Artist Germane Barnes learned everything he knows about cooking in his grandmother’s Chicago kitchen, from Saturday morning’s scrambled eggs to smothered potatoes and sausage from scratch. Barnes’ new exhibit “Rosie’s Fare” at Oolite Arts, a tribute to his grandmother that explores black identity and spaces in America by constructing a non-traditional kitchen in the gallery – is one of two shows that will be on display during Art Basel.
Barnes’ kitchen space is paired with audio interviews from Puerto Rican, Jamaican and Haitian families in Miami, on the role the kitchen has played in their lives. Barnes sees the exhibition as a way to celebrate Black tradition and contributions to American cuisine that are often removed or ignored.
“I want people to understand the history, the trauma, the deliberation and delight of what it means to be black in the kitchen in the United States,” said Barnes, whose grandmother moved during the Great Migration from Arkansas to Illinois, where she worked as a cook. “Oftentimes, we celebrate other people’s cuisines. Or we celebrate American cuisine, and the black presence is typically ignored or improperly attributed. This exhibition will tell these stories.”
“Rosie’s Fare” is a continuation of Barnes’ installation at MoMA’s recent show, “Reconstructions: Architecture and Blackness in America,” which explored the relationship between architecture and the spaces of African-American and African diaspora communities.
Additionally, Oolite Arts presents a group exhibition titled “Miami is Not the Caribbean. Yet It Feels Like It,” which will also be showcased during Art Basel. Danny Baez, founder of the New York gallery REGULARNORMAL and co-founder of MECA Art Fair in the Caribbean, is curating the show.
As part of the exhibit, Baez asks artists of Caribbean heritage the following questions in the context of their own personal relationships with Miami: While Florida sits on the Caribbean’s northern border, many in Miami call it a Caribbean city. But is it? Though the city is home to many Cubans, Haitians and people from across the Greater and Lesser Antilles, does life in Miami resemble or reflect the culture of the region?
“Although Miami seems to have the biggest percentage of Caribbean immigrants, it seems like New Orleans has a more ‘Caribbean heritage’ feel to it in comparison to Miami. I wanted to question the artists to either support this or challenge this idea of whether or not they thought Miami is or is not like the Caribbean,” Baez said.
The diverse group of participating artists from Miami and New York are Destiny Belgrave, Kim Dacres, Mark Fleuridor, Amanda Linares, Jeffrey Meris, Na’Ye Perez, Bony Ramirez, Monica Sorelle and Cyle Warner.
Both exhibitions are on display daily from noon to 5 p.m. through Dec. 11 at 924 and 928 Lincoln Road. Oolite Arts will host its popular Open Studios, Brunch & Tour from 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. on Saturday, December 3. The event is free with RSVP to exhibitions@oolitearts.org.
Credit World Red Eye