The Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami (MOCA) is thrilled to announce the continuation of its "Art on the Plaza" 2022 season, featuring Miami-based artist Onajide Shabaka. Through an open call, South Florida artists were encouraged to apply for a commission for the new "Art on the Plaza" season.

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"Her Touch Smooths Rough Waters," Shabaka's new public artwork, is centered on water. A set of objects are in conversation when the two plinths in the fountain are activated. A large-scale sculpture on one side traces the serpentine forms common in Shabaka's work. These patterns, which include a mix of straight and curved bands, zigzags, circles, and semicircles, result from the artist's pivotal research in Suriname, a South American Amazon rainforest country. Shabaka created an abstraction of natural shapes inspired by the sophisticated insect architecture and botanical root systems seen along the Georgia coast and subtropical Florida. The shape becomes a multidirectional discourse about the impact of the natural environment on urban space and the human relationship.

Coupled with the large-scale sculpture on the adjacent plinth are two tear-drop-shaped vessels, which continue the language of serpentine imagery. For Shabaka, the vessels evoke the ancient purpose of transporting water as both a necessity and a ritual act. Here the serpentine designs function as a kind of map for water flows: not as a straight line, but tracing the undulations of its movement, always finding its way despite obstacles. The large serpentine sculpture functions as a macro-view for this natural phenomenon, suggesting gravitational currents that link major water systems such as the Everglades National Park, which provides the drinking water for South Florida. In its parts, the work articulates a language from nature and the essential interconnectedness of the world as a whole.

Shabaka has lived in California and Florida. His art is linked to historical/biographical themes of location, such as the African diaspora and Native American cultures. Shabaka's art practice emerges from the intricate consequences of institutions, histories, and human experiences, using ethnobotany and the performative as aesthetic vehicles for establishing those allusions and reconstructing their historical context. His writing and curatorial work is mainly concerned with contemporary art and culture and subject-specific research.

Over 75 professional artists applied for the open call to encourage temporary installations on the public plaza and excite the community and museum visitors. The museum will hold a series of events to coincide with the art installations throughout the year. The building façade or architecture, interventions within or incorporating the fountain, free-standing elements, light-based artworks/projections, participatory artworks conforming to social distancing norms, or landscape-based artworks or earthworks are only a few examples of selected artworks.

The first commission's installation will run from July to mid-September 2022, while the second commission's installation will run from late September to January 2023.

"After a successful debut in 2021, we are thrilled to launch 'Art on the Plaza' again this year. Offering South Florida artists the opportunity to submit through an open call supports MOCA's goals of facilitating cultural engagement and fostering a connection with the community and beyond," said MOCA Executive Director Chana Budgazad Sheldon. "'Art on the Plaza' offers a boost of creative energy accessible to visitors and passersby. We are very pleased to commission and support local artists for these temporary installations."

Amanda Sanfilippo Long is organizing the program. She is now the Curator and Artist Manager for the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs Art in Public Places program.

"I am honored and excited to partner with MOCA once again to host 'Art on the Plaza,'" said Sanfilippo Long. "This program brings imaginative contemporary art exhibitions and programming to a wide range of audiences while bringing diverse cultural and thought-provoking subjects to the forefront."

To invite artists to utilize the space and connect the museum to the neighborhood, MOCA launched "Art on the Plaza," a series of temporary public artworks on the plaza. South Florida artists Reginald O'Neal, Morel Doucet, Stephen Arboite, Najja Moon, Nice n' Easy, and Studio AMLgMATD were featured in the 2021 series.

The MOCA Plaza renovation, completed in October 2018, was made possible by a grant from the North Miami Community Redevelopment Agency (NMCRA), which covered the costs of nearly 33,000 square feet of brick pavers, new landscaping, new LED lights, and other necessary equipment. The NMCRA contributes significantly to MOCA's "Art on the Plaza" program.