Street Art Takes Flight: Conversation with Jeremy Chestler, Art Center/South Florida

As Art Basel descends on Miami, the Art Center/South Florida opens its Lincoln Road doors to Primary Flight — an underground street art movement bringing Shepard Fairey, Ron English, and others indoors for a museum-quality exhibition. Premier Guide Miami sat down to find out what that means — and what comes next.

Graffiti, street art, or writing on the walls is the oldest form of communication and human expression. It has been in existence since ancient times — in the Roman Empire and Ancient Greece — where images or lettering were scratched, scrawled, painted or marked on any property. Although it has been in existence since the dawn of time, it is still not acceptable in certain societies, communities, and countries.

As a part of the many festivities during Art Basel, street art will abandon the streets and make the Art Center/South Florida its home, in hopes of giving exposure to the movement. The Art Center has partnered with Primary Flight — an underground street art movement — and Blue Print For Space, a collection of contemporary street artists and graffiti writers, to gain an audience of established fine arts collectors as well as a mainstream audience.

Premier Guide Miami had an opportunity to discuss with Jeremy T. Chestler, Executive Director of Art Center/South Florida, why the Art Center has decided to house the once-frowned-upon street art movement.

PGM: What do you think of this movement called Street Art?

JC: It's definitely not so new. It's enjoying a renaissance. It's becoming more and more of a feature in the contemporary art world. Traditionally it was more of an underground movement. Even if you look back at Kenny Scharf and Keith Haring — they were very much involved with the graffiti world.

PGM: At one point it was frowned upon within the community. Is it becoming more acceptable now?

JC: Exactly. I think fewer people are getting arrested. It certainly has been gaining credibility and legitimacy in the art world, which I think is always beneficial to any kind of movement.

PGM: Tell us a little about Primary Flight.

JC: They are an interesting group and they have been organizing site-specific murals and installations in Miami's Wynwood area for the past few years. It's coordinated by this fellow by the name of Books and his partner Mr. Black. The artists we are working with — Ron English, Shepard Fairey, Andy Howell, Logan Hicks and others — are just incredible talents. To help them gain more of a mainstream audience and more of an audience of established fine arts collectors has tremendous appeal in our efforts to support artists.

PGM: Why have you decided to open your doors to these artists?

JC: Our mission has always been about educating the public and supporting artists. There is this mystique around contemporary art that puts some amount of intimidation in people. You don't necessarily have to approach it from a deep background to be able to appreciate it — and those two programs that we provide allow you to learn more and appreciate it on a higher level as well.

PGM: You are in a perfect location, right on Lincoln Road. What impact does it have on the community?

JC: I think tremendous. When we were founded back in 1984, this was actually a blighted area. Through the advent of the Art Center it really started drawing audiences and other nonprofits. About two years after our opening, the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts determined this would be the ideal location for the New World Symphony. It also led the Miami City Ballet to open a rehearsal studio on Lincoln Road. So it really became a cultural anchor and invited other anchors into the area, which led to the renaissance of Lincoln Road.

PGM: Is there anything else you would like to add?

JC: I think it is important for people to understand that we are nonprofit. We have a mission of serving the community and artists — this isn't something where we are trying to enrich ourselves, but to enrich our community instead.

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