Miami, Nov. 20, 2019—Museum of Art and Design (MOAD) at Miami Dade College (MDC) was awarded a $120,000 grant to implement immersive technologies related to their upcoming exhibition, Forensic Architecture: True to Scale. Awarded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Microsoft, MOAD’s proposal was selected among a pool of more than 500 applicants responding to the Knight Foundation/Microsoft immersive technologies in the arts call for ideas. Distributing a total of $750,000 to five winners, MOAD is the only Miami-based institution selected for this prestigious grant.
Composed of architects, software developers, filmmakers, lawyers, artists, and scientists, Forensic Architecture is a research agency that uses architectural software and an architectural sensibility to investigate human rights violations. On view from Feb. 19, 2020 – Sept. 27, 2020, MOAD’s Forensic Architecture: True to Scale exhibition will be the first U.S. survey of their extraordinary work uncovering evidence of state and corporate violence.
The agency employs machine learning, digital simulations, 3D models, augmented reality, and cartographic platforms to research, analyze, and present their findings. Their work has unraveled scores of human rights abuses, bringing bad actors to justice in courts across the world.
MOAD’s exhibition will immerse audiences in reconstructed environments of the conflicts they investigate, while explaining their methodologies and creating a localized call to action.
“This exhibition offers a blueprint for rethinking the agency of design museums,” said curator Sophie Landres. “It suggests that beyond installing one-off immersive spectacles or providing remote access to an art collection, museums can use sophisticated design technologies to play an active role in the pursuit of social justice.”
The grant highlights Microsoft’s and Knight Foundation’s arts and technology focus, which aims to help arts institutions better meet changing audience expectations and use digital tools to help people better experience the arts. In addition to the $120,000 grant, MOAD’s leadership team will receive mixed-reality mentorship, technology access and training from Microsoft.
About Forensic Architecture
Forensic Architecture was established in 2010 with the help of a European Research Council (ERC) grant given to Professor Eyal Weizman. The team began to engage in case work and investigations while developing their research culture through a series of seminars at the Centre for Research Architecture at Goldsmiths, University of London. Forensic Architecture develops, disseminates, and employs new techniques for evidence gathering and presentation in the service of human rights and environmental investigations and in support of communities exposed to state violence and persecution. It presents its investigations in international courtrooms, parliamentary inquiries, United Nations (UN) assemblies, as well as in citizens’ tribunals and truth commissions. Its work has also been presented in keynote lectures, seminars, publications and exhibitions in art and cultural institutions.
About MOAD
Located in Miami’s National Historic Landmark Freedom Tower, the Museum of Art and Design (MOAD) at MDC offers groundbreaking exhibitions and programs that aim to foster a reimagined Miami. Exploring the challenges and opportunities we face locally and globally, MOAD convenes artists, designers, and thinkers to address the urgent questions of our time. As the flagship museum of Miami Dade College, MOAD strives to be a catalyst for action and a place that empowers people to remake their city. MOAD follows the College’s lead in operating across Miami with its Museum Without Boundaries initiative, which takes place in city neighborhoods and invites everyone to be a part of the conversation.
Museum Hours: Wednesday 1– 6 p.m., Thursday 1 –8 p.m., Friday–Sunday 1 – 6 p.m.
Museum admission: $12 adults; $8 seniors and military; $5 students (13–17) and college students (with valid ID); free for MOAD members, MDC students, faculty, and staff, and children 12 and under. Accessibility challenges: please call (305) 237-7710 for details.
For updates and a full schedule of events, please visit http://www.mdcmoad.org/.
Press Contacts: Nicole Martinez, Marketing and Membership Manager: 305-237-7719, nmartin1@mdc.edu; JWI PR—Jessica Wade Pfeffer: 305-804-8424, jessica@jwipr.com; or Juliana Gutierrez: 305-991-4259, juliana@jwipr.com.