Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator

The mission of Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator (DVCAI) is to promote, nurture and cultivate the vision and diverse talents of emerging artists from the Caribbean and Latin Diaspora through our exhibitions, multidisciplinary artist-in-residence program, international cultural exchanges, and education and outreach activities that celebrate Miami-Dade County's rich cultural and social fabric.

To emerge as an artist of any kind is a task not to be endured by the faint of heart; to emerge as an artist from a marginalized social spectrum with the added burden of immigration and public stereotypes from both artistic peers and the ever judgmental critical sphere, is a road travelled by few. It is the ongoing mission of DVCAI to provide guidance, resources, and opportunities for artists who have put themselves in the fight for cultural capital, struggling to break through into the established arts community in the Southeast region, the national scene, and across the globe.

History

Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator is a 26-year afro-diasporic arts incubator in Miami, Florida, designated as a nomadic museum by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) as it holds a collection and a 20-year digital living archive at University of Miami, Special Collections. We are a multidisciplinary organization that promotes, nurtures and cultivates the talents of artists from the Latin and Caribbean diaspora, serving over 2,100 Black and Brown artists in the US and in the Caribbean, through core programming: The Caribbean Crossroads Series, Caribbean Teas, local studio residency and international cultural exchanges.

Due to the pandemic, DVCAI has carved out vital financial support for visual artists, created virtual and pop-up spaces for emerging artists, guaranteeing long term support and mentorship. DVCAI has consciously helped art practitioners modify their focus to include a transnational lens. DVCAI presents artists to Southern audiences who don’t often see themselves reflected in artwork at institutions. While many of our contemporaries focus on outreach, we balance the service of communities with the importance of supporting artists with space, time, and resources to develop work that reflects the diversity of BIPOC communities in the South and beyond.

Leadership - Rosie Gordon-Wallace

Rosie Gordon-Wallace is a recognized curator, arts advocate, community leader and pioneer in advancing contemporary diaspora art. She founded the Diaspora Vibe Culture Arts Incubator (DVCAI) in 1996 to serve as a local and global laboratory dedicated to promoting, nurturing, and cultivating the vision and diverse talents of emerging artists from the Caribbean Diaspora, artists of color and immigrant artists. Twenty-six years later, DVCAI is recognized as a global resource and one of the region’s leading platforms dedicated to providing diaspora artists with a venue to explore and experiment with new forms and themes that challenge traditional definitions of the Caribbean and Latin American art. DVCAI artists have traveled and engaged in conversations with artists in France, Barbados, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Antigua, Suriname, Guadeloupe, and Belize. In addition to her service on several prominent boards, she is an active member of the PAMM Fund for African American Art and serves on The Cultural Affairs grant panels for Miami Dade County and Florida State’s Department of Cultural Affairs. She serves on the Museum Association of the Caribbean curatorial selection board. Her awards include the Knight Foundation Cultural Award, The African Heritage Cultural Arts Center Third Annual Calabash Amadlozi Visual Arts Award, International Businesswoman of the Year, One of South Florida’s 50 Most Powerful Black Professionals to name a few. One of her most recent curations is Inter | Sectionality: Diaspora Art from The Creole City which opened at the Corcoran Art Museum, the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Art + Culture and the Miami Design District Art space. Chromatic Cogitations: Rhythm Reboot closed January 2022 at Redline Contemporary Art Center, Denver, Colorado. Closing at Oolite in Miami Beach is Order My Steps: There are no answers here, move on; a solo exhibition of Roscoé B. Thické, African American, local photographer who runs February 9 through May 15th. Opening May 22-October 2nd is a solo exhibition IM(O)ther Threads of the Maternal Figure at The Sarasota Art Museum featuring Katrina Coombs. A strong schedule of curatorial projects exists in the pipeline, with the proudest accomplishments the launch of DVCA~eye the new photo-collective launched March 1st, 2022.Under Gordon-Wallace’s leadership, DVVAI intentionally develops artistic platforms that encourage maturation of emerging artists.

Southern Cultural Treasures is a program of South Arts and made possible with support from the Ford Foundation and the Alice L. Walton Foundation.