Anabella Bergero is a Latinx fashion designer and artist born in Argentina, raised in Mexico, and nomad by heart. Working at the intersection of art and fashion, she has won multiple awards, and given conferences in Miami, New York, and London; she is also a professor at Istituto Marangoni in Miami. Her exhibition Heart of Community, currently on view at the Faena Art Project Room, is the pinnacle of the work she’s been doing for the past seven years, challenging the notion of who can enjoy art. Besides having her work on view, Anabella has created a robust program of activities and events welcoming art enthusiasts to share her space and calling for reflection and communal growth.  

Colorful and eye-catching, Heart of Community is not a static exhibition, it’s in constant interaction with the viewers and visitors. Before entering the Faena Art Project Room, on Collins Avenue, people can enjoy the artist’s work through the vinyl covering the entire windows and doors of the space, featuring Latin iconography and serving as a sneak peek into Anabella’s life story.

“Community work is something I’ve been doing throughout my career,” shares Anabella, and she continues: “I’ve been participating in all sorts of art collectives and creative collectives as well from Mexico like 30 years ago to New York, (such as) the East Harlem Culture Collective. I believe in the collective practice, and of course, as artists we like talking with other creatives because that nurtures us. But the idea is that we’re actually all artists”.

Bergero was invited by the team at the Faena Art Project Room, to not only create a site-specific installation but to also imagine a full program that would bring the community together. The exhibit has been on view since April 28th and will run until October 14th; the first series of events featured workshops and experiences focusing on skill learning and creation exploration through art. Anabella has just announced a second series of fall activations titled “Heart Opening Series” and we are teaming up with her, the Argentine Consulate and Promotion Center, and Raygun Agency, for one of the events, happening on September 15th. The activations will also feature healing activities, collage-making sessions, and a Quinceañera closing celebration, among others. 

The objective of the Heart Opening Series is “personal development and for us to really understand that we’re creators of our own life. We are our own art piece,” explains Anabella. “I transform difficult times in my life into something that’s amazing and something that’s a new story. So that’s the idea of the Heart Opening series, for people to come to open their hearts, learn, and bring tools. All together as a community. I think the program really gave life to the space.” 

When talking about her personal experience with Heart of the Community, Anabella reflects: “It’s been a very healing project because it’s kind of revising my own story”. While digging deep into her own personal life experience, the artist was able to create a window and rooted connections with the community, touching on the subjects of immigration, belonging, and Latin culture, topics that resonate with so many people, especially in the multicultural hub that is Miami. “Through this project, as much as I was creating this, I was creating myself”, shared Anabella. “To see that other people resonate with that process of layering and creating oneself, that’s kind of bridging, bridging the personal experience with the collective experience. I think art is really completed through that collective experience because the collective is what gives a new signification to the piece or new narratives as well”. 

Heart of the Community is on view until October 14th at the Faena Art Project Room. 

Join us on September 15th at “Meet The Artist Ft. Anabella Bergero” FREE RSVP

Fall Heart Opening Series 

– Saturday, September 9: Heart Opening Session x Happiness Fest @ noon – 8 pm
– Thursday, September 14: Panel Discussion—Art, Fashion, and Community @ 6 pm – 8 pm
– Friday, September 15th: Meet the Artist:  ft. Anabella Bergero @ 6 pm
– Friday, September 22: Heart Opening Session with Leo Rising @ 6 pm – 8 pm
– Thursday, September 28: Heart of Community Session—Envisioning Communities @ 6 pm – 8 pm
– Friday, October 6: Rites of Passage—Quinceañera Closing Celebration @ 6 pm – 9 pm

 

 

Text by : Florencia Franceschetti

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