As we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement, The Miami Urban Contemporary Experience (MUCE) proudly utilizes the arts as a beacon to celebrate our culture, highlighting the remarkable achievements that define our legacy. This historic art show honors the transformative power of art as a spiritual force that reflects our collective journey and inspires higher aspirations.
MUCE remains steadfast in its mission to enrich heritage neighborhoods by ensuring art and culture remain vibrant and central to the community year-round. With an unwavering dedication to cultural integrity, MUCE prioritizes authenticity over fleeting trends or popular opinions, standing alongside those who define their own path. Our platforms elevate voices that deserve recognition, presenting their stories with purpose and pride.
Through thoughtfully curated exhibitions, dynamic programming, and immersive cultural experiences, MUCE highlights the extraordinary talents of BIPOC artists. This art show is a testament to the enduring legacy of the Civil Rights Movement, showcasing the brilliance of our culture and the unyielding power of the arts to drive innovation, inspiration, and progress.
Curated by Bart Mervil [MUCE]
Nica Sweet
Azizi Desouza
Anthony Lumpkin
Ed Waffle
Christian Allison
Christian Allison is a hyperrealist artist based in Lagos, Nigeria. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical engineering. Before veering into art full-time, Allison worked and gathered work experience in the oil sector. Seeing an unending tussle in his desires – to work full-time as an engineer or follow his creational passion as an artist, he decided to succumb to the effect art had and the fulfillment felt in every stroke of color applied to build a niche for himself within the art space.
Doba Afolabi
In his own words, Afolabi is an "entertainer on canvas," drawn to social scenes that evoke happiness and entertainment. He eschews labels, preferring to focus on the communication of emotions and stories through his art. His signature, a lowercase rendering of his first name, is a deliberate part of each painting, and he views his artworks as if they were his children, each possessing a unique spirit.
Kheraba Traore
Traoré’s art draws inspiration from childhood cartoons, featuring partially defined childlike characters adorned with vibrant
and fluorescent splashes of color. These elements engage the viewer in a dialogue surrounding the themes of innocence
and resilience, as they relate to the stories of children who navigate their days between the harsh realities of street violence
and the pure innocence of childhood games. In his work, Traoré portrays these children with an uncompromising style,
offering an honest and unfiltered perspective on their inspiring tales of resilience.
Modou Gueye
Rom Isichei
Rom Isichei, a former graphic artist turned full-time painter, is renowned for his mixed-media paintings that showcase
fractured faces in vibrant color combinations. Using palette knives and heavy impasto techniques, Isichei creates a range of
emotions on each face, rendered ambiguous by dividing them into overlapping panels. Drawing from his training at the
Yaba College of Technology, Isichei’s paintings blend minimalist forms and expressive color manipulation, resulting in
sophisticated and energetically charged artworks. His unique style has positioned him as one of the most successful
Nigerian artists in recent years.
Shayee Awoyomi
Oluwaseyi Awoyomi (Shayee) is a multifaceted Nigerian artist, a natural-born polymath immersed in a lineage of artistic brilliance,
born into a family of visual and performing artists. Her parents are the famous Nike Okundaye and Prince Twins Seven-Seven. She
started at the tender age of three, dancing, singing, and doing textile and painting alongside her mother, Nike Okundaye. She has
always found a way to infuse her artistic background and talent in every area of her life. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in
Entertainment Technology from the New York City College of Technology. Her ambition is to preserve and promote, to the best of
her ability and capacity, the various art media from the generation of the Osogbo School of Art to which her parents belong. She
grew up in an artistic village and can remember vividly following her mother to different textile markets in search of unique Adire
cloths.
Stephen Osuchukwu
Stephen Osuchukwu’s charcoal drawings show his fascination with everyday life. His large-scale realistic drawings on canvas
is often a surprise when considered alongside his contemporaries who engage with conceptual and abstract forms.
Born on the 6th of June, 1984, and raised in Benin City, Stephen Osuchukwu is an artist with a passion for painting,
sculpture, and comedy. Stephen Osuchukwu attended Idaeken Primary School in Benin City from 1987 to 1992 and Holy Trinity
Grammar School, Sabongida Ora, Edo State in 1999. He obtained an Ordinary National Diploma in Painting and General Arts
in 2005, and a Higher National Diploma in Sculpture in 2009 from Auchi Polytechnic where he was awarded the Rectors
award as the best-graduating student in Sculpture.
Uzoma Samuel Anyanwu
Uzoma Samuel Anyanwu (Uzo), is an artist whose creative journey has been shaped by a restless passion for craft, a curious
nature, and a creative upbringing. Inspired by his mother, a skilled seamstress, Uzo’s affinity for working with fabrics
emerged at a young age. His artworks embody a global perspective, featuring numerous fabric pieces sourced from
different cultures and woven together to reveal diverse motifs and symbols. Uzo’s recent collaborations in China have
deepened his understanding of intercultural exchange, and his artistic achievements include winning prizes in national
and international art competitions, showcasing his expertise in recycled art. Born in 1981, Uzo holds a B.A. in Fine Art and
Design from the University of Port Harcourt in Nigeria, with a focus on painting.
Yrneh Gabon
Yrneh Gabon is a Jamaican-born, Multi-disciplinary, Mixed media and performance artist based in Los Angeles. Having
graduated from the University of Southern California (USC) BFA with (Hons) and Otis College of Arts and Design, (MFA).
Yrneh’s practice seeks to balance and intersect artistic representation with social activism and social commentary,
particularly regarding issues pertinent to Africa and people within its Diaspora. In 2014, after travels and research in
Tanzania, Jamaica and across American, Gabon was given his first solo and major body of work at the California African
American Museum CAAM entitled “Visibly Invisible”Albinism in Tanzania, Jamaica, and the USA through his eyes.
“Visibly Invisible” Focused on the killings, the hunting and mistreatment of people born with Albinism, and brought
attention to the plight of people living with Albinism particularly in East Africa and was instrumental in speaking at the
United Nation, in New York advocating for the passing of the bill that protects people with Albinism around the world. His
ongoing project is an Operetta on ecological Climate Change entitled “Memba Mi Tell Yu/Listen Up Take Note” bringing
awareness to the nexus of ecological climate change dealing with fire and water and now salt.
Yusuf Durudola
Yusuf Durodola is a Lagos-based multidisciplinary Nigerian artist. His art develops from his ability to infuse different art forms into his performance art, thus projecting issues that surround human existence. It also explores issues of environmental pollution, echo system, socio-political imbalance, festivities, culture and sensitization. Yusuf's practice seeks to engage and spur human minds to consciousness.
Sam Ebohon
The kinetic brushwork Ebohon uses creates a blurry effect that acts to both veils and reveal beauty and elegance.
Simultaneously, these painterly explorations definitively point toward a contemporary African concept of the sublime.
Compact straight dashes combine with short strokes to dissolve into naturalistic forms seeking to define human existence
within various thematic and social contexts. By creating a balance between technique and visual drama, Ebohon’s artworks
evoke playful visual effects through their use of seemingly out-of-focus imagery. As if seen through a glass prism, the
images expand into reflections of motion.
Nike Okundaye
"My art is my heartbeat, and adire is the language through which I communicate my soul's deepest emotions. It is a
tradition that flows through my veins, connecting me to the rich cultural tapestry of the Yoruba people, where indigo
represents the profound essence of 'Love.'
Every piece of adire I create is a testament to the enduring power of tradition, craftsmanship, and resilience. I weave stories
into every thread, stories of triumph over adversity, stories of empowerment, and stories that celebrate the indomitable
spirit of my people.
