Gay and Chang will read pieces and discuss issues and ideas of race, gender, and history that influenced the work of Báez, followed by a book signing. The author contributed a short story she wrote about a tragedy on the Haiti/Dominican Republic border titled In the Manner of Water or Light. “If I had more time, I would have loved to write an essay about the importance of artists like and including Firelei Báez.” “María Elena Ortiz, a curator at the museum, reached out and told me about this amazing Haitian-Dominican artist, and I was thrilled to learn of Firelei’s work and have the opportunity to make a modest contribution to her exhibit's catalogue,” Gay said in an email interview with New Times. Where Báez uses large-scale paintings, sculpture, and multimedia pieces to explore these themes, Gay, who was born in the U.S. The first offering of the year will be a conversation between authors Roxane Gay and Jeff Chang, celebrating the Firelei Báez exhibition 'Bloodlines.'īorn to a Dominican mother and a father of Haitian descent, Báez creates work that deals with the physical and cultural landscape of the two countries, politics, race, and hybridity. One example of its multidisciplinary reach is the Scholl Lecture Series, which includes talks by artists, scholars, and curators. Pérez Art Museum Miami is so much more than just paintings on the walls.
