Fountainhead Arts Partners with The Underline on a One-Day Public Activation with Local Artist Christina Pettersson

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - March 25, 2022 - Miami, FL. Fountainhead Arts, a local arts organization dedicated to elevating the voices, visibility, and value of artists, is partnering with The Underline, a 10-mile linear park, urban trail and public art destination, on a one-day public art activation At the Mouth of the Miami River with local artist Christina Pettersson. Selected from a closed open call offered to Fountainhead’s local alumni artists, this one-day activation will take place on Saturday, April 16 from 2:00 to 5:00 pm. Coinciding with Family Day at The Underline, the activation will incorporate interactive performance and drawing to engage visitors with both history and creativity. The partnership, made possible by a generous grant from the Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation, represents the two organizations’ commitment to creative placemaking, creating stronger ties between the public and the city’s recreational and cultural landscape.

Christina Pettersson creates large scale drawings, videos, sculptural installations and group performances focused on the history and environment of Florida.  In At the Mouth of the Miami River, Christina will present a historical South Florida adaptation of a tableau vivant performance and plein air drawing session, bringing to life local historic characters and flora and fauna. As visitors walk The Underline, they will encounter performers site-specifically situated to conjure historical references - such as the true Mother of Miami, Mary Brickell, facing her avenue; the villain Flagler standing where his train once ran; a Bahamian pioneer upon excavated limestone; or an ancient coontie plant offering bread from its own arrowroot. 

As visitors traverse the trail and encounter the performers, they will be invited to sit at easels and draw the actors, who will simultaneously engage those drawing in discussions related to the history of the characters they represent. This festive, progressive performance and outdoor drawing workshop will reconfigure history within a more truthful and inclusive lens using the beautiful award-winning landscape of The Underline as the stage.

According to Amy Rosenberg, the Chief Arts & Advancement Officer at The Underline, the partnership with Fountainhead represents an opportunity to further connect local residents with Miami’s art community. “Partnering with Fountainhead allows us to tap into a pool of artistic talent and create meaningful connections with the families and communities that visit The Underline,” says Rosenberg. “This art activation will help us further our mission to transform underutilized public space into a community asset that serves us in multiple, profoundly enriching ways.”

Fountainhead executive director Kathryn Mikesell echoes Rosenberg’s thoughts, adding that “this partnership with The Underline empowers our mission to directly connect locals to artists, in the belief that their ideas and stories are transformative and have the power to shape communities and their future.”

To learn more about this partnership and coordinate interviews with Amy Rosenberg, Christina Pettersson, or Kathryn Mikesell, please contact Nick D’Annunzio at nick@taraink.com.

About Friends of The Underline

Our mission is to deliver and activate a 120-acre, world-class linear park spanning 10-miles below Miami’s Metrorail that will transform regional mobility and celebrate diversity, culture and lifelong learning.  Through innovative urban trails and creative programming, we are connecting people to their environment and each other to create a safe, healthy, equitable, and sustainable community. For more information visit theunderline.org.

About Fountainhead

Fountainhead’s mission is to elevate the voices, visibility and value of artists in our society and make their work accessible to a global community. Offering a year-round residency program, flexible and affordable artists’ studios, the Miami Dade County-wide open studios event Artists Open, and a series of career-focused programs, Fountainhead empowers artists to build thriving careers while cultivating and nurturing a community that supports them and their work. Harnessing the power in our diversity, Fountainhead is building a global family of artists and appreciators, one personal connection at a time. Learn more at www.fountainheadarts.org.

About Christina Pettersson

Christina Pettersson was born in Stockholm, Sweden and grew up in Miami, Florida. Her large scale drawings, videos, sculptural installations and group performances focus on the history and environment of Florida.   Local residencies and exhibitions in non-traditional spaces like Everglades National Park, Biscayne Nature Center and the Deering Estate reflect her lifelong passion for her hometown and its complex ecosystems.  Public programming allows her to engage the audience in an understanding of their own world on a deeper level. 

She is the recipient of a John S. and James L. Knight Foundation grant, an Ellies Creator Award from Oolite Arts and Florida Cultural Consortium Fellowship, and is a Fulbright Scholar. Her work is included in the collections of the Perez Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, Bass Museum of Art and the Margulies Collection  She is the 2021-22 ARTSail artist in residence, collaborating with Friends of the Everglades to create an illustrated book of water issues in South Florida.

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