Other Fun Stuff

Ray Santamaria has worked as lead technician for Facilities and Operations at the University of Miami for over 10 years. He is also the proud owner of honeybee colonies certified by the Apiary Division of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Come share Ray's passion, discover the world of bees, and learn the basics of beekeeping.

Join Nyabi Benjamin and Elida Velado Salazar for an engaging, hands-on workshop that blends creativity, sustainability, and a touch of green inspiration. Open to University students, faculty, and staff, this session invites you to give an old book new life by transforming it into a sustainable planter. Learn the basics of crafting your planter, explore simple design techniques, and discover how to choose and care for the plant you’ll take home. All supplies are provided, and no crafting experience is required.

Explore the world of South Florida’s native species and discover how everyday actions can help protect them. Join Amy Leonard from Pelican Harbor Seabird Station for an engaging, educational session that highlights the wildlife, conservation, and community impact at Miami’s oldest bird rehabilitation facility. Learn about the history of the Seabird Station, explore the diversity of patients in our care, and understand the most common injuries we treat. You’ll also discover simple, meaningful ways the University community can support local wildlife.

Join us for an evening with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Mirta Ojito as she presents her latest book, “Deeper than the Ocean.” Ojito will be in conversation with Chantel Acevedo, acclaimed novelist and University of Miami English professor. In “Deeper than the Ocean,” Ojito delivers a sweeping, multigenerational historical novel that examines the power of a mother’s love, the burden of family secrets, and the resilience of identity across time and place. The story follows Mara Denis, a journalist who, while on assignment in the Canary Islands uncovers a startling truth about her ancestry that upends everything she believed about her family. As she traces her roots from Cuba to Spain and the United States, Mara embarks on a deeply personal journey shaped by loss, love, and the search for belonging. Moving between the early 20th century and the present, and spanning the Canary Islands, Cuba, New York, and Key West, the novel also revisits the tragic legacy of the Valbanera, known as the “poor man’s Titanic.”

DVCAI Back-Chat: What’s in Your Container? Date and Time Thursday, April 23, 2026 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. ET Location Online via Zoom Zoom Meeting ID: 240 501 7214 You can also join from DVCAI’s website:  www.diasporavibe.org/backchat  Price Free to attend Donations to Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator are encouraged. Event Description Join Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator (DVCAI) for Back-Chat: What’s in Your Container?, a quarterly online conversation exploring the experiences of diasporic cultural producers, scholars, and artists who have benefited from DVCAI’s programs and support since 1996. As DVCAI celebrates 30 years of nurturing and amplifying artists from the Caribbean and Latin American Diaspora, this special session offers space for dialogue, reflection, and connection across community, culture, and contemporary art. This session features artists Breeana Thorne, Jevon Brown, Lance Minto-Strouse and Myah Smith. Back-Chat invites community members, artists, and arts supporters into a thoughtful virtual gathering centered on creative exchange and shared experience. Register for free at linktr.ee/dvcai. Donations to support DVCAI’s work are encouraged. About Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator (DVCAI) is a nonprofit arts organization dedicated to promoting, nurturing, and cultivating the vision and diverse creativity of emerging artists from the Caribbean and Latin American Diaspora through experimentation, exhibitions, artists-in-residence programs, international cultural exchanges, Artist Catalyst Awards, and dialogue in contemporary art. DVCAI partners with funding and presenting organizations to enhance residency experiences in the Caribbean, nationally, and internationally. For more information, please visit  https://www.diasporavibe.org . Contact Tanya Desdunes Executive Director  tanya@dvcaiteam.org

Join MOAD and Jennifer Basile for an interactive printmaking workshop. Learn the basics of collagraphy and leave with your own creation. In connection with the exhibition Belkis Ayón and Carlos Alfonzo: Odyssey, participants will engage with learning the basics of collagraphy. A printing technique primarily used by the late artist Belkis Ayón. Jennifer Basile, New York born, currently lives and works in Miami. Visual artist and Miami Dade College studio art professor for over 20 years. She earned her Master of Fine Arts in Painting and Printmaking at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (1999), and her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting & Printmaking at the University of Miami (1996). Basile’s practice draws inspiration from her travels, including landscapes, cityscapes, and South Florida flora and fauna. Her works expands across different materials such as textiles, wood, Japanese rice paper, and mosaics, among others. The artist hast exhibited in solo exhibitions including In the Wake of Reflection (2025), Lasting Impressions: A Cessation of Existence (2022). Her recent public work, Coastal Anchor (2025) for Miami-Dade County Art in Public Places, can be found at the new Osvaldo N. Soto Miami-Dade Justice Center and Disappearing Treasures (2021) at the Underline at Brickell Metrorail Station. Basile’s works are part of MOAD’s permanent collection. Event attendees may park for free in the MDC’s Kendall parking lot by Building M. The event will be held in Building M, Room M325. The Museum of Art and Design (MOAD) at MDC may document the event, including its attendees. By entering the area, and/or participating in the event, you consent to the recording and its use in any form. MOAD's programs are made possible with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor, and Board of County Commissioners. They are sponsored in part by the State of Florida through the Division of Arts and Culture, and with generous support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Image: Jennifer Basile, Congaree, 2016. Hand-printed relief print on Japanese rice paper. Gift of the private collection of Michael Joseph Netsky.

