MoCA‑Americas brought a landmark exhibition to Marco Island in a cultural exchange across coasts. On May 5, 2025, the Museum of Contemporary Art of the Americas (MoCA‑Americas) opened a new chapter in its ongoing mission to foster cultural exchange across the hemisphere by launching a landmark collaborative exhibition at the Marco Island Center for the Arts. Running through July 1, this exhibition marked a rare and important opportunity for audiences on Florida’s southwest coast to experience highlights from MoCAA’s growing permanent collection. Featuring an intergenerational group of Latin American and Caribbean artists, the show was part of a long‑term institutional exchange between both organizations, one that aimed to strengthen the visibility of underrepresented artistic narratives while bridging diverse communities through the power of contemporary art.
For MoCA‑Americas—a museum known for its agility, inclusiveness, and bold programming—the initiative also allowed for the activation of works that were not often exhibited due to the institution’s constant rotation of new voices and thematic explorations. By bringing these artists and their works to Marco Island, this project exemplified the museum’s commitment to deepening access, honoring legacy, and expanding its reach across the state and beyond.
Curated by Lisset Llorens as part of MoCAA’s acclaimed Art Tour program, the exhibition presented a compelling selection of 15 artists whose practices spanned generations and geographies. The dialogue between established icons and emerging voices generated a dynamic narrative that reflected the evolution of Latin American and Caribbean art. Viewers encountered a spectrum of styles, materials, and conceptual approaches—ranging from politically charged figuration to poetic abstraction—offering a layered reading of the region’s visual languages.
Among the artists featured in this exhibition, carefully arranged in alphabetical order by surname to acknowledge each one’s distinct contributions within the Rodríguez Collection, were Gustavo Acosta, Néstor Arenas, Mónica Batard, Cundo Bermúdez, Bella Cardim, Sandra Ceballos, Luis Cruz Azaceta, Noel Dobarganes, Antonia Eiriz, Ivonne Ferrer, Ernesto Ferriol, Rocío García, Rodelio López Marín (Gory), Alexis Iglesias, Milena Martínez Pedrosa, Aldo Menéndez, Cirenaica Moreira, Arturo Montoto, Pedro Pablo Oliva, Amelia Peláez, Carlos Enrique Prado, Ciro Quintana, Jorge Rodríguez Diez (R10), Leticia Sánchez Toledo, Rafael Zarza, MaiYap, and Rubén Torres Llorca. This arrangement emphasized the equal significance of each artist’s contribution, from foundational figures whose historical and aesthetic relevance shaped Cuban modernism—such as Antonia Eiriz, Amelia Peláez, and Cundo Bermúdez—to influential contemporary voices like Pedro Pablo Oliva, Rafael Zarza, and Luis Cruz Azaceta, whose works reflected the complexities of post‑revolutionary Cuba. Complementing these established artists, the selection also highlighted innovative creators such as Milena Martínez Pedrosa, Leticia Sánchez Toledo, and Mónica Batard, whose fresh perspectives and experimentation enriched the curatorial narrative, reaffirming the vibrant diversity encompassed within the Rodríguez Collection.
While MoCA‑Americas was a modest institution in size, it had gained recognition for its ambitious programming, interdisciplinary collaborations, and capacity to build meaningful connections with artists and institutions across the hemisphere. This exhibition exemplified the museum’s strategic vision to cultivate lasting partnerships and broaden the reach of its collection beyond its home base in Miami. By presenting these works in Marco Island—a coastal city with cultural parallels to its own—the museum reinforced its role as a bridge between communities, generations, and artistic visions.
More than a traveling show, this initiative served as an act of curatorial diplomacy: a gesture of exchange that invited reflection on migration, memory, resilience, and identity. Through this temporary relocation of its collection, MoCA‑Americas reactivated works that spoke to both individual and collective histories, reaffirming the capacity of art to move between spaces and still retain its power to connect, challenge, and inspire.
While MoCA‑Americas was a modest institution in size, it had gained recognition for its ambitious programming, interdisciplinary collaborations, and capacity to build meaningful connections with artists and institutions across the hemisphere. This exhibition exemplified the museum’s strategic vision to cultivate lasting partnerships and broaden the reach of its collection beyond its home base in Miami. By presenting these works in Marco Island—a coastal city with cultural parallels to its own—the museum reinforced its role as a bridge between communities, generations, and artistic visions.
More than a traveling show, this initiative served as an act of curatorial diplomacy: a gesture of exchange that invited reflection on migration, memory, resilience, and identity. Through this temporary relocation of its collection, MoCA‑Americas reactivated works that spoke to both individual and collective histories, reaffirming the capacity of art to move between spaces and still retain its power to connect, challenge, and inspire.
This exhibition is made possible thanks to the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, the Cultural Affairs Council, the Mayor, the Miami-Dade County Board of County Commissioners and Rodriguez Collection
The Kendall Art Cultural Center (KACC), dedicated the past six years to the preservation and promotion of contemporary art and artists, and to the exchange of art and ideas throughout Miami and South Florida, as well as abroad. Through an energetic calendar of exhibitions, programs, and its collections, KACC provides an international platform for the work of established and emerging artists, advancing public appreciation and understanding of contemporary art.
READ MORE
The Rodríguez collection is a blueprint of Cuban art and its diaspora. Within the context of the new MoCA-Americas the collection becomes an invaluable visual source for Diaspora identity. It represents a different approach to art history to try to better understand where we come from to better know where we are heading.
READ MORE
