It was a festive and momentous occasion last week at the Miramar Cultural Center’s (“MCC”) Botanical Garden, as the City celebrated the unveiling of its Artscape project that afforded a number of very talented and creative art sculptors to put their artistic works on full display.  To that end, the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony was the perfect way for Miramar to showcase what the the City has to offer by way of engaging its community with a top-notch arts and culture environment for all to enjoy.   There were several Miramar city officials and other notables in attenance at the Ceremony, including:  Vice Mayor Yvette Colbourne; Commissioner Alexandra P. Davis; Commissioner Maxwell B. Chambers; and Eddy Edwards, CEO of Jamaican Jerk Festival USA, Inc.

The Ribbon Cutting Ceremony kicked-off with Anita Fain Taylor—Miramar’s Director of Economic Development & Housing—giving an introduction.

Following Anita Fain Taylor’s presentation, Camasha Cevieux, MCC’s Director of Cultural Affairs imparted an insightful overview of the underlying vision of the Artscape project being ceremoniously unveiled at the Botanical Garden.

Following Camasha Cevieux’s presentation, Miramar elected officials took the opportunity to introduce themselves, while also showcasing their wonderful city and all the exciting upcoming Black History events that are slated to take place in and around Miramar next month in February.

Stacy Ritter, CEO, Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau took the stage to highlight, not only all the great things happening in Miramar where its growth and arts and culture scene are concerned, but also across the Fort Lauderdale metropolitan region which has positioned itself in recent year’s as a premier tourist destination for U.S. visitors, as well as those coming from abroad.  Ms. Ritter during her presentation emphasized the strong and growing nexus between art and tourism in Fort Lauderdale and its Broward County environs that include the City of Miramar.

Following Stacy Ritter’s presentation, Philip Dunlop, Director, Broward Cultural Division delivered his presentation centered around Art in Public Places.

Capping off the marvelous MCC Artscape Ribbon Cutting Ceremony, was the Artscape exhibition segment that featured the works of the  talented sculptors—Robert Coons, Donald Gialanella and Atomik—that surrounded the beautiful Botanical Garden setting.   In displaying their featured art in the Botanical Garden and the green space around Miramar’s Town Center, the artists had previously described their creations as follows:

Robert Coons – Quetzalcoatl’s Declination – which represents a translation from the Mayan code regarding the battle between Quetzalcoatl and the Sun.  As such, the sculpture seeks to tell the story as to how the feathered serpent flew up to the Sun, challenged, fought, and defeated the Sun.

Donald Gialanella – Plenum Orb – is a sculpture seeks to tap into memories trapped in abandoned objects. And so, in using a palette of stainless-steel items, Mr. Gialanella created this large assemblage sphere which includes a medley of surprise, irony and humor.  Celestial Fish – this additional Gialanella piece is the culmination of fish sculptures that he has been working on for over 10 years, and over that time span he has explored the shapes of fish in all their forms, in order to create the ultimate fish in this large-sized scale.

Atomik – Untitled – which represents his famous and iconic orange character which came about as a response to the demolition of Miami’s famed Orange Bowl Stadium.

The aforementioned MCC art displays are free and open to the public and have the purpose of enhancing the quality of life that arts and culture bestow upon the City of Miramar.   And in the words of Camasha Cevieux, Miramar’s Director of Cultural Affairs: “art in public places express community values, enhance our environment, transform a landscape and heighten our awareness.” Going forward, this will be an annual program that will be refreshed to keep MCC at the forefront of arts and culture and as a destination to promote and engage holistic community expression in the great South Florida City of Miramar.

Photos by Nick Ford, who lives and works in South Florida.