Join MOAD for a special yoga class in the Knight Skylight Gallery at the Freedom Tower. Romina (Romi) began practicing yoga back in 2017, the physical aspect of yoga served as a launch pad and she quickly fell in love with the practice and aimed to explore many different types of yoga. A practice that was a hobby quickly turned into a passion. Her love of yoga pushed Romina to pursue her 200-hr yoga teacher training in Orlando, FL and she now teaches in many different areas in Miami. Romina enjoys teaching vinyasa flow and gentle flows with creative transitions, focusing on strengths, stability and alignment. Whether you are a beginner or advance practitioner, using movement and breathwork, rest assured you'll leave feeling transformed in all aspects of the mind, body, and spirit. Admission to the Freedom Tower exhibitions and galleries following the class is included with your RSVP. Event attendees may park for free in the MDC garage at 500 NE Second Avenue, between NE Fifth and NE Sixth Streets. Please bring your own yoga mat. Yoga mats will not be available onsite. The Museum of Art and Design (MOAD) at MDC may document the event, including its attendees. By entering the area, and/or participating in the event, you consent to the recording and its use in any form.

Join Bookleggers the last Saturday of the month for Storytime at 12:30pm for kids ages 3 - 8. Stories are read by actors, artists, and fun friends of Bookleggers. ​Stick around after storytime to shop for books at Miami's first and only free bookstore. ​Have books your kids have grown out of? Bring them to Bookleggers <3

Lesley Goldwasser in Conversation with Artists Dahlia Dreszer and Ray Tenorio Join us for an inspiring evening at The Betsy Hotel, as owner and curator Lesley Goldwasser welcomes acclaimed artists Dahlia Dreszer and Ray Tenorio for an intimate conversation in the Hohauser Wing galleries. This special event offers guests a unique opportunity to hear firsthand about the creative journeys, influences, and artistic practices of two dynamic voices in contemporary art. About the Artists: Dahlia Dreszer (Panama) is a photo-based artist living and working in Miami, Florida. A graduate of Emory University, Dahlia explores identity, memory, and cultural heritage through large-format photography and immersive installations that blur the boundaries between reality and artifice. Rooted in her Latin American and Jewish heritage, her work weaves personal narratives with broader cultural histories, often using still-life arrangements. Her recent projects include “Bringing the Outside In,” and explorations at the intersection of technology, art, and nature—most notably through her AI-generated alter ego, Clone Dahlia, featured in TIME magazine. Dahlia also curates public dialogues centering on collaboration, technology, and cross-cultural exchange. Ray Tenorio Viera was born in Havana, Cuba, and is now based in Miami. With a background in Social Communication from the Universidad de La Habana, and further studies in Graphic and Commercial Arts at Miami Dade College and Illustration Design in Berlin, Ray draws inspiration from Surrealism, Expressionism, mythology, and Latin American and African folklore. His vivid, emotional artworks—crafted with bold colors, confident lines, and rhythmic forms—invite viewers into a world of psychedelic dreams and hidden narratives. Each piece emerges intuitively, encouraging a soul-deep dialogue between artwork and audience. Surrounded by The Betsy’s renowned collection, guests will explore the intersection of art, community, and cultural storytelling. The evening includes time for audience Q&A, light refreshments, and the chance to connect with fellow art lovers in one of South Beach’s most iconic settings. RSVP: Recommended, as space is limited.

Hosted by Lesley Goldwasser, Hotel Owner & Curator In Conversation with Jonathan Henery Manager, Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s Studio; Treasur Join us for a special evening at The Betsy Hotel as owner and curator Lesley Goldwasser sits down with Jonathan Henery, Manager of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s Studio and Treasurer and Secretary of the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation. This conversation will offer an inside look into the creative partnership and monumental legacy of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, renowned for their transformative environmental installations around the world. Doors open 6: 00 PM | Program starts 6:30 PM About the Speaker: Jonathan Henery works at the heart of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s artistic legacy, managing their studio and serving as Treasurer and Secretary of the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation. He is intimately involved in stewarding the artists’ archives, advancing educational initiatives, and supporting new scholarship and exhibitions that keep their vision alive for new generations. About the Christo & Jeanne-Claude Foundation: The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation is dedicated to preserving, protecting, and promoting the work and legacy of the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The Foundation supports scholarly research, educational programming, and exhibitions that explore the impact of their large-scale, site-specific installations—iconic projects like “The Gates” in Central Park, “Wrapped Reichstag” in Berlin, and “The Floating Piers” in Italy. Through its work, the Foundation ensures that the duo’s spirit of innovation, collaboration, and environmental engagement continues to inspire artists and audiences worldwide. Guests will have the opportunity to explore the art and ideas that shaped Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s career, engage in a lively Q&A, and connect with fellow art enthusiasts in The Betsy’s vibrant gallery setting. RSVP: Recommended, as space is limited.