meredith porte's blog

The historic Gusman Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami was recently buzzing with good vibrations when director Tom Shadyac came to screen his new film I Am.

What a pleasure it was to meet new people and see old friends at the Images & Voices of Hope conversation today (July 14) in Miami. It was a gathering of about 50 people who came to meet, discuss and reflect on the theme Media Change Makers in the New Normal. Award-winning documentary media maker and professor Sanjeev Chatterjee was one of our key speakers who talked about his lifelong desire to use media to create social change.

The arts are in the air, and breathing new life into our community here in Miami. Many people might say that it started with Art Basel - we are gathering together in areas that we never before did. This has been a community where people rarely walked, but now the arts are giving us more opportunities where we can walk and meet.

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By Meredith Porte

The recent opening of The New World Symphony's new campus in the heart of Miami Beach is creating a buzz of excitement in South Florida and internationally as well. It's an original concept envisioned to have a redefining effect on the future of music. The new $160 million high-tech complex conceived by New World Symphony Artistic Director Michael Tilson Thomas over 9 years ago was designed as both a concert hall and teaching concert hall.

It was  September 11, 2008, which is   a year and 3 months ago  that Images and Voices of Hope held a conversation on the arts in Miami. Over 100 artists and arts leaders participated in this conversation that was held at the Margulies Art Warehouse where real estate developer  Martin Margulies houses his  acclaimed contemporary art collection. Martin is considered one of the biggest collectors in the country. When Martin spoke, I expected him to talk about his art and its impact on society.

Today's visit to the Frost Art Museum at Florida International University in Miami  was more like a journey towards peace. The exhibition which just opened is called The Missing Peace: Artists  consider the Dalai Lama. It is now touring museums around the world. 89 respected artists representing 30 countries were  asked to reflect upon the life and principles of the Dalai Lama, and subsequently, create works of art. What resulted are tapestries, sculptures, paintings, installations  and other works which speak to one's soul.

I recently attended a book signing  of  internationally known sculptor Michele Oka Doner  whose new book of  artwork is called Human Nature. I went to hear about her art, but left  with some inspirations that I hadn't expected to receive.   Michele Oka Doner told the group that  she sees herself as an American transcendentalist.  She feels deeply drawn by the power of nature... the process of flowers blooming, birds laying eggs, fruit swelling.

People often ask me  how Images and Voices of Hope makes an impact. They want to know  what changes come about as a result of our work. Over the 10 years that I have been involved, I have seen  people moved in countless  ways. It often has to do with the connections made through the conversations that take place. It may even be a new thought that comes as a result of being in such an inspired atmosphere.  I personally experienced this at a recent Images and Voices of Hope conversation on the Arts that was held in Miami.

I first met Lin Arison over 25 years ago who told me of her very new organization National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts . She and her now late husband and founder of Carnival Cruise lines Ted Arison had just founded it to give support to young and supremely talented artists across America. We decided to collaborate on a television special for WLRN Public Television in Miami where we would videotape these young people who had come to South Florida from all over the country to show off their creativity.

I recently had the opportunity to watch a dance teacher intently trying to help heal women in prison. Leslie Neal is a former choreographer and associate professor of dance at Florida International University in Miami who works with women at Homestead Correctional Institution and other prisons in South Florida. It was both unnerving and moving to see how founder of ArtSpring's Inside Out Program Leslie Neal guides these women on a journey toward self exploration and wholeness.