Miami, May 9, 2018 – Discover how artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude stitched their way through the islands in Biscayne Bay with pink fabric during the screening of “So Miami: Surrounded Islands” beginning at 12 p.m., Thursday, May 10. Presented by the acclaimed Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives at Miami Dade College, the screening showcases historic TV news video of the construction of Surrounded Islands, a massive installation artwork that would dramatically change Miami’s faltering image. The screening will be offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays through May 31. They are free and open to the public.
In May 1983, artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, along with hundreds of volunteers and other collaborators, started wrapping some of the small islands in Biscayne Bay with pink fabric. Stretching and stitching, they worked for three days realizing Christo’s vision: “Surrounded Islands” — an audacious, beautiful artwork that transformed Biscayne Bay and Miami’s international profile.
Like all REWIND screenings, “So Miami: Surrounded Islands” takes place on MDC’s Wolfson Campus from noon to 1:30 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The REWIND programs are short – fifteen to thirty minutes each – and repeat during each ninety-minute screening
“The idea of REWIND is that people can drop in, bring a lunch, watch unique historic video, which you can’t see anywhere else, for ten minutes of half an hour, and then get back to their day,” says Wolfson Archives Director Rene Ramos. “There’s no need to make a feature-length commitment.”
“So Miami: Surrounded Islands” is the first of a series of REWIND programs, presented under the umbrella title “So Miami,” that will feature Miami icons ranging from landmarks and tourist attractions to cultural trends and famous individuals. New “So Miami” screenings will roll out during 2018 featuring such Miami icons as the Freedom Tower, the music of the Miami Sound and such individuals as Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Jackie Gleason and Janet Reno.
For more information, please contact the Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives at 305-237-7731 or info@wolfsonarchive.org.
WHAT: “Surrounded Islands” screening of unique, historic film and video featuring its creation
WHEN: Tuesdays and Thursdays, noon – 1:30 p.m., May 10, 15, 17, 22, 24, 29 & 31.
WHERE: MDC Wolfson Campus, Room 8401, 300 N.E. Second Avenue
About The Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives at MDC
The Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives is an official moving image repository and archives of the State of Florida and is one of the largest institutions of its kind in the United States. Lynn Wolfson helped found the Moving Image Archives in 1984, along with Ralph Renick and historian Arva Moore Parks. Named in honor of Lynn and the late Louis Wolfson II, a Florida legislator and leader in the state’s communications industry, the Archives is solely operated by Miami Dade College, and is housed in a 9,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility on MDC’s Wolfson Campus. The Archives’ collections include 35,000 hours of videotape and 23 million feet of film. A local television news collection dates to the late 1940s, with footage from landmark television station WTVJ (first in Florida, 18th in the nation) as well as WPLG, WCKT, WCIX, and WINK. The capstone of activities at the Archives is a long-term digitization project funded generously by an additional gift from Lynn Wolfson.
Media-only contacts: René Ramos, Archives director, 305-237-7731, rramos@mdc.edu; Lou Kramer, Archives manager, 305-327-7731, lkramer1@mdc.edu; or Kevin Wynn, public programs coordinator, 305-327-7732, kwynn@mdc.edu