The 5th year of Locust Arts Builders (LAB)

This year, 26 South Florida high school students selected from an open call, will have the opportunity to create a collaborative exhibition at Locust Projects’ gallery in Miami’s Design District. In a landmark year of growth, applications to the LAB program have nearly doubled, in both the amount of submissions and number of high schools served.

Under the direction of contemporary visual artists Monica Lopez de Victoria of the TM Sisters and Loriel Beltran, students are given the opportunity to create a collaborative exhibition at Locust Projects and manage all aspects of its production during a three week summer intensive. Students also visit art institutions on guided field trips and interact with members of the local art community during visits to the Locust Projects gallery.

The LAB program extends Locust Projects’ 16-year commitment to experimentation and innovation in artistic practice to the next generation of South Florida artists. LAB promotes contemporary art and project-based learning as a means to encourage creativity, critical analysis, and problem solving, while building communication skills. This unique initiative allows young artists to learn the practical and exciting aspects of creating a public exhibition in collaboration with their peers.

The exhibition project culminates with an opening reception where students’ parents, teachers, and friends are invited to celebrate and mingle with Miami’s art community on Second Saturday Art Walk in July.

The name of twenty-six South Florida high school students selected by Locust Projects to participate in the 2014 LAB (LOCUST ARTS BUILDERS) program are the following:

ABOUT LOCUST PROJECTS
Locust Projects is a not for profit exhibition space dedicated to providing contemporary visual artists the freedom to experiment with new ideas without the pressures of gallery sales or limitations of conventional exhibition spaces. Local, national and international artists are encouraged to create site-specific installations as an extension of their representative work. Locust Projects supports the local community through educational initiatives and programming that are free to the public.

The LAB is made possible with major support from the Alvah H. and Wyline P. Chapman Foundation and The Children’s Trust. The Trust is a dedicated source of revenue established by voter referendum to improve the lives of children and families in Miami-Dade County.