MIAMI BEACH, FL.- ArtCenter/South Florida presents Miami Poster Project, a community initiative founded by veteran artist and illustrator Phillip Brooker with the support of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. In celebration of Miami Poster Project’s inaugural year, Brooker has created a series of five super-sized posters, marking a departure from the typical stale, superficial and tourist industry-driven images that have saturated the city. In offering visual content that is instead a reflection of Miami’s complex and fascinating cultural microcosm, Brooker draws on tropical living, snow birds, urban undertones and the arts. The opening reception on Saturday, September 11, 2010, from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at ArtCenter’s 800 Lincoln Road gallery is free and open to the public; works will be on view until October 17, 2010.
“The Miami Poster Project gives our community the chance to redefine our brand on our own terms,” said ACSF executive director Jeremy Chestler. “The portrayal of South Florida as a destination exclusively for fun in the sun is out of step with contemporary Miami and the growth of cultural resources that attract new visitors and businesses to our area. Locating Art Basel to Miami Beach further illustrates the changes that have taken place over the years.”
The Miami Poster Project is one of only 31 projects funded in the first year of the Knight Arts Challenge Grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; funds donated are matched by the Knight Foundation. Though this edition’s posters have been created by Brooker to induct the project, future posters will reflect input from community members through a contest that will be open to all ages and professions. Posters will also be available through free digital distribution from www.miamiposterproject.com and downloadable in multiple sizes compatible with home printing.
“Miami is the best ‘over-the-top cake’ with so much icing oozing from every window and door – just living here inspires me,” said artist Brooker. “I wanted to capture the color, energy and confection of this great city, especially since it’s a welcome departure from my more serious, dark fine art.”
Brooker is a fine artist, illustrator, furniture maker, filmmaker, and the founder and director of the Miami Poster Project. He was the art director and an illustrator for The Miami Herald for 23 years, where his responsibilities included time as the art director of Tropic, the paper’s Sunday magazine. Recently, he has produced posters for the Miami Design Preservation League’s Art Deco Weekend festival (2007 and 2008); The Wolfsonian’s Thoughts on Democracy exhibition (2008); and his illustration was used for the Knight Foundation’s promotional postcard for the 2009 Knight Arts Challenge Grant.
His illustrations have been published widely nationally and internationally in magazines, books, and ad campaigns including Businessweek, Time Warner, Sports Illustrated, HOME Miami, The New York Times, Penthouse Magazine, The Washington Post, CNN, Chase Manhattan Bank and Architectural Digest. He has won numerous awards for his work, and has exhibited in galleries in the U.S. and abroad. For more information visit the websites www.brookereditions.com, www.anicecupoft.com and www.philipbrooker.com.
