Miami, Fl. Oct. 1, 2019 – The Museum of Art and Design (MOAD) at Miami Dade College (MDC) will present Alternative Facts, an interactive public performance by Paul Ramírez Jonas that explores the concept that truth is a social contract. Alternative Facts will take place on Friday, Oct. 18, at the Wolfson Campus’ Kyriakides Plaza and on Sunday, Oct. 20, at Pinecrest Gardens.
The artist will engage the public in a series of actions that call into question commonly understood ideas about facts, authority, exchange, value, and trust. Ramirez Jonas will set up notary stations and the public can sit at the table and make an untruthful statement, which the artist will notarize as a testament to its truthfulness. Participants are then asked to pay for the service with a gold coin, which is made by the artist electroplating spare change in a gold solution. The exchange results in two drawings: one for the participant to keep and another to be displayed near the notary station.
Ramírez Jonas is a contemporary artist and arts educator whose work challenges the relationship between artist, viewer and artwork. Through participatory performances, large-scale public installations, monumental sculptures, videos, and drawings, he invites interactions, collaborations, and exchanges that create social contracts between the artwork and the public. Rather than issuing precise instructions, he operates within a set of guidelines, combining humor and sincerity to communicate collective ideals, histories, and dreams. Solo exhibitions of his work have been held at the Museo Jumex, Mexico City; the New Museum, New York; Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo; The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, Connecticut; and the Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, Texas. In 2004 in the UK, Ikon Gallery in Birmingham and Cornerhouse in Manchester mounted a survey of his work, and the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston produced a twenty-five-year survey in 2017. His work has also been included in group exhibitions at PS1, New York; the Brooklyn Museum; The the Whitechapel Gallery, London; the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin; and Kunsthaus Zürich; as well as at the 1st Johannesburg Biennale, 1st Seoul International Media Art Biennale (Mediacity Seoul), 6th Shanghai Biennale, 28th Bienal de São Paulo, 53rd Venice Biennale, and 7th and 10th Bienal do Mercosul in Porto Alegre, Brazil. He has been an Associate Professor at Hunter College since 2007 and is represented by Galeria Nara Roesler in São Paulo.
Alternative Facts is part of MOAD’s A City of the People series, which will take place at multiple locations throughout Miami from April to December of this year. A City of the People, the 2019 curatorial concept of MOAD’s Museum Without Boundaries initiative, features a wide range of art experiences, screenings, readings, and public programs that explore what it means to exist in, and as, an urban community. This cross-disciplinary, cutting-edge programming will contribute to a discussion on art’s capacity to reimagine civic life.
Alternative Facts is made possible by the generous support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, the Cultural Affairs Council, and the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners, and partly sponsored by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture. It is presented in partnership with HARTVEST PROJECT at Pinecrest Gardens. For more information, please visit www.harvestproject.com.
WHAT: Alternative Facts performance by Paul Ramírez Jonas
WHEN: Friday, Oct. 18, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. (Wolfson campus)
Sunday, Oct. 20, 11 a.m. 2 p.m. (Pinecrest Gardens)
WHERE: MDC Wolfson Campus
Kyriakides Plaza (between Buildings 1 & 2)
300 NE 2nd Avenue
Miami, FL 33132
HARTVEST PROJECT at Pinecrest Gardens
11000 Red Road
Pinecrest, FL 33156
In April 2018, MOAD, MDC’s flagship museum, reopened with a renewed belief that art and design can change our communities and the world. MOAD offers groundbreaking exhibitions and programs that explore the challenges and opportunities we face locally and globally. Its programming convenes leading artists, designers, and thinkers to address the urgent questions of our time. MOAD strives to be a catalyst for action and a place that empowers people to rethink and remake their city. As the museum of Miami Dade College, MOAD follows its lead in operating throughout the city. Based in Downtown Miami’s Historic Freedom Tower, MOAD considers itself a Museum Without Boundaries. Its programing takes place in many neighborhoods, inviting everyone to be a part of the conversation. MOAD’s aim is to foster a reimagined Miami, built by and with its citizens.
MOAD is located inside MDC’s Freedom Tower at 600 Biscayne Blvd, second floor.
Museum Hours: Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 1–6 p.m., Thursday 1– 8 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 – nmartin1@mdc.edu, 305-237-7719; JWI PR—Jessica Wade Pfeffer: 305-804-8424, jessica@jwipr.com; or Juliana Gutierrez: 305-991-4259, juliana@jwipr.com.