12ozProphet

I’d heard a buzz about an up and coming arts district in Miami so when a friend invited me for a visit,
I jumped at the chance to check it out. Wynwood, an area in downtown Miami, is full of warehouses
formerly used by shoe importers that have recently been turned into galleries. There are dozens of
galleries in a 15 block radius. The two story warehouses have windowless, flat walls—perfect for murals.

In 2007 BOOKSIIII founded an organization called Primary Flight with the idea of bringing street artists
to Wynwood during Art Basel to paint on these walls. Last year around 100 artists showed up to paint.
The concept caught on and developers, gallery owners and artists are collaborating to foster a creative
community.

Last weekend was lucky to have BOOKSIIII and his partner TYPOE as my guides in Wynwood. They drove
me around and in a very short time I got to see an tons of legal and illegal art. Some of the commisssioned
walls are amazing but I was particularly taken with the pieces painted in an abandoned building where
squatters lived surrounded by walls full of graffiti. As of now, Wynwood lacks the kind of vibrant urban street
life I love to photograph in New York and Baltimore. It should be interesting to watch the arts district evolve.