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Locust Projects, Miami’s longest-running alternative art space, celebrated its 25th anniversary Benefit Dinner in its new home on Saturday, Feb. 25.
The unique, artist-envisioned dining experience honored arts philanthropist and Locust board member Diane “Dede” Moss, whose visionary matching grant supported the organization’s milestone move to an 8,000-square-foot warehouse in Little River, propelling Locust into its next chapter.
The event also celebrated the inaugural exhibition by artist Rafael Domenech, who was in residence at Locust for a month building a massive, pavilion-like setting designed to transform over the course of the exhibition with each public activation, starting with the benefit dinner.
The event, created by the artist in collaboration with Le Basque Catering, served as a “Gesamtkunstwerk,” or a work of art itself, upending traditional gala-goer expectations with a performative twist on traditional interactions between guests and servers and taking place inside an ever-morphing architecture.
Guests activated the space dressed in single-hued chic and monochromatic ensembles and enjoyed a menu of delicious delicacies in black and white along with cocktails by Tito’s and wines from Réserve Mouton Cadet and the Golden Hog.
Each guest received a unique, limited-edition print created by the artist and inspired by his exhibition of the same title, assembling beneath a desire for sabotage, a play on what the artist sees as challenging notions of what an exhibition is, and what it means to gather in space.
Event chairs Diane Grob, Lourdes Jofré Collett, Debra Scholl, Dennis Scholl, and Munisha Underhill, and executive director Lorie Mertes welcomed 150 guests to the sold-out event.
Among notable attendees were Locust Projects board members, Miami arts leaders, collectors, and patrons, including Ashley Melisse Abess and Matthew Vander Werff, Susan and Richard Arregui, Karen Bechtel, Silvia Karman Cubiñá, Elizabeth Petersen Hoelle, Clive King, George Lindemann Jr., Gail Myers, Nedra and Mark Oren, Patricia Papper, Dorothy and Aaron Podhurst, Janet Shein, Franklin Sirmans, Fredric Snitzer, Walid Wahab, Alexa Wolman, and Jennifer Farah, representing the event’s major sponsor, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
The event raised more than $200,000 for the arts nonprofit, which will continue to celebrate its 25th anniversary with additional events throughout the year.
Locust Projects has been a significant contributor to Miami’s cultural scene for 25 years, and the anniversary dinner was a fitting tribute to the organization’s mission of nurturing new art and ideas. The celebration was a resounding success, and attendees left with a renewed appreciation for the transformative power of art.
Proceeds from the event support Locust Projects’ mission to CREATE opportunities for visual artists at all career stages, INVITE risk-taking and experimentation, ACTIVATE conversations around new art and ideas, and ADVOCATE for artists and creative practices.
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