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“Long Live J’ouvert” Exhibition
August 1, 2025 @ 6:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Free
Long Live J’ouvert – Miami Edition, a vibrant and immersive exhibition celebrating one of the Caribbean’s most powerful cultural traditions, will debut with an opening night celebration on Friday, August 1, 2025, from 6:00-11:00 PM at HistoryMiami Museum. The exhibition will be on view from July 31 through October 19, 2025, in the museum’s Community Gallery.
Presented in partnership with JouvayFest Collective, TheSmartGroup Corp, City Lore, HistoryMiami Museum, and in collaboration with Miami Broward One Carnival, this dynamic exhibition is part of the broader J’ouvert Genesis Immersive Experience — a multidisciplinary exploration of the resistance, resilience, and ritual that define J’ouvert.
The Opening Night Celebration invites guests to experience and honor J’ouvert through live music, traditional Carnival characters, storytelling, festive Caribbean cuisine and drinks, a guided exhibition tour, and a historical documentary screening. It promises to be a night to remember.
Derived from the French phrase meaning “opening of the day,” marks the pre-dawn emancipation celebrations of formerly enslaved Africans in Trinidad and Tobago. Originating in the 1800s amidst struggle and defiance against colonial authorities, J’ouvert has evolved into a visceral, celebratory ritual within the Caribbean Carnival community – one that pulsates with ancestral memory, rebellion, and resilience.
The Miami edition of Long Live J’ouvert offers an intimate journey through time, illuminating the roots of Carnival and the fierce cultural pride embedded within it. Through captivating visuals, traditional satirical characters, stick fighting, dense percussion, steelpan rhythms, and vibrant street processions the exhibition contrasts the raw authenticity of J’ouvert with the polished flair of daytime masqueraders.
“Without J’ouvert there is no Carnival.”

