SECTION 1.1: Greater Miami

Outdoor sculpture at Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), located in Museum Park along Biscayne Bay. Photo courtesy of Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Never content to follow the trends, South Florida is a defining force in the worlds of dance, music, theater and the visual arts, not to mention the cultural diversity making each of these disciplines that much more compelling.

The arts and culture scene in Greater Miami has experienced transformative growth, spurred by the arrival of Art Basel in 2002 and energized by a renewed sense of cultural expression in local communities. Each neighborhood—whether the vibrant Miami Design District, the culturally rich Little Haiti or the spirited streets of Little Havana—has nurtured distinct and dynamic hometowns centered around art and cultural heritage.

Little Havana has its own Walk of Fame, featuring star-shaped plaques along the sidewalk to honor Hispanic artists and celebrities such as Gloria Estefan, Maria Conchita Alonso, Sammy Sosa and the late Celia Cruz. 

This city offers a world view of culture, so prepare to be immersed—from an annual Flamenco Festival to free Gospel Sundays. The once-forgotten Wynwood Arts District is home to dozens of museums, galleries, warehouses and exhibition spaces, including the Margulies Collection at the Warehouse, displaying some of the most significant artists of the 21st century. This artsy community is also home to the amazing Wynwood Walls, an open-air museum dedicated to cutting-edge contemporary street art, with regularly scheduled musical performances.

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Open seven days a week and free to the public, the neighborhood’s Bakehouse Art Complex provides emerging and mid-career artists with the opportunity to creatively explore and develop their artistic endeavors. This creative center gives art lovers the rare opportunity to meet a talented community of over 100 contemporary artists representing more than 16 countries, all working in every imaginable art form.

The Bakehouse Art Complex in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood is a hub for emerging artists and creative expression.
Photo courtesy of Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Meanwhile, Miami museums have their own magic and are literally located in every corner of the Magic City. Check out the Perez Art Museum Miami in downtown for modern and contemporary art, the Rubell Museum in Allapattah for even more contemporary art or The Bass on Miami Beach, showcasing a collection of European paintings and sculpture.

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In the Mediterranean-flavored city of Coral Gables, the Coral Gables Museum complex includes several galleries and outdoor spaces with exhibitions focused on architecture, urban design, environmental design and the visual arts. Coral Gables is also home to the Lowe Art Museum at the University of Miami, with a permanent collection representing five millennia of human creativity on every inhabited continent.

Visitors to Superblue can experience 3,000 lights glowing to the rhythm of their own heartbeat. 

Miami also has its fair share of out-of-the box museums, including the immersive, 50,000-sq.-ft. art space Superblue, the Paradox Museum Miami, offering optical illusion exhibits, and the Phillip & Patricia Frost Museum of Science, boasting a three-level aquarium and state-of-the-art planetarium.

Phillip & Patricia Frost Museum of Science in Miami.

All the world’s a stage in Greater Miami, with performance arts groups covering all genres and cultural backgrounds, from the innovative City Theatre to the Dance NOW! Ensemble, Momentum Dance and Ballet Flamenco La Rosa. But Miami has its classic companies as well, including the Florida Grand Opera and the famed Miami City Ballet. Not to be missed are performances at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Downtown Miami, the Fillmore Miami Beach, the Actors’ Playhouse in Coral Gables and The Moss Center in Cutler Bay.