LAUNCH OF SECOND SUNDAYS AT FAENA FORUM

As part of the mission to maintain culture at the heart of Faena District, Faena Forum hosted Second Sundays on June 11th to celebrate the communities of Miami Beach with ángeles veloces arcanos fugaces, a participatory art installation by assume vivid astro focus that reimagines a roller dancing rink.

To kick off the first edition of Second Sundays at Faena Forum on June 11th, Faena Miami Beach celebrated the communities of Miami Beach with an immersive, participatory and site-specific art installation created by contemporary artist duo assume vivid astro focus (avaf).

Held at Faena Forum—the OMA designed cultural centerpiece of Faena District Miami Beach—the event was free and open to the public and welcomed over 1,300 adults and children who came to enjoy the roller dancing, art, video projections and music. This first edition of the roller disco rink featured performances by renowned Miami performance artist duo the TM Sisters with the Miami Quad Squad and the musical experience was curated by Paperwater. The event included a robust line-up of special guest DJs and performers including Paperwater, Coffinbeats, Bonnie Beats, Voila Snow, JP Abascal and Wet Paper B2B, who activated the rink throughout the day.

"In Buenos Aires and in Miami Beach, we have redefined the way we live in cities by building a strong community anchored in art and culture. The Forum is envisioned as a space for a multiplicity of voices and is the heart of the Faena District Miami Beach. I am proud to offer Miami a new environment for cultural experiences that encourages experimentation and creativity across fields."
—Alan Faena explained.

Curated by Ximena Caminos, Artistic Director and Chair of Faena Art, the participatory installation ángeles veloces arcanos fugaces establishes a new platform for social interaction in the Faena Forum. Ximena Caminos remarked, "We have reimagined the roller dancing rink for the interior of the Faena Forum as a means of creating connectivity and interaction, to celebrate community, to open our doors for everyone to participate, play, dance, and to break down the barriers in our city."

assume vivid astro focus was commissioned to create a neo-disco roller rink in 2014 for the Faena Art Center Buenos Aires. This rink was reimagined in 2015 for the Faena Beach in Miami Beach and is now reconceived by avaf to take over the entirety of Faena Forum. assume vivid astro focus first explored the concept of the roller rink as an interactive installation with Public Art Fund in Central Park, New York City in 2004 as part of the Whitney Biennial. That original iteration of the project was intended as an homage to the Skate Circle, a community of roller dancers in Central Park that have been a part of New York City's identity for years and part of the fabric of its cultural life. Now, for Faena Art in Miami Beach, avaf moves this public project indoors to create a participatory space for celebration that exists somewhere between multiple genres including music, dance, art and video and repurposes the art viewing space as an arena for physical activity and community gathering.

Likening their work to music, avaf has said:

"it's the medium that's most suitable for reaching the viewer and transmitting ideas. The way it does so is very corporeal and entices an immediate and shareable reaction."

Daygee Kwia and Eddy Samy from Paperwater have said, "We are honored to collaborate with Faena Art and avaf as performers and curators of the musical experience for the first edition of the roller dancing rink. We look forward to enhancing this dialogue by bringing together other local and diverse creatives to amplify the collaboration."

Second Sundays continues through the summer on July 9 and August 13 from 12:00pm to 10:00pm.

Admission is free and open to the public. For more information visit www.faena.com or www.faenaart.org