Miami, August 28, 2024 – The Museum of Art and Design (MOAD) at Miami Dade College (MDC), in partnership with the Women Artists Archive Miami (WAAM), presents Kabuya Pamela Bowens-Saffo: From the Heights. This marks the first-ever solo show in Miami of Bowens-Saffo’s work. From the Heights will open during Miami Art Week with a reception 11 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 2, at MDC Padrón Campus. Working media is welcome.
“We are so excited to present Kabuya Pamela Bowens-Saffo’s first solo show in Miami,” said Amy Galpin, PhD, MOAD’s Executive Director and Chief Curator. “The work of Women Artists Archive Miami is critical to the legacy of visual art in our region. During the early years of her career, she played a vital role in Miami’s visual art and art education spaces. Impactful experiences in Richmond Heights and Coconut Grove nurtured her consciousness and propelled her decades-long commitment to art for and about people.”
While living in Miami, Bowens-Saffo was a pivotal figure in the Miami Black Arts Workshop (MBAW) and an influential educator at the Barnyard Community Center in the historical Coconut Grove neighborhood. Her impact on South Florida’s cultural landscape is celebrated in this first-of-its-kind exhibition featuring archival materials presented alongside artwork from the early 80s to the present that is deeply tied to the community. Specializing in printmaking and mixed media constructions, her art delves into social and political human relations, emphasizing the African American experience.
“As an artist from the Richmond Heights community, I am thrilled to collaborate with the Women Artists Archive Miami (WAAM) and the Museum of Art and Design to bring my work to Miami,” said Kabuya Pamela Bowens-Saffo. “My vision is to create engaging and insightful art that fosters creative innovation and inspires purposeful change.”
Bowens-Saffo earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Howard University and her MFA from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University. She has received awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York Foundation for the Arts.
The exhibition will remain on view at MDC Padrón Campus through March 15, 2025. Additional public programs and events accompanying the exhibition will be announced on MOAD’s website and social media channels.
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, the Department of State, the Division of Arts and Culture, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
WHAT: Kabuya Pamela Bowens-Saffo: From the Heights
WHEN: Monday, Dec. 2, 2024, through Saturday, March 15, 2025
Public hours Thursday through Saturday, 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
(Gallery hours will observe Miami Dade College’s holiday schedule.)
WHERE: MDC’s Padrón Campus Art Gallery, Building 3, Room 3113
627 SW 27th Ave.
MOAD is currently closed. For updates and a full schedule of events, please visit http://www.moadmdc.org/ and check our Facebook and Instagram channels for regular updates.
Press Contacts: Jennifer Weinberg, MOAD Marketing and Membership Manager, 305-237-7710, jweinbe1@mdc.edu; or JWI PR—Jessica Wade Pfeffer, 305-804-8424, jessica@jwipr.com.
Miami Dade College is an equal access/equal opportunity institution which does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, marital status, age, religion, national origin, disability, veteran’s status, ethnicity, pregnancy, sexual orientation, or genetic information. To obtain more information about the College’s equal access and equal opportunity policies, procedures, and practices, please contact the College’s Equity Officer: Cindy Lau Evans, Director, Office of Equal Opportunity Programs, and ADA Coordinator, 11011 SW 104 Street, Room 1102-01, Miami, FL 33176, (305) 237-2577 (Voice) or 711 (Relay Service), EquityOff@mdc.edu.
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About Women Artist Archives Miami (WAAM):
WAAM is a community-based archive dedicated to preserving the creative legacies of women and non-binary artists in Miami by bringing their stories and studio archives to the forefront. We believe that archives are a vital part of community heritage, and we invite you to discover the work and histories of these artists whose contributions have shaped the cultural landscape of Miami.