Before the conversation, view the new exhibition in the galleries and celebrate on the terrace from 5–7pm with happy hour and live jazz to celebrate the rich musical roots of our neighbors in Overtown.

About Calida Rawles
Calida Rawles (b. 1976, Wilmington, Delaware; lives in Los Angeles) considers water to be a space for Black healing. In her works, she reimagines the African American experience beyond depictions rooted in the nation’s collective imagination and written history. Merging hyperrealism, poetic abstraction, and water’s cultural and historical symbolisms, Rawles creates unique portraits of Black bodies submerged in and interacting with water. The relationship between Black subjects and water is of particular importance for Rawles, as water signifies for her both physical and spiritual healing as well as historical trauma and racism. She uses this complicated duality to envision a restorative space for her Black subjects, reimagining them beyond racialized tropes. Enhancing the seductive nature of water, the works temper heavier subjects with aquatic serenity and geographic and temporal ambiguities, inviting multiple readings. The exhibition title and the maps included in the compositions address the fact that certain histories and places have been forgotten with time––gone “away with the tides.” Rawles’s works represent an expansive vision of strength in today’s turbulent times, while insisting on the triumph of humanity.

For her first solo museum presentation, Rawles creates a bridge between her signature style and a part of Miami’s history that is often ignored or obscured. Rawles delves into the particular experience of Black people in Overtown, a Miami neighborhood that went from a thriving cultural and commercial hub to a neighborhood plagued by gentrification, systemic racism, and mass displacement. The figures in Rawles’s paintings are residents of Overtown, from young children to senior citizens. Rawles takes her practice a step further by photographing some of these subjects in natural waters, at the historic Virginia Key Beach, which was once designated for Black people only. By photographing Black subjects on the coastline, Rawles probes the Atlantic Ocean’s history as the site of the supremely exploitative transatlantic slave trade. The works in this exhibition illuminate and celebrate the history, resilience, and beauty of Pérez Art Museum Miami’s neighboring community of Overtown, giving shape to an American experience that is often overlooked.

Rawles received a BA from Spelman College, Atlanta, (1998) and an MA from New York University (2000). Solo exhibitions of her work have been organized at Pérez Art Museum Miami (2024); The Delaware Contemporary, Wilmington, DE (2024); Lehmann Maupin, New York, (2023; 2021); Various Small Fires, Los Angeles (2020); and Standard Vision, Los Angeles (2020).

About Cathleen Dean
Cathleen Dean is a writer, producer, filmmaker, artist, and educator raised in Westchester County, NY. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from Columbia University and is currently an adjunct professor at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida, teaching video field production. For the past five years she has facilitated workshops for Nova Southeastern University’s Annual Undergraduate Film Festival, hosted by the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences on use of the digital video camera, techniques for lighting and sound, and editing on Final Cut Pro.

Dean produces the 48 Hour Film Project (48HFP) in South Florida. This annual event, which takes place in over 110 cities worldwide, challenges filmmakers to create a three-to-seven-minute film in only 48 hours. In her first year, she received a producer award for having “turned around” the project by significantly increasing participation throughout the tri-county area of South Florida. Participation soared because of the use of social media networking, tweeting, and mixers. 

About Chire Regan
Artist Chire “VantaBlack” Regan’s art practice exists at the intersection of social justice and storytelling. Her work responds to urgent societal concerns and functions as a critical platform to amplify the voices of community members who are often silenced. Over the past decade, Regan has focused primarily on community advocacy and depicting social narratives without distortion in various mediums. As a Saint Louis native, the birth of the Black Lives Matter movement triggered a sense of urgency in her art practice. Her work continues to evolve, allowing for broader social accessibility and creative scale. In South Florida, Regan continues to merge her artistic practice with community-led activism, emphasizing the art of storytelling as a means of engaging with communities with radical empathy and transparency.

About Trina Harris
Trina Harris is a dynamic leader, passionate advocate, and successful businesswoman known for her significant contributions as the CEO of Touching Miami with Love (TML) and the newly appointed president of the Overtown Business Association. Born and raised in the historic Overtown community in Miami, Florida, Harris has a profound understanding of the challenges faced by marginalized populations and leverages her deep roots to inspire change and improvement.

In her leadership at TML, Harris has been instrumental in forging strong partnerships with local schools, businesses, religious sites, and community organizations. These collaborations have been pivotal in providing the youth of Miami with essential resources and opportunities to thrive. TML's comprehensive youth and family development programs, under Harris's guidance, offer hope and practical support, equipping individuals and families to improve their lives.

Harris’s involvement in the Connecting Capital and Community (3C) initiative, which focuses on housing and community stability, aligns seamlessly with her efforts to provide affordable housing solutions through projects like “TML Residences," an affordable housing initiative aimed at combating poverty and creating sustainable living environments. This project, expected to break ground in 2025 following zoning approvals, exemplifies her commitment to substantial, long-term community investment.

Harris's impact also reaches into social justice as a founding member of the Healing and Justice Center and her advisory and strategic roles. She influences broader community development as a member of the Miami Foundation’s Advisory Council and takes active part in projects like the I-395 Underdeck Project, which aims to reconnect and revitalize communities. Her presidency at the Overtown Business Association drives strategic efforts to revitalize the area through initiatives like the reestablishment of a designated MainStreet, creating a vibrant local community marketplace, and develop a Overtown Visitor Center, all with the backing of a structured organization that can represent the interests of local businesses.

Furthermore, Harris enriches the community through her board positions with the Overtown Children and Youth Coalition (OCYC) and the Artist Residence in the Everglades (AIRIE), where she supports youth welfare and integrates art into community healing and understanding. Additionally, she owns Suite1ten, an apparel boutique that reflects Black urban culture, promoting cultural expression and economic activity within the community.