by SOMI Publisher

From 1960s cement sculptures to the recent Colombian Sculpture Garden installations, to murals embracing public buildings. SOMIonline Lifestyle Magazine examines the development over the years with the integration of art in public places within local parks, on civic buildings and private buildings and as a recent requirement for new developments.

Photos:SOMI Magazine / JES Communications

Cement sculpture

Columbia Sculpture Garden

Las Meninas Mural on Public Garage

WHY ART IN PUBLIC PLACES MATTERS

Public art isn’t just decoration — it’s cultural infrastructure. It creates shared identity, activates underused spaces, sparks conversation (sometimes controversy), increases walkability and tourism, and makes cities feel human. When art exists outside museums, it becomes democratic — accessible 24/7 and free to everyone.

SOUTH MIAMI’S ART IN PUBLIC PLACES PROGRAM

South Miami has an official Art in Public Places Program built into its city code. The ordinance requires funding (1.5% of project costs) to be set aside for acquiring and installing artwork in public spaces. The city aims to enhance its character, promote cultural identity, and enrich public life through art that everyone can see and enjoy. This means art isn’t added by accident — it’s part of civic planning and placemaking.

SOMIonline explores are in public places over the years, its history brought not focus now with the recently unveiled new murals by Maimi-born artist Alesander Mijares at the SOMI District Parking Garage. The installation is part of the City’s ongoing effort to bring more art into public spaces and activate the SoMi District visually and culturally.

ART IN PUBLIC PLACES ADVISORY COMMITTEE

With South Miami’s intentional direction of incorporating public art as part of placement, culture and community identity, being integrated into everyday urban spaces like the city parks, parking structures, sidewalks, and business corridors, the city leadership requested artistic direction from the leaders of some of Miami-Dade country leading art institutions.

The committee is comprised of Jill Deupi, director and chief curator of the Lowe Art Museum at the University of Miami, Maritza Lacayo of the Perez Art Museum,, Gean Moreno of the Institute of Contemporary Art and Juan Valadez of the Rubell Museum.

EARLY PUBLIC ART IN CIVIC BUILDINGS

Today the SYLVA MARTIN building’s façade serves as a quiet reminder that public art in South Miami did not begin with contemporary murals — its roots reach back to the 1930s, when art and public service were formally intertwined.

Joan van Breeman, a Florida resident, created a series of bas reliefs for the mid-1930s New Deal WPA (Works Progress Admnistration) construction projects in southeast Florida. Her work shows children engaged in recreational activities. Entitled “Children at Play,” this series of artwork was placed in over 120 libraries, public schools and public buildings. The Sylva Martin Building has two such bas relief cast panels above the central doorway. The series of reliefs has a plaster of Paris finish, white in color and with the same depth of surface carving. Most measure about 48” x 34”. The extant examples were designed for the interiors of buildings, yet South Miami’s pieces were mounted on the exterior, seemingly protected by the porch roof.

Boys at Play

Girls at Play

CEMENT SCULPTURES IN PUBLIC SPACES

South Miami has three very familiar cement sculptures, the football player in Palmer Park, the swimmer in front of city hall, and the woman in the play area at Dante Fascell Park. These were created by Don Sieler a self-taught cement sculptor, best known locally for his figurative outdoor works.

A South Miami resident, he made his concrete sculptures in his backyard. Before coming to South Miami he lived in Nassau, owned a business and affiliated with the “Bay Street Boys.” He had to give up the business when the Bahamas were liberated from the UK in 1973.

Working primarily in the mid-to-late 20th century, Sieler created durable, hand-formed concrete sculptures designed to live outdoors in parks, civic spaces, and private landscapes. He is often described as a regional “folk” or “outsider” artist — not academically trained in fine art, but deeply skilled in material craft and form.

Cement sculpture recently painted

XAVIER CORTADA’S MURAL ON SUNSET PLACE

In January 1999, Xavier Cortada unveiled two monumental glass mosaics on the exterior of NikeTown at The Shops at Sunset Place, adding a bold public art presence to South Miami’s evolving commercial corridor along U.S. 1.

Each mural rose approximately 24 feet high and was composed of thousands of individually set pieces of colored glass. The imagery featured dynamic athletic figures rendered in saturated blues, reds, and golds, designed to reflect energy, motion, and aspiration. Installed at a time when Sunset Place was positioning itself as a regional retail and entertainment destination, the mosaics helped distinguish the project architecturally while reinforcing the integration of art into public-facing development.

Glass mosaic, a medium known for durability and luminosity, allowed the works to shift subtly throughout the day as sunlight struck the surface. The scale and placement ensured visibility to both pedestrians and passing traffic, making the installation one of the most prominent examples of public art in South Miami at the close of the 20th century.

Cortada, a Miami native, earned bachelor’s, master’s, and law degrees from the University of Miami, where he later returned as a faculty member. Though he is now widely recognized for socially engaged and climate-focused public art, the Sunset Place mosaics reflect an earlier phase of his career centered on architectural integration and civic visibility.

For many residents, the murals became a visual marker along the South Dixie Highway corridor — a moment when commerce, architecture, and public art intersected in South Miami’s urban narrative.

INTERIOR ART INSTALLATIONS AT SUNSET PLACE

Izia Lindsay showing his creations inside Sunset Place

Art installations visually herald a new horizon at Sunset Place.  In 2016, over the summer break The Shops at Sunset Place had given local university and high school student artists the chance to take on their largest canvas yet.

Sunset Place commissioned University of Miami graduate art student Izia Lindsay to transform the seven structural columns at the Sunset Drive entry plaza into a canvas for abstract landscapes of South Florida’s native wildlife, where locals and visitors have been able to watch him transform the area firsthand.

