tracey_wilson_mourning_web.jpgOPA-LOCKA –  The second annual Art of Transformation: Celebrating the new Opa-locka will take place on Friday, Nov. 15, with Tracey Wilson-Mourning as host.

The fundraising event celebrates the city’s revitalization plan sponsored by the not-for-profit Opa-locka Community Development Corp.
The Transformation began in 2011 when OLCDC was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts “Our Town” grant to create dynamic public art and engaging spaces to replace street barricades in the city’s most notorious neighborhood.

OLCDC partnered with Miami-Dade County Art in Public Places to administer a call to artists, soliciting more than 200 responses from around the world. In Summer 2012, four artists/teams were selected to begin work throughout Opa-locka. They joined forces with urban planners, landscape architects and project developers to implement the public art component of the redevelopment of Opa-locka, particularly in the Magnolia North neighborhood. Since then, the arts have been infused throughout the OLCDC’s revitalization efforts, from housing to infrastructure development to education.

Surrounded by private jets in the newest private hanger of the Opa-locka Executive Airport, guests will have hors d’oeuvres, enjoy an open bar and dance to music by Soul Proof. Guests will witness live painting, pop-up performances, an exhibit by New York-based photographer Hunter Barnes, who will present portraits from his recent residency in Opa-locka, and an architectural installation by Germane Barnes. Hip-hop duo Black Violin will perform.