{"id":12767,"date":"2016-08-03T08:49:03","date_gmt":"2016-08-03T15:49:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/somimag.com\/?p=12767"},"modified":"2016-08-03T08:58:57","modified_gmt":"2016-08-03T15:58:57","slug":"art-installations-at-sunset-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/somimag.com\/art-installations-at-sunset-place\/","title":{"rendered":"ART INSTALLATIONS AT SUNSET PLACE"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/a>

\"DSC_9963\"Art installations visually herald a new horizon at Sunset Place.\u00a0 Over the summer break The Shops at Sunset Place has given local university and high school student artists the chance to take on their largest canvas yet.<\/p>\n

A theme in banners throughout Sunset Place and in print media is: \u201cIt\u2019s On the Horizon.\u201d\u00a0 These projects are signaling refreshing changes for the center in anticipation of its transformation by new ownership and management.\u00a0 \u201cActivating large canvases like what you\u2019re now seeing brings inspiring art\u00a0and engages community involvement,\u201d reports\u00a0Alex Schreer, Director Marketing for Grass\u00a0River Management.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_9844\"The center 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\u2019s native wildlife, where locals and visitors have been able to watch him transform the area firsthand.<\/p>\n

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 \u201cTropical Nouveau,\u201d<\/i> transforming the\u00a0blank 30 foot high and 10 foot round into\u00a0works of art.<\/p>\n

Lindsay is known for large, colorful murals that reflect nature, and his work has previously graced the walls of Miami\u2019s Wynwood as well as communities in Barbados, Suriname, Curacao and his native Trinidad.\u00a0 Just minutes from where he currently lives and attends school,\u00a0this project hits especially close to home.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m honored to have the opportunity to create a work of art for the South Miami community\u00a0that has welcomed me and become my\u00a0second home,\u201d said Lindsay.<\/p>\n

At age twenty-four, Izia is a MFA Graduate student at UM and also a Teaching Assistant.\u00a0 He began his graduate studies last August and expects to be graduating in 2018.\u00a0 He first visited Miami as an exchange student at UM four years ago, where he spent a semester working on his final year thesis and knew he wanted to return.\u00a0 \u201cThis visit had a great impact on me making a decision to further my studies at the University of Miami,\u201d says Lindsey.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_9842\"Of his artistic works, Izia reflects: \u201cMy art is a reflection of my surroundings and how exquisite I see life to be.\u00a0 I believe art in any environment has the power to affect space. My vision as an artist is to subconsciously connect with\u00a0people positively.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the sidewalks during SOMiartwalk<\/i>\u00a9 and the \u201cSOMI Sidewalk Showcase\u201d<\/i> of local talent, to the walls of Sunset Place, students from the National Honors Society art magnet program at South Miami Senior High School, have been involved in community art projects.\u00a0 At the SOMiartwalk<\/i>\u00a9 they brought art on the sidewalks with colorful chalk renderings, appreciated by passersby for many days later.<\/p>\n

Now, they are working on a more permanent art project at Sunset Place.\u00a0 Here, the high school students are taking on their own once-in-a-lifetime project in the Sunset Place grotto, where they are working with their peers to bring vibrant nature scenes to life on the grotto columns.<\/p>\n

With guidance from Lizzie Hunter, their instructor, students woking on the project are: Amanda Mu\u00f1oz, Mayra Ona, Yesenia Padron and Brenda Rodriguez.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a great example of getting students involved in the betterment of their communities,\u201d says Schreer, \u201cand in the next two years, our guests will be experiencing more \u201cpop-up art\u201d throughout the center.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t\t