This December, artists, curators and art enthusiasts alike will descend upon Miami, Florida to take part in the renowned Miami Art Week. And returning for its second installment is the riveting REVOLT Art Fair, designed with the aim of elevating Black artists and their disruptive, challenging artwork. This year’s installment will be no less inspiring than the last, featuring works from artists such as Shani Crowe,
Daveed Baptiste, Estéban Whiteside, Uzumaki Cepeda and Johnny Nelson.
The curatorial theme of this year’s fair is represented by its title, “Dual Currency: Defiance by Design.” This showing aims to put the innovation, influence and economic power of Black art at the center of today’s cultural conversation. The exhibition is an inclusive platform allowing for the expansion of the conversations surrounding Black artists who persist and insist on creating amidst the turbulence that currently and historically have run rampant throughout our communities. Each piece in this exhibition is resonant on its own and collectively serves as a rebukement of societal norms and external influences. Visitors will witness an array of artwork across multiple disciplines that serve unfiltered Black artistic expression inspired by pop culture, design and the digital age.
The 2025 REVOLT Art Fair establishes its ground with the expertise of two curators who bring their bona fides to the forefront, ensuring that the presented works aid in the expansion of the canon, as expressed and viewed through the lens of Black artists. “Dual Currency: Defiance by Design” is helmed by Amy Andrieux, executive director and chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Art (MoCADA), and by Zindzi Harley, creative director and founder of Zindzine. Together, they have carefully identified over 50 Black artists whose works issue declarations and proclamations of independence, survival and freedom despite the external powers aiming to quell our voices.
Attendees get to experience these works in two ways that will allow for varying levels of engagement. There will be a physical display within Miami’s Ice Palace Studios, located at 71 NW 14th St. This segment of the exhibition has been curated by Andrieux and features 30 Black artists. Additionally, attendees may eventually find themselves celebrating the year at the often-talked-about closing party, REVOLT HOUSE, which will present another series of artwork in a digital format. This presentation is guided by the curatorial prowess of Harley. Partygoers will experience a digital backdrop of the exhibition that features a rotation of artwork from 25 global artists, thus providing the fair’s audience with more accessibility to a broader range of Black artistry.
During this three-day melange of artistic achievement and expression, viewers will dial in on the visual narrative of “Dual Currency: Defiance by Design” -- it is incisive, cutting through the noise that seeps its way into the cultural algorithms of our lives both on and offline. This exhibition is a manifesto that champions the power of Black creativity and what it brings forth to society in spite of all that tries to suppress and redirect it.
Andrieux and Harley have made it their goal to curate a showing that begs the viewer to thoughtfully interrogate the deeper meaning and power of the Black artist and what their artistic contributions represent as a vessel for economic empowerment and liberation for the diaspora as defined on our terms.
“Dual Currency: Defiance by Design” is on display at Ice Palace Studios from Dec. 4 through Dec. 6. For more information, please click here.