A new, immersive art festival is debuting in 蜜柚直播 this weekend.
The runs from 1-4 p.m. on Sunday, March 12 at the 蜜柚直播 Jewish Community Center, located at 听
The event is free and open to the public. Plus, the first 50 people in line will receive a free art print.
The festival will showcase 60 蜜柚直播-centric portraits of people, places and events created by local artist , who is also the organizer of the event.
鈥淚t's about seven years worth of creating these stories,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd the subjects range from vintage cars to social issues to artists, entrepreneurs, restaurants, musicians and students. 鈥 I tried to make it as diverse as possible. And so this is an opportunity to share those stories.鈥
One of the portraits that will be featured at the first 蜜柚直播 Portrait Stories Live Art Festival this weekend.
From the minute you walk into the 蜜柚直播 JCC, you鈥檒l be surrounded by various forms of art.听
One of the first exhibitors you'll see is the , with activities and a poet reciting live poetry.
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The main hallway will feature tables from and , both of which will be providing food samples to attendees. Yes, Boca's Chef Maria Mazon will be there with her 鈥減sychedelic鈥 salsas and chip samples, according to Kaye, who also created a portrait of Mazon.
Other exhibitors include the , and the ,听which will have a live animal exhibit. Representatives from the 听will bring a couple original oil paintings and ceramics from Ted DeGrazia, too.
As you delve deeper into the 蜜柚直播 JCC, you鈥檒l find in the auditorium presenting an animated film that Kaye made of her portraits. They will also have popcorn samples!
鈥淚 just wanted to make it as interactive and fun as possible,鈥 Kaye said. 鈥淪o it's not your kind of old-school, looking at artwork, which, you know, there's nothing wrong with that. But I just wanted to really try to appeal to people who aren't into art. 鈥 So my hope is that no matter what age or interest you have, there's something that you can enjoy and relate to.鈥
And oh yeah, you can expect a quick appearance by 蜜柚直播 Mayor Regina Romero, too, who will say a few words at the festival. Romero is one of the portraits featured in Kaye鈥檚 蜜柚直播 Portrait Stories series.
So, what about these portraits?
Kaye started the 蜜柚直播 Portrait Stories project several years ago after a chance encounter with the man who would inspire it all.
On a typical morning in 2015, Kaye was sitting in a downtown 蜜柚直播 cafe working on a sketch 鈥 something she did every morning 鈥 when a man named Alberto approached her to show off his arm full of tattoos that he designed.
Alberto was听homeless听and had recently been released from prison.
The two sat and had coffee together for about an hour as Kaye carefully listened to his story.
鈥淚t was just an amazing experience spending time with him,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd I realized that there was such little difference between the two of us, except that I had been born not having to worry about having a roof over my head and food to eat. I asked if I could write down his story and take his picture and that I wanted to do a portrait of him. And I was like, 鈥業f I ever make any money from my artwork, I'm going to give you the money from this portrait.鈥欌
Lauri Kaye's first portrait in the 蜜柚直播 Portrait Stories series. The portrait depicts a man named Alberto who was homeless and just released from prison. She created the piece in 2015.
Kaye finished the piece and kept it in her car for about a year as she drove around local parks to see if she could find Alberto to give him a copy of his portrait. She also checked听if he had returned to prison, but no luck.
She eventually donated some of the funds she made from the portrait to , which helps people find their way out of poverty.
鈥淚 just realized that if I kept talking to strangers and meeting people in our community, there was just so much to learn,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd so that was the inspiration for what became the series of 蜜柚直播 Portrait Stories. Illuminating the people, places and events that make 蜜柚直播 extraordinary.鈥
Since then, Kaye has created 60 portraits of all the things that make 蜜柚直播, well, 蜜柚直播. She spends around 40 hours creating each portrait. She also includes a short story about the subject with each portrait听to add even more context to her work.
鈥淓veryone we encounter has a story to tell that's worthwhile to listen to,鈥 she said.
Lauri Kaye poses for a photo with her sketchbook. Kaye is the organizer behind the 蜜柚直播 Portrait Story Live Art Festival, which occurs on Sunday, March 12.
Kaye hopes to see different iterations of 蜜柚直播 Portrait Stories in the future, like through TikTok and YouTube, for example. As for the festival, she wants to continue that, too, in hopes of tearing down the barrier between people having to pay to experience art.
Proceeds from the art sales at the festival will be donated to nonprofits , The Primavera Foundation and .
鈥淟ife can be a total s鈥攖 show and for my own personal well-being, a large part of it is just constantly focusing on the good,鈥 she said. 鈥淭he goodness and the good people that are in our community. And there is so much good. So, it's really important for me to focus on that and I'm hoping that others see that our community is just really so great. And to focus on that rather than, you know, the negative stuff.鈥
If you go
What: 蜜柚直播 Portrait Stories Live Art Festival.
When: 1-4 p.m. Sunday, March 12.
Where: 蜜柚直播 Jewish Community Center, .
Cost: Free to attend.
Visit the 听for more information.