During the first week of July, working at night (from 10p to 6a) using some 100 cans of spray paint, the Trinidadian muralist created columns of “Tropical Nouveau,” transforming the blank 30 foot high and 10 foot round into works of art.

Lindsay is known for large, colorful murals that reflect nature, and his work has previously graced the walls of Miami’s Wynwood as well as communities in Barbados, Suriname, Curacao and his native Trinidad.  Just minutes from where he currently lives and attends school, this project hits especially close to home. “I’m honored to have the opportunity to create a work of art for the South Miami community that has welcomed me and become my second home,” said Lindsay.

Of his artistic works, Izia reflects: “My art is a reflection of my surroundings and how exquisite I see life to be.  I believe art in any environment has the power to affect space. My vision as an artist is to subconsciously connect with people positively.”

From the sidewalks during SOMiartwalk© and the “SOMI Sidewalk Showcase” of local talent, to the walls of Sunset Place, students from the National Honors Society art magnet program at South Miami Senior High School, were involved in community art projects.  At the SOMiartwalk© they brought art on the sidewalks with colorful chalk renderings, appreciated by passersby for many days later.

A more permanent art project came inside Sunset Place.  With guidance from their instructor Lizzie Hunter, the high school students took on their own once-in-a-lifetime project in the Sunset Place grotto, where they brought vibrant nature scenes to life on the grotto columns.

SOMI Sidewalk Showcase, January 2016

SMSrHS Student Yesenia Padron

Sunset Place Grotto Columns

SMSrHS Student Amanda Muñoz

In 2017 a colorful “Cherry Blossom Peacock” by local artist Luis Valle was painted on the wall of the Grand Staircase. Over the years, people are often seen taking photos at the wall.

COLOMBIAN SCULPTURE GARDEN BLOSSOMS

The Colombian Sculpture Garden is a project of the City of South Miami and its Sister City of Medellin, Colombia.  South Miami City Commissioner Josh Liebman fostered the development of the sister city program and has spearheaded the sculpture garden project as a singular exhibit of its kind.

See SOMI Magazine exclusive cover feature articles: Volume XV, No. 1 Winter edition (2019/20) with background article on the Sister-city program and the introduction of the Colombian Sculpture Garden by Colombian President Ivan Duque (https://somimag.com/sister-city-is-established.) and Volume XVII, No. 1 Winter edition (021/22) feature: new installations at the Colombia Sculpture Garden (https://somimag.com/sculpture-garden-blossoms/).

COLOMBIAN PRESIDENTIAL VISIT On September 27, 2019, Secret Service, City of South Miami Police, security guards, dignitaries, guests, and members of the press gathered at Dante Fascell Park to usher in “a first” in South Miami’s history, the hosting of a president from a foreign nation. Colombia’s Ivan Duque Marquez. He came to the park to recognize a series of initiatives involving the Sister Cities of Medellín and South Miami, including Colombian Art in Public Places, a video teleconference language exchange program, and the celebration of Medellin’s flower festival in South Miami.

The event featured remarks by Mayor Philip K. Stoddard, City of South Miami, Commissioner Josh Liebman, Medellin Sister City Ambassador, Pedro Agustin Valencia, Consulate General of Colombia, President Ivan Duque M., and Dr. Santiago Medina, sculptor and Colombian Sculpture Garden curator. Photo above is President Duque addressing the audience.

January 2020, official unveiling of Amistad by Dr. Santiago Medina with Colombian and South Miami officials.

In January 2020, three sculptures were unveiled, with six more in 2022. The nine sculptures provided by Colombian artists were curated by Dr. Santiago Medina, a native of Medelin who is a local resident, medial professional and sculptor. The works are donated by artists in support of the Sister-City program. The sculpture garden is a one-of-a-kind project and has elevated the profile of the City of South Miami.

LAS MININAS by ALEX MIJJARES

Las Meninas (“Ladies in Waiting”), Diego Velázquez (1656)
Museo del Prado, Madrid

The recently installed murals by Alexander Mijares at the SoMi District Parking Garage, are his interpretation of the 17th century masterpiece by Velasquez and feature two large Menina figures in Mijares’ signature stained-glass style. (See in this issue In & Around for photos/video of the murals unveiling in December, 2025.)

This installation brings bold visual energy to everyday urban space, transforming a functional structure into a cultural landmark. Much of Mijares’ art plays with vibrant color and cultural references that celebrate local identity and heritage.

The murals are part of the City’s ongoing effort to bring more art into public spaces and activate the SoMi District visually and culturally.

Working at home studio in South Miami

A South Miami homeowner, Alejandro “Alex” Mijares is a celebrated Miami-born artist known for his vibrant murals that fuse Latin American influences with Miami flair. He rose to prominence with dynamic public works, showcasing bold colors and intricate patterns. With pieces featured internationally and collaborations with top brands, Mijares is recognized for bringing contemporary energy to the street art scene. His creative spirit continues to inspire, bridging communities through art that pulses with life and cultural pride.

A self-taught artist, Mijares finds inspiration in the dynamic energy of both Miami and his Cuban and Spanish roots, and creates pieces that are rich in culture. His vision has been recognized both nationally and internationally by some of the most discerning art collectors across the globe. Forbes and Elite Daily named Mijares One of the Top 10 Most Influential Artists of his generation, on separate lists.

SOMIonline: A LOOK AT PUBLIC ART IN SOUTH MIAMI

IN CONCLUSION

I come back to Alex Mijares.

“Public art has always been about more than walls or columns; it’s about connection. It’s about pausing for a moment in the middle of everyday life—in a parking garage, in a busy city and feeling something. …beauty, culture, and community are alive in every corner of South Miami.”

Enjoy your “SOMIartwalk.”

– john edward smith