Allison Freidin: Pioneering Graffiti Art's Renaissance in Miami

After building up and working some pretty high profile gun violence cases, I felt as though I had reached a bit of a plateau in my career. Art has always been at the top of my personal interests, and I think my creative inclinations perhaps run deeper than the average attorney. Always looking to make the maximum use of my skills, it seemed almost necessary to make the transition from the courtroom to Miami’s Arts District. What’s similar about both roles was my desire to help the underdog, whether it was a victim or a struggling artist, and feed my desire to uplift urban environments.

When we set out to start the Museum of Graffiti, I met with many individuals with deep roots in the highbrow art world. Many of them refused to accept graffiti as art and wrote it off as more of a virus in developing communities. It wasn’t until we opened our doors and received the praise of the New York Times, CBS Saturday Morning, and other major media outlets that tones started to change. This change in sentiment further proved that having a museum dedicated to educating the masses on the subject matter was critical. As you walk through the exhibitions you notice that graffiti artists aren’t gang members and criminals, but instead were painted in that light by authorities pushing out anti-graffiti propaganda because they themselves did not understand the reason for the writing on the walls. Today, we continue to battle the long-standing stigma associated with aerosol as a medium. Still, through our private art gallery, pieces by the best aerosol artists in the world are now making their way into top collections of individuals and Fortune 500 companies.

Every city has its own history, and I have taken it upon myself to make sure Miami’s position in graffiti art and hip hop is well represented in our exhibitions. Specifically, my newest venture, the Art of Hip Hop, focuses specifically on artists, photographers, and designers who shaped the visual identity of Hip Hop. Within the exhibit, we have reserved special spaces to highlight the globally renown talent that came out of Miami and leveraged our urban tropical oasis as their inspiration. An excellent example of this is an entire wall dedicated to Miami-born photographer David Cabrera, who shot some of the biggest names in Hip Hop and set them up in a way that tells a deeper story without hearing lyrics or a beat. His sprawling images of hometown heroes Rick Ross and Kodak Black are true showstoppers.

While preserving art history and art education is my main arena, there are so many important issues in society that require an “all hands on deck” approach for a better tomorrow. I do not believe that community service is a spectator sport, and as such, we always make use of our physical spaces to benefit various causes that need our help. One specific initiative we are proud of is the “10 for 10” program that periodically invites fine art collectors to receive a 10% discount on original art, with the next 10% of the price of the piece donated by us to the charity. This is a successful way to support our local artist community by selling paintings to benefit a good cause.

I think everyone should “diversify their portfolio.” What I mean by this is to avoid getting complacent with a daily routine and instead dive deeper into subjects, new or old, that make you happy. For the same reasons you should “diversify” in the traditional financial sense, I think learning new subject matters keeps me sharp by having my finger on the pulse of what’s going on in other realms and helps me network and stay inspired. All my businesses end up cross pollinating each other in some way.

I think I found a niche in my career, shining a light on creatives who traditionally go unnoticed. My first experience in this was creating great awareness for the world’s best graffiti writers, and because it was so well received, we needed to keep going. Graffiti writers have traditionally been hired by Hip Hop stars and execs to create logos, design merch, or paint backdrops for photoshoots and music videos. When we recognized how graffiti writers never really get credit for their role in shaping Hip Hop culture when compared with the DJs and MCs, we set out to change that. In that same vein, the photographers and illustrators are in the same boat, so this new concept - Art of Hip Hop - is really dedicated to them. While we exhibit their work and educate the public, we also provide a rare opportunity for collectors, fans, and enthusiasts to come meet this talent and acquire their work. There is no other place in the world to shop the world’s most talented visual creators in Hip Hop all in one place.

I think the big digital change we are all going to see in the art x tech space is AI. If used properly, AI can be used responsibly to enhance the curation process in galleries, museums, and online platforms. Recommendation algorithms use data on user preferences to suggest artworks, helping individuals discover pieces that align with their tastes and interests.