Museum of Art and Design at MDC Presents The Speculative Machine Series of Public Programs

Museum of Art and Design (MOAD) at Miami Dade College (MDC) will present The Speculative Machine, a series of four public programs exploring issues addressed in the current exhibition, SUPERFLEX: We Are All in the Same Boat. The events will be held Thursday, Feb. 21, Thursday, Feb. 28, Thursday, April 4, and Saturday, April 6.

SUPERFLEX: We Are All in the Same Boat is the first large-scale exhibition of the critically acclaimed Danish collective by the same name in the United States. On view in the Museum's newly renovated facility at MDC's Freedom Tower in downtown Miami, the exhibition focuses on installations and films in which the group addresses the economy, financial crisis, corruption, migration, and the possible consequences of global warming. SUPERFLEX: We Are All in the Same Boat will be on view through April 21.

Taking place in the second-floor galleries of the Museum of Art and Design, "The Speculative Machine" programs will extend the provocative conversations initiated by the exhibition into lively discussions and illuminating presentations by an array of prominent scholars, artists, scientists, and activists. Programs require Museum admission. Schedule details are as follows:

Thursday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m.

Speculative Machine I: Tools for a Thawing World

Gean Moreno (Curator of Programs at ICA Miami) and Stefanie Wakefield (urban geographer and Visiting Assistant Professor in Culture and Media at Eugene Lang College at The New School, New York) deliver an experimental lecture on how artists such as SUPERFLEX suggest new ways of reckoning with Miami's rising sea levels and soaring inequalities. Their presentation will be followed by a discussion on the tension between scientific, philosophical, aesthetic, and activist discourses.

Thursday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m.

Speculative Machine II: Specters of Climate, Community, and Corruption

This panel discussion explores how communities in Miami are affected by the interrelated issues of climate, gentrification, and corruption. It pays particular attention to trends within the cultural sector that either combat, or contribute to, the crisis, and it considers both the exposed and hidden manifestations of corruption upon the city's urban landscape. Participants include George Yúdice (Professor of critical theory and cultural studies at the University of Miami, and Director of the Miami Observatory on Communication and Creative Industries), Timothy A. Barber (Executive Director of the Black Archives in Overtown, and former member of the City of Miami Historic and Environmental Preservation Board), and Mariana Boldu (Landscape Architect and Director of Resilience Design at Curtis + Rogers Design Studio, and Board Member of the City of Miami Sea Level Rise Committee).

Thursday, April 4, at 7 p.m.

Speculative Machine III: Hard Evidence: The Visibilities and Invisibilities of a Changing Climate

Dr. Brian J. Soden (Professor at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School for Marine and Atmospheric Science) along with Beka Economopoulos and Jason Jones (co-founders of The Natural History Museum and Not An Alternative, a collective working at the intersection of art, activism, and theory) discuss the politics that shape visual representations of nature, strategies for presenting scientific fact, and the responsibility of cultural institutions to respond to the climate crisis.

Saturday, April 6, at 3 p.m.

Speculative Machine IV: Workshop for A Sustainable Culture

Beka Economopoulos (Founding Director of The Natural History Museum) and Jason Jones (Co-Founder and Creative Director of Not An Alternative, a collective working at the intersection of art, activism, and pedagogy) lead a workshop on how citizens of Miami and the cultural sector can make positive contributions to the climate movement.

Support for The Speculative Machine and SUPERFLEX: We Are All in the Same Boat is provided by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, this.nordic, Funding Arts Network, the Danish Arts Foundation, and the Florida Department of State Division of Cultural Affairs.

WHAT: Museum of Art and Design PresentsThe Speculative Machine Public Programs

WHEN: Thursday,Feb. 21, at 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 4, at

7 p.m., and Saturday, April 6, at 3 p.m.

WHERE: Museum of Art and Design at MDC, Freedom Tower

600 Biscayne Boulevard.

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. Regular Museum Hours: Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 1-6 p.m., PM; Thursday 1-8 p.m. Accessibility challenges: please call (305) 237-7710 for details. For updates and a full schedule of events, please visit http://www.mdcmoad.org/.

About MDC's Museum of Art and Design

In April 2018, the Museum of Art and Design, Miami Dade College'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.

About Miami Dade College

Miami Dade College is the largest degree-granting institution in the nation. The college's eight campuses offer more than 300 distinct degree pathways including several baccalaureate degrees in biological sciences, engineering, data analytics, information systems technology, education, public safety, supervision and management, nursing, physician assistant studies, film and others. MDC is the recipient of top national awards. As Democracy's College, MDC changes lives through accessible, high quality-teaching and learning experiences. It houses the Miami Culinary Institute, the Miami Animation & Gaming International Complex, the Miami Fashion Institute, the Eig-Watson School of Aviation, the Idea Center, the School for Advanced Studies, the New World School of the Arts, to name a few. MDC has been named among the nation's "Great Colleges to Work For" by The Chronicle of Higher Education. The College embraces its responsibility to serve as an economic, cultural, and civic leader for the advancement of our diverse global community. Its alumni and employees contribute more than $6 billion annually to the local economy, and MDC graduates occupy top leadership positions in every major industry. MDC is renowned for its rich cultural programming. It is home of the Miami Book Fair, Miami Film Festival, the MDC Live! Performing Arts Series, the National Historic Landmark Miami Freedom Tower, the Tower Theater, Dyer Building, Koubek Center Mansion and Gardens, the Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives, a sculpture park and a large art gallery system. MDC has admitted more than 2,000,000 students and counting, since it opened its doors in 1960. For more information, visit www.mdc.edu.

To post a comment, you must register and login.