ArtPlace funding will support the activation and stabilization of a 12,000 sq. ft. multi-tenant performance and visual art space in the heart of Wynwood, an up-and-coming light industrial warehouse arts district in Miami. The Light Box, orchestrated by Miami Light Project, will be a space for artists to research and make work, explore disciplines, and hone their unique voices through extended residencies, international exchange, cross-disciplinary approaches and the presentation of new work.

ArtPlace spoke with Rebekah Lengel, Managing Producer for Miami Light Project, about the The Light Box at Goldman Warehouse, about Miami Light Project’s strategies to not only activate neighborhoods, but engage artists and audiences in new and deeper ways.

ARTPLACE: - What is your elevator pitch when you describe your project to people?

LENGEL: Envisioned by Miami Light Project Artistic & Executive Director Elizabeth Boone as a laboratory for artists and an intimate place of gathering where new work is experienced in its various stages of development, The Light Box at Goldman warehouse is a 20,000 square foot performance studio and work space in the heart of the Wynwood Arts District in Miami, FL. Home of three no-profit arts organizations, Miami, Light Project, The M Ensemble Theater Company and Arts for Learning, The Light Box at Goldman Warehouse provides a creative setting in which artists are able to intersect with audiences in new ways; a place where audiences gain a deeper understanding of how work is created and what motivates an artist to make new work, as well as a laboratory for emerging artists.

ARTPLACE: - How do you expect to increase vibrancy in the place you are working?

LENGEL: Our Wynwood neighborhood has become known as the place in Miami for amazing cutting edge contemporary visual art. We aim to bring year round performance to the neighborhood and create a home for performing artists through several areas; including:

2nd Saturday Open House- In conjunction with the 2nd Saturday gallery walk that occurs in Wynwood, we will open the door to our studio on these evenings to present music and performing artists as a compliment o the visual art, in a way that will allow the attendees of the art walk to have a more hands on interaction with performance;

Developing New Work- Central to our organization’s mission is the support and development of contemporary performing artists. With the Light Box, we have a space for artists to call home, where they can experiment and create new work, collaborate and exchange ideas with other artists, and take classes and receive additional artistic training on a year round basis. Through our local and international commissioning programs, we will have 5-7 artists in residence at the Light Box each year;

Technical Fellowship Program- Along with our partner tenant in the space, M Ensemble Theater Company, MLP has noted the need to increase the training and cultivation of a new generation of technical theater talent on our community. Through the development of a technical training fellowship program, we aim to offer that training along to members of our community, along with work throughout the year to put that training to use, with the goal of fostering a new generation of technical theater talent who can make a sustainable living in Miami;

By opening our doors wide and welcoming artists in on daily and nightly basis, we have created such a powerful creative energy that has reinvigorated all the arts administrators on staff with the organizations housed at The Light Box at Goldman Warehouse. We have also worked hard to create an environment for our audiences and patrons that are more interactive and impactful than the normal experience of simply purchasing a ticket and witnessing the art. By inviting the community behind the scenes, to workshops, open house lunches, community master classes, pod casts and rehearsals, we are able to bread down the barrier that exists between artist and audience, allowing the audience a deeper understanding of what is involved with art making, and also a sense of ownership and pride of the amazing arts that exist in our community.