{"id":347910,"date":"2026-07-21T23:09:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T23:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/347910\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T23:09:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T23:09:14","slug":"how-studio-vizcaya-turned-artmaking-into-a-miami-summer-tradition-arts-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/347910\/","title":{"rendered":"How Studio Vizcaya turned artmaking into a Miami summer tradition | Arts Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"

This story was originally published<\/a> by Artburst Miami, South Florida’s nonprofit source for arts journalism.<\/p>\n

For nearly a decade, Vizcaya Museum & Gardens has invited Miamians to do something unusual each summer: come together to create art.<\/p>\n

This year, participants are building giant papier-m\u00e2ch\u00e9 fruit lanterns as part of \u201cThe Fruit We Bear,\u201d the latest edition of Studio Vizcaya. Led by artist Shawna Moulton, the free weekend workshops will culminate Saturday, July 25 with an illuminated twilight procession through Vizcaya\u2019s waterfront gardens, where more than 1,000 participants are expected to carry their creations through the historic estate.<\/p>\n

\"Shawna<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Lead artist Shawna Moulton reviews participants\u2019 work during a Studio Vizcaya workshop at Vizcaya Museum & Gardens. Her project, \u201cThe Fruit We Bear,\u201d uses fruit-inspired lanterns to spark conversations about shared values and community.<\/p>\n

(Manuela Delgado\/Beyond Creative Productions, courtesy of Vizcaya Museum & Gardens)<\/p>\n

The event also marks a return to one of the program\u2019s earliest traditions. After suspending the event in 2020 due to the pandemic, Vizcaya is bringing back its illuminated procession for the first time since 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe feedback we\u2019ve been getting is that people want to come back to Vizcaya and be part of this immersive experience again,\u201d says Gabriella Roman, Vizcaya\u2019s community programs manager. \u201cSo, this year we\u2019re returning to some of the program\u2019s early roots.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Gabriella<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Gabriella Roman, community programs manager at Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, works with young participants during a Studio Vizcaya workshop.<\/p>\n

(Manuela Delgado\/Beyond Creative Productions, courtesy of Vizcaya Museum & Gardens)<\/p>\n

Participation is designed to be as welcoming as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re intentionally trying to create a third space where adults can engage their creative side,\u201d Roman says. \u201cMaybe it\u2019s an experience you normally would have had at summer camp or art camp, but now you get to experience it later in life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Participants range from families with children to people arriving alone, looking for a chance to unplug and connect with others through artmaking. Nearly half are first-time visitors, while others return every year. One couple even met while participating in a previous edition and now comes back each summer as a tradition.<\/p>\n

\"Fmilies\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Families gather at Vizcaya Village carrying handmade lanterns before the start of the 2018 \u201cFloat\u201d procession.<\/p>\n

(Ben Thacker, courtesy of Vizcaya Museum & Gardens)<\/p>\n

Keeping the program free is part of that philosophy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make the program as accessible as possible and remove any barriers someone might have to participating,\u201d Roman says. \u201cThe final artwork is supposed to reflect many different voices, stories and backgrounds, so it was essential to keep it free and not limit participation with a paywall.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some people commit to multiple weekends, while others stop by for a single afternoon. All materials are provided, and no artistic experience is required.<\/p>\n

\"Vizcaya<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Participants working on lanterns for a former workshop at Vizcaya Museum & Gardens. This year\u2019s \u201cThe Fruit We Bear\u201d marks the return of the museum\u2019s signature illuminated procession for the first time since 2019.<\/p>\n

(Courtesy of Vizcaya Museum & Gardens)<\/p>\n

Roman says the approach shifted after the pandemic, when smaller groups created opportunities for deeper interaction.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted the experience to be more intentional,\u201d she says. \u201cWe built in more time for talking, more time for people to get to know their neighbors and more opportunities to exchange ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Moulton, the project began with a walk through Vizcaya.<\/p>\n

\"Moulton\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Lead artist Shawna Moulton reviews participants\u2019 work during a Studio Vizcaya workshop at Vizcaya Museum & Gardens. Her project, \u201cThe Fruit We Bear,\u201d uses fruit-inspired lanterns to spark conversations about shared values and community.<\/p>\n

(Courtesy of Vizcaya Museum & Gardens)<\/p>\n

Born in the Bahamas and raised in Jamaica, Moulton lives in Plantation, in Broward County, and maintains her art practice and studio in Miami. She studied sculpture at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. While visiting Vizcaya with a group from the Norton Museum of Art, she was drawn to one of the four herms \u2014 sculptural figures \u2014 that flank the entrance to The Barge, the estate\u2019s monumental stone breakwater overlooking Biscayne Bay. The figure carries a basket of fruit on its head, immediately transporting her back to childhood memories in Jamaica.<\/p>\n

