The Urban Collective Encourages The Youth Of Overtown Miami To Transform And Inspire Their Community Through The Arts
MIAMI – In Overtown Miami, The Urban Collective (TUC) will host their second installment of their Youth Art Insiders workshop for 100 students from the Overtown community on Friday, December 4th at the Black Archives Historical Lyric Theatre and Cultural Arts Complex (819 NW 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33136).
Earlier this year, TUC hosted three youth art workshops during National Youth Art month.
The Urban Collective celebrates the love of art with a passion for community involvement in the arts. The urban lifestyle boutique and design studio specializes in highlighting the rich aesthetics of African art as well as other unique handmade treasures from around the globe.
Sponsors for the workshop include The Beta Beta Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, All Things Taj, District 5 City of Miami Commissioner Keon Hardemon and the Southeast Overtown Park West Community Redevelopment Agency.
Neil Hall, AIA, licensed architect and creator behind TUC was alarmed by the lack of diversity of artists and galleries featured in the country’s largest and most prestigious art fair “Art Basel Miami.”
In 2010, he produced the first annual “Art Africa Miami Arts Fair,” the first large scale art fair solely featuring artists from the African diaspora in an 8,000 square foot tent located in Miami’s historic Overtown Miami neighborhood.
“The Arts are very important in fostering community involvement and creativity. In an era of reduced funding for arts in schools, we believe that art education is essential for unity and innovation in the hearts of our youth. The Urban Collective believes that education and participation in the arts, contributes to the healthy development of young people, their family and the community,” says Hall.
“I believe that art has the ability to influence and enlighten our youth,” says Commissioner Keon Hardemon.
Through the Youth Insider Art Workshop, The Urban Collective seeks to challenge the negative perceptions of the Overtown Miami neighborhood by inspiring the community’s youth to create, innovate and educate. TUC is dedicated to inspiring the youth of Overtown to serve as agents of change within the arts and cultural arena.
TUC Youth Art Insiders Workshop Facilitators
Art & Design-Design2Form(Zamarr Brown and Joelle Flowers-RA Leed AP)
Street Art-Chy Walton
Contemporary Art-Artist Carl Craig
Mural Art/Painting-Chivas Davis Enterprise-Chivas Davis
Beta Beta Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alphi Fraternity will be supplying the snacks for the students on that day. “We feel that a partnership with The Urban Collective will help us fulfill our mission in improving the education of youth living in the inner city,” says Lewis Leveille,President of Beta Beta Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alphi Fraternity.
