Thirty selected students will participate in workshops with professional artists and complete fast-paced art challenges to explore their creativity, develop ideas, and practice new skills, all while working on a final project: a zine and exhibition at Locust Projects in the Miami Design District! 

Locust Projects supports the business of being an artist through LegalARTLink, a program offering pro bono legal services, referrals, and professional development workshops for artists based in Miami. 

If you have questions about the program or need help with a new legal issue, schedule an appointment here to chat with Allyn Ginns Ayers, LegalARTLink Director, practicing attorney, and dancer. 

Over the past year, Locust Projects has been inspired by the many ways artists across Miami-Dade have deepened their resolve to care for themselves, for each other, and for our communities. To support these ongoing efforts, we are launching a new program called Care, featuring local artists who work at the intersection of self-care, relational care, and/or community care. This summer, six artists will create experiences at Locust Projects and beyond that nourish the whole artist, the creative force in each of us, and the communities we form and sustain. 

The series kicks off on Saturday, July 10 at 2pm with Make a Masterpiece of Me, facilitated by poet and educator, Arsimmer McCoy. Meet at Locust Projects and walk a block to the Locust Projects Residence for a workshop on empowering ourselves and our communities through poetry. We will share a meal together. Please RSVP if you plan to attend, as capacity will be limited to create an intimate space.

Join Locust Projects on Saturday, July 31 at 2pm for the second program in our new Care series. Respite with Violenta Flores (aka Juan Carlos Zaldivar) is an immersive, calming visual experience and guided meditation for caregivers.  

Intervening in Locust Projects’ current Main Gallery exhibition, Homeline, which features three illuminated domestic elements--a window, a carpet, and a curtain--Violenta will add projections of moonlight and a fluttering hummingbird while guiding participants through the otherwise dark, open space. 10-minute complimentary chair massages will be offered after the meditation.

Violenta is a filmmaker and video artist whose work has screened at the Sundance Film Festival, MoMA - NYC, and elsewhere.  As a sound designer, they have worked on Academy and Emmy Award nominated productions. They are a recipient of a 2020 & 2021 WaveMaker Grant for their Virtual Reality project, Variety Reinspires, based on their work caring for their elderly mother with Alzheimer’s.

This event is intentionally designed for artists who are also caregivers of any kind, but anyone who is interested is welcome. Please RSVP here.