MIA Art Hang Isn’t Your Average Guided Art Tour
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
MIA Art Hang is a curated exhibition tour program run entirely by Veronica Pesantes, a local curator, arts writer, teacher, and cultural organizer. Pesantes hopes to bring criticality to the forefront of her MIA Art Hangs, allowing viewers to get the “insider’s scoop” on the exhibitions she takes them to, and to appreciate what they’re seeing through cultural and theoretical context.
“About a year and a half ago, a friend from The Met sent me clients from New York… British clients, in town for Art Basel. They didn’t have anyone to show them the local scene, even though they had a mansion on the Venetian Causeway.” After showing these newly referred collectors local haunts like Espacio 23 or Nina Surel's studio, Pesantes realized that she had tapped into something noteworthy.
What is the Miami art community truly missing? To people like Pesantes, it is connoisseurship. Critical connoisseurship. “Since I moved to Miami from New York I was like… where's the art criticism? There's a lack of critical analysis in Miami. There's a lot of art, Art Basel, all these galleries, but not enough critical inquiry.”
And her assessment is correct. We have the talent in spades. We have the programming and institutions putting on monthly exhibitions, as aptly proven by organizers like Dainy Tapia of ArtSeen365. Still, we lack a public that makes it a habit to come to openings and bear witness to the exhibitions outside of an opening. Often, museum, gallery, and third-space openings are filled with the same 50 or so people who attend everything. While all members of the art community are grateful for these entrenched, informed, and supportive attendees, it is time we make our debut for people who aren't just “art people.”
