Art Africa Miami Arts Fair Set To Weave Art and Culture Into The Fabric Of The #HistoricOvertown Cultural Movement

Miami, Fl, November 18, 2014-The Urban Collective continues to invigorate the cultural landscape of the Historic Overtown community with the anticipation of this year’s 2014 Art Africa Miami Arts Fair(AAMAF), taking place December 3-7, 2014 at 801 NW 3rd Ave, Miami, Fl 33136. The AAMAF remains relevant in its 4th year, and continues to push boundaries, leading the way for innovation, creativity and inclusion of some of the top art artist influencers of the African and Caribbean Diaspora. The Art Africa Arts Fair is funded by the Southeast Overtown/ Park West Community Redevelopment Agency This year’s fair falls under the marketing campaign and moniker of #HistoricOvertownSoulBasel and was orchestrated by The Urban Collective’s CEO, Neil Hall, as a collaborative partnership between the City of Miami Commissioner Keon Hardemon, Southeast Overtown Parkwest Community Redevelopment Agency and the Black Archives of art cultural offerings throughout Overtown during Art Basel in December. #HistoricOvertownSoulBasel celebrates Overtown’s music, art and cultural vibe. The Urban Collective is a social conscious design, art and culture lifestyle brand created to inform, inspire and engage underserved communities in the power of the arts to transform their environment.

In 2011, visionary, architect and creator of AAMAF, Neil Hall launched the inaugural AAMAF that showcased engaging and thought provoking art that served a continuum of the Black, Caribbean, social, political, hip hop artistic strand that spoke to the Black presence missing from the Art Basel script. The AAMAF narrative has ignited a spark in the urban art community resulting in the creation of art fairs like Prizm, Kroma, Fusion Mia, Global Caribbean and Multitudes added to this cultural revolution. The wave of celebrations continues with the appointment of Babacar M’Bow as the Director of MOCA North Miami and also the Greater Miami Convention and Visitor’s Bureau’s Cultural Department’s marketing campaign Art of Black Miami. This years location for AAMAF was make possible by a partnership with the Mt. Zion Developments, Incorporated.

“This year’s effort continues to sustain the dynamic discourse of the AAMAF narrative and artistic strands of Black and Caribbean culture revolution”, boldly stated by cultural influencer, Neil Hall.

“Art, music, dance, and culture once reflected the vibrancy of the Overtown community. The Art Africa Arts Fair assists Historic Overtown in highlighting such a rich history while ensuring it participates in the blossoming of a new era of excellence,” stated by District 5, City of Miami Commissioner Keon Hardemon.
“All across the country, art has been a catalyst for the rebirth of communities that have been disinvested,” said Clarence Woods, SEOPW CRA Executive Director “ We see Art Africa as one of the sparks that will help to light the flames of economic prosperity here in Overtown.

AAMAF opens Wednesday, December 3, 2014 with a reception from 7pm-10pm,immediately following the opening night of #HistoricOvertownSoulBasel: A Celebration of Art, Music that will showcase the works of the late Overtown artist Purvis Young at the Lyric Theatre. The AAMAF gallery opens daily from 11am-7pm.

Other cultural offerings during the fair include a live mural being curated by Kyle Holbrook, CEO of Moving Lives of Kids Community Mural Project; artist’s talks produced by Caribbean-American intellectual, Dr. Carol Boyce Davies and Soul Basel Brunch and Conversation.

For more information about The Urban Collective and AAMAF please visit: www.theurbancollective.co

About The Urban Collective

The Urban Collective is a social conscious design, art and culture lifestyle brand created to inform, inspire and engage underserved communities in the power of the arts to transform their environment. Our brand emerged as one of the new urban lifestyle boutiques located in Miami’s Midtown on N. Miami Ave in 2004 and continues to support the work of these artisans through our partnership and collaboration with a number of non-profit organizations including Global Partners for Development, Aid to Artisans, League of Artisans and NEST, which is dedicated to changing the lives of women artisans by giving them small loans to build and maintain art or craft-based businesses. We proudly support the work of artisans who design, fabricate and offer our patrons a collection of beautiful products that marries the raw authenticity of African craftsmanship with the sleekness of modernity.