Conference Events

Film Series

This year we are pleased to present an exciting series of documentaries related to our 2011 conference themes. The program, curated by GIA, can be found on channel 72 (not channel 73!) on the television in your hotel room. Films begin at 9 pm, Saturday through Tuesday during the conference.

Preconferences

Go to the complete schedule of preconference here.

Newcomers Reception

This casual event for first-time conference attendees will provide a quick overview of conference events to help you get the most out of your conference experience. You'll also have the opportunity to meet GIA's board members and staff. The conference opening reception will follow immediately after in the Ocean Garden Patio.

Opening Reception

The Opening Reception will take place Sunday evening on the Ocean Garden patio of the Eden Roc Hotel. Music will be provided by Orquesta Havana Soul, a Miami-based charanga performing music of the “golden age of Cuban music” from the 1940s and 50s. There’s even a swimming pool! Bring your suit if you are inclined.

Note that this is a reception. You are on your own for dinner Sunday evening.

Opening Breakfast Plenary

Duck Soup: A Play on Equity

Duck Soup: A Play on Equity is a new work commissioned for the conference from American Record Theater Company, written by KJ Sanchez and Tommer Peterson, and directed by KJ Sanchez. The play, an exploration of equity in the arts, is based on interviews funders, artists, public officials, activists, and people from all walks of life.

The plenary session will be followed by facilitated breakout discussion salons.

Luncheon Plenary

This session will feature a performance of Teo Castellanos’ NE 2nd Avenue, a play about Miami’s cultural communities that was awarded the International Cultural Exchange Grant by Miami-Dade County Cultural Affairs. NE 2nd Avenue then went on to the 2003 Edinburgh Fringe Festival where it won the Fringe First Award, the most prestigious theater award of the festival.

Dine Arounds

Monday evening will offer no-host Dine-Arounds at a variety of restaurants in Miami and Miami Beach. Sign-up sheets for dine-arounds will be at the registration desk. See the list of restaurants here.

Luncheon Plenary

Tuesday’s keynote speaker is Alberto M. Carvalho, Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. A leader in innovation, Mr. Carvalho is spearheading the transformation of education, pushing for the migration from textbooks to digital content and is developing cutting edge educational environments to meet the demands of today’s learners.

The session will also include a performance by the New World School of the Arts High School Jazz Ensemble.

Note this plenary session will feature the keynote presenters first. Participants will then have a long break to take picnic lunches outside to the patios and pools areas, back to their rooms, or stay and eat in the ballroom.

Offsite Sessions

Tuesday afternoon we have sessions at a number of arts institutions offsite. See the sessions schedule for details.

Evening Reception at the Wolfsonian Institution

On Tuesday evening, we’ll have a reception sponsored by J.P. Morgan at the Wolfsonian Institution located in the heart of the Art Deco District. This museum, library and research center features an important collection used to illustrate the persuasive power of art and design. Following that, participants can return to the hotel on the conference bus or or dine and tour the South Beach area on their own.

Luncheon Plenary

Keynote speaker is Robert Vijay Gupta who joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic in June 2007 at the age of 19 after graduating with a Master’s degree in music from Yale University. Throughout his undergraduate course of study, he held Research Assistant positions at CUNY Hunter College in New York City, where he worked on spinal chord neuronal regeneration, and at the Harvard Institutes of Medicine Center for Neurologic Diseases, where he studied the biochemical pathology of Parkinson’s disease.

Gupta also directs a non-profit organization called Street Symphony, which actively brings a live classical musical outreach concert series to greatly underserved mentally ill living within homeless, incarcerated, and Veteran communities on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles.