Go Team Audio Tour

A three-person team, including myself, has been working for more than six months of putting together an audio tour of Tropical Dreams, the permanent exhibition at the Museum of HistoryMiami (formerly the Historical Museum of Southern Florida). The exhibition chronicles the history of South Florida, beginning with Miami’s prehistoric inhabitants and ending with the region’s growth into a modern metropolis.

We just completed our second draft of the script, which has about fifteen stops, some of which are serious, while others are a bit more light-hearted. We’ll be testing the script out over the next few weeks, so if you visit the museum, you may hear us reading portions of it in the gallery. We might even ask you to listen and give us your thoughts!

-- Robert Harkins, Assisstant Curator

Purse Snatching … It’s a Crime!

In 1996 local quilters collaborated with the museum to create the Miami Centennial Quilt, now part of our collection. Quilters submitted too many blocks to fit in the quilt, so some gems had to be left out.

This block made it into the museum’s collection, but not the quilt. This block is decorated with tiny doll’s purses surrounding a tiny toy revolver. The purses contain little messages.

What’s this about? The maker had recently had her purse taken at gunpoint. Liz Chifari describes the incident and the block she had made in this paragraph:

“I needed to make ‘Paradise Stolen’ for therapeutic reasons, as I was mugged downtown several years ago. … The block shows that one criminal with a gun has his choice of easy targets who are powerless to stop him. It also points out the incongruity of the ugliness of crime and the beauty of the tropical backdrop against which it is played out. … “

Lift the flap at the bottom of the block, and there’s a larger message.

“Under the flap at the bottom of the block is a clear message that we must begin saying no to those who would take our paradise away. Inside some of the little purses are further messages of protest against crime …”

The Crime in Miami exhibition presented curatorial staff with a variety of challenges, one being having too many artifacts to fit into the gallery. Once again, this bittersweet quilt block was left out. Nevertheless, it conveys a victim’s perspective on a crime in Miami.

-- Rebecca A. Smith, Head, Special Collections 

Artist Mieko Kubota Wins Award

It’s my pleasure to report that local artist Mieko Kubota has won the 2010 Florida Folk Heritage Award, an annual award given to traditional artists and folklife advocates who have made significant contributions to the state’s cultural life. Florida’s Secretary of State has given out the award since 1985. Click here to learn more about the award and past awardees, many of whom live in South Florida.

Ms. Kubota is an expert practitioner of ikebana, the Japanese art of arranging flowers. She was born in Japan in 1937, and began studying ikebana as a teenager. Over the course of more than five decades, she has practiced this art and become a respected master. In addition to ikebana, she practices a variety of other Japanese traditions, including bonsai, calligraphy, origami and the tea ceremony.

For many years, she has shared Japanese traditional arts with the South Florida public. She has taught classes, offered demonstrations and exhibited her work, including as part of HistoryMiami’s exhibition Florida Folklife: Traditional Arts in Contemporary Communities. The online version of this exhibition features additional information about Ms. Kubota.

Altogether, her exceptional artistry, knowledge of Japanese folk culture and dedication to sharing her heritage with the public make her a deserving Florida Folk Heritage Award winner. We here at HistoryMiami congratulate her.

If you live in South Florida and would like to learn more about ikebana, please contact the Miami chapter of Ikebana International, a non-profit organization dedicated to the art form. You can email Susan Garcia at susangarcia54[at]aol.com. And if you would like to take ikebana lessons, please call Mieko Kubota at (305) 310-2511. She can also be reached at miekokubota[at]bellsouth.net.

-- Michael Knoll, Folklorist