Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) presents unprecedented exploration of the cultural history of the Caribbean

MIAMI  – Caribbean: Crossroads of the World, Opening Celebration will take place Thursday, April 24, 2014 at Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) at 6:00 p.m.  Trinidadian artist Akuzuru’s first live performance in the U.S. will debut an interdisciplinary work as part of the Opening Celebration with music by DJ Majestic.

The exhibition explores the diverse cultural history of the Caribbean and its diaspora, highlighting over two centuries of rarely seen works dating from after the Haitian Revolution to the present. The exhibition is the culmination of nearly a decade of collaborative research and scholarship organized by El Museo del Barrio in conjunction with the Queens Museum and The Studio Museum in Harlem. The Miami presentation, curated for PAMM by guest curator Elvis Fuentes, is a honed reiteration of this critically-acclaimed survey and offers a vital reflection of Miami’s Caribbean community. The exhibition is the centerpiece of a season at PAMM dedicated to Caribbean art, which includes related exhibitions, a two-day symposium, a Caribbean film and video series, major new performances and other related programs and events (pamm.org/calendar).

With over 180 objects including paintings, sculptures, prints, photographs, installations and videos, Caribbean: Crossroads of the World features images of, from and about the region. This exhibition employs a transhistorical approach to explore the many nations and cultures that comprise a broad conception of the Caribbean and focuses on four central themes: Fluid Motions, Counterpoints, Shades of History and Kingdoms of this World. These interconnected frameworks provide common ground and allow insight into the complex context from which the vital and varied artistic production of the region has emerged, illuminating multiple histories.

Artists who have lived and worked in the Caribbean, as well as artists living abroad who responded to the rich visual tradition and history of the area are shown side-by-side. This exhibition mixes historical work by artists such as Jacob Lawrence, Victor Patricio Landaluze, Camille Pissarro, Wifredo Lam, Rigaud Benoit, Amelia Pélaez and Armando Reverón, with works by contemporary artists, including Allora and Calzadilla, Janine Antoni, Renée Cox, Glexis Novoa, and Ebony G. Patterson, among many others.

For more information visit www.pamm.org