Miami, FL
89°F, broken clouds
Pérez Art Museum Miami
Introduction
Away with the Tides is the first solo exhibition at a museum by artist Calida Rawles. In this exhibition, Rawles has created ten unique paintings that represent both residents of Overtown and its history.
Overtown is a neighborhood in Miami, just north of Downtown. It was originally called “Colored Town” as it was designed as an area for people of color in 1896. During the 1920s, Overtown thrived and was home to one of the first black millionaires in the south, Dana Albert Dorsey who worked as a carpenter and used his earnings to purchase land. He would go on to own both the first black-owned hotel in Miami and the Negro Savings Bank. The thriving community was home to many businesses owned by black people and was popular among artists like Count Basie, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald. However, during the 1950s, Overtown was torn apart by the construction of I-95 and the Dolphin Expressway. The construction of these highways through the heart of Overtown led to an 80% decline in population which in turn led to businesses closing and a severe economic decline.
In recent times, there have been efforts to renovate landmarks like the Lyric Theatre, creation of community gardens, and community development to help both Overtown and its residents regain the flourishing lives they once had.
With the paintings in this exhibition, Rawles meets with residents of Overtown and spends extensive time with them, both getting to know them and photographing them as a source of reference for the paintings. The photographs were taken at Theodore Gibson Park’s public pool and at Virginia Key Beach which was one of the only beaches available to black people in South Florida in 1947. The paintings depict the residents of Overtown surrounded by the waters of the public pool and the beach, with, at times, aerial views of Overtown itself becoming the water. In this way, Rawles connects her well-known and established style with a direct connection to the residents of Overtown.
Hallowed Be Her Name
Hallowed Be Her Name is a drawing with soft pastel on paper. The drawing measures a little over three feet tall and over four feet wide. It is in horizontal orientation, meaning that its longest side runs parallel to the ground.
This drawing features a floating Black woman and child drawn in color against a pale white background made of maps showing the Overtown cityscape.
The woman has black braided hair and holds an infant who is dressed in a white and red striped shirt and white shorts. The baby has his eyes closed, mouth slightly open, and his forehead is a little scrunched. The woman has her left arm extended with her palm facing to the left, as if she is simultaneously pushing away or reaching for something. Her eyes are also closed, her features are relaxed; her mouth neither frowning nor smiling. Surrounding the pair are ripples of waves in grey. The right side of the woman’s body leans into a blue fold of waves that give way to a gray image of the major highway interchange between I-95, I-395, and State Highway 836. By 1965, half of Overtown’s population had been displaced to make way for this highway construction. The image of the highway crossing dissolves into more gray ripples and waves across the city.
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