Barrientos, both artists highlighted in the exhibition at DVCAI Space at Barry University, The Whole World is Churning: Then and Now and Now and Beyond, now through April 2025.

Explore the vibrant intersection of Afro-Diasporic art and community engagement as our speakers share insights into their creative processes and experiences. This session offers a unique opportunity to delve into the transformative power of art within the Caribbean and Latin Diaspora.

Don’t miss this chance to connect with fellow art enthusiasts and learn more about DVCAI’s mission to support and uplift BIPOC artists. For more information on the ArtsHere program, visit the NEA website at ArtsHere (https://www.arts.gov/initiatives/artshere).

We look forward to welcoming you to this enriching conversation!

MODERATOR

Amanda Covach is an interdisciplinary Mexican-American artist who focuses on sculptural installations that relate directly with the body as points of interaction and reaction. Her work often touches on the topics of sexuality, race, queer theory and feminism. Amanda is interested in exploring moments in shared time, as a three-dimension being passing through the fourth dimension she’s curious of the phenomena of memory, onism, and disassociation.

PANELISTS

Asser Saint-Val

Asser Saint-Val, a Haitian artist, draws inspiration from the origins of skin color and the significance of dark skin, themes that deepened during his teenage years in the United States amid racial discrimination. His work explores neuromelanin and the pineal gland, connecting them to spirituality and African spirituality’s life force. Asser’s art, characterized by ambiguity and quasi-figurative elements, combines traditional mediums with organic materials to delve into themes of identity and consciousness. His latest series, ‘Magical Entities,’ uses mixed media to explore creative magic and the subconscious, aiming to provoke contemplation about self, reality, and imagination.

Rimaj Sunqö Barrientos

Rímaj Sunqö Barrientos embarked on a transformative journey in 1981 when he immigrated from Bolivia to Miami, which became his new home and a place to firmly establish his roots. In 1991, he graduated from the University of Miami, earning dual degrees in Architecture and Arts.

For the past 32 years, Rímaj played an integral role in the burgeoning Miami arts movement. His contributions include the creation of several monumental sculptures for public spaces in Dade County, Broward County, and Polk County. His artistic reach extends far beyond the shores of Miami, with exhibitions in galleries in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Belgium, Italy, Frankfurt, Paris, Bolivia, and Puerto Rico.

Back Chats are inclusive of all community members and visitors seeking a connection to the arts. To request materials in accessible format at least five days in advance, please contact Rosie Gordon-Wallace, DVCAI President |Curator at rosie@dvcai.org or by phone at (305) 542-4277.

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