\u201cFruit immediately made me think about community,\u201d Moulton says. \u201cIn Jamaica, if you came to my house during the summer, you weren\u2019t going to be hungry. My family was going to feed you mangoes, bananas and whatever had grown nearby. We all have a story of somebody giving us a piece of fruit, and that felt like a beautiful place to start.\u201d<\/p>\n

Florida\u2019s landscape offered another layer of inspiration.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of my favorite things about South Florida is that it reminds me of Jamaica,\u201d she says. \u201cThere are mango trees, papayas and all kinds of fruit growing here, so I was also inspired by the land itself and what a fruitful place Florida can be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"fruit-inspired<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Layers of white, orange and yellow paper begin to take shape as workshop participants learn the techniques behind this summer\u2019s fruit-inspired lanterns.<\/p>\n

(Mateo SeZa, courtesy of Vizcaya Museum & Gardens)<\/p>\n

The lanterns are tied to values such as joy, kindness, peace and patience. Throughout the summer, participants are encouraged to talk about those ideas and what they mean in their own lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want the sculptures to simply be fruits,\u201d Moulton says. \u201cI wanted them to be connected to something we could have conversations about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gathering around food, Moulton says, has always been one of the simplest ways to bring people together.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy philosophy is that you can never be angry when food is being served,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

She has already watched new relationships emerge.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were a group of women who had never met before, and by the end of the afternoon they were like best friends,\u201d she says. \u201cThey came up with a design together, executed it together and were proud to share it with everybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others have described the experience as a form of wellness.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have told me this feels like healing,\u201d Moulton says. \u201cThey\u2019re grateful for having a space like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those interactions, Roman says, have become part of the estate\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n

\u201cVizcaya is a museum and a historic estate, but we also think of it as a home for the community,\u201d she says. \u201cOver the past decade, Studio Vizcaya has become one of those places people now associate with the summer art experiences they return to year after year.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sense of belonging often spreads quickly.<\/p>\n

During a recent gathering, Moulton recalls a retired teacher who was having such a good time that she called her daughter and asked her to come join.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn hour later, her daughter was there,\u201d Moulton says.<\/p>\n

On July 25, participants will gather at Vizcaya Village before crossing South Miami Avenue at twilight and entering the gardens, where nine large-scale lanterns will be illuminated. Five will be fruit-shaped sculptures, while four will be collage-inspired lanterns created throughout the summer.<\/p>\n

Roman hopes participants leave with something deeper than a finished artwork.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope people feel excitement, wonder and a connection to everyone around them,\u201d she says. \u201cThat procession across South Miami Avenue is such an important part of the program, and I hope participants understand the role they play in making the experience possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

IF YOU GO<\/p>\n

WHAT: Studio Vizcaya: The Fruit We Bear Finale performance<\/p>\n

WHEN AND WHERE: 7 to 9:30 p.m., Saturday, July 25, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, 3251 S. Miami Ave., Miami.<\/p>\n

COST: $15, $10 for children, 6 to 12, free admission for children under 5.<\/p>\n

INFO: 305-250-9133 and vizcaya.org\/studio<\/a><\/p>\n

ArtburstMiami.com<\/a> is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music and more. Don\u2019t miss a story at www.artburstmiami.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This story was originally published by Artburst Miami, South Florida’s nonprofit source for arts journalism. For nearly a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":347911,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[142391,142386,142378,142385,142393,118312,142384,142383,142380,123,142377,112837,18857,125,142388,124,142379,142389,142381,132383,142375,142376,142390,142392,142374,142394,142387,142382],"class_list":["post-347910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-artburst-miami","tag-biscayne-bay-cultural-events","tag-community-art-project","tag-community-art-workshops","tag-community-arts-in-south-florida","tag-family-friendly-miami-events","tag-free-art-workshops-miami","tag-illuminated-lantern-procession","tag-interactive-art-experience","tag-miami","tag-miami-art-events","tag-miami-arts","tag-miami-cultural-events","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-museum-events","tag-miami-news","tag-papier-mch-lanterns","tag-public-art-installation-miami","tag-shawna-moulton","tag-south-florida-arts","tag-studio-vizcaya","tag-the-fruit-we-bear","tag-the-fruit-we-bear-finale","tag-things-to-do-in-miami-this-weekend","tag-vizcaya-museum-gardens","tag-vizcaya-museum-lantern-procession-july-2026","tag-vizcaya-summer-events","tag-vizcaya-twilight-procession"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=347910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347910\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/347911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=347910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=347910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=347910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}