“Under the Electric Tree” MOCA Announces Robust Public Activations

"Electric Tree” was first installed just blocks away from MOCA at Griffing Park in 2011, in conjunction with the Artist’s Major Exhibition “Rolling Stop” at the Museum. The 2021 restoration of this significant Public Artwork was made possible with major support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the City of North Miami and is one of the most important Public Artworks that MOCA has commissioned in its 25-year History. Handforth’s Sculpture traces the branches of a 100-foot-wide Banyan Tree with brilliantly colored fluorescent tubes that illuminate its understory. The restoration of “Electric Tree” offers arts and culture to a Community Park that is open year-round.

Handforth graduated from the Academy of Fine Art in Frankfurt and the Slade School of Fine Art in London. He is Internationally Acclaimed for his Large-Scale Installations in Public Spaces including Central Park in New York, the Dallas Museum of Art, the MCA in Chicago, as well as during the FIAC Off-Site Event in Paris. Handforth has also received public commissions from the cities of Paris, Porte de Bagnolet, Zurich and Tessinerplatz.

“The stunning ‘Electric Tree’ at Griffing Park in North Miami is one of the most important ​Permanent Public Artworks that the Museum has commissioned. We are proud to activate the Park with consistent programming for all ages at the center of our Community,” said Chana Sheldon, Executive Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami. “The initiative launched in April with a Concert by Lang Cook Live and Brother Dan of Terrestrial Funk. MOCA welcomed guests as well as food trucks and local vendors. It was a great night! We are deeply grateful for the support of the Knight Foundation and the City of North Miami for this initiative.”

“Mark Handforth's 'Electric Tree’ is an innovative and stunning work. I love that Mark has created a way for us to experience the Banyan Tree 24/7 through his light painting. The ability of Artists to interpret the world around them in new ways is endlessly fascinating and especially so when used to create Art that is easily accessible to the Public,” said Victoria Rogers, Vice President of Knight Foundation’s Arts Program. “That MOCA's new programming will connect Visual Art to great Live Performances by local talent is a great way to showcase the power of the Arts to connect us to each other and to places.”

Located at 12220 Griffing Boulevard, North Miami, Florida 33161, the next event in the programming includes:

Pioneer Winter in Celebration of Pride Month On
Wednesday, June 29th, 2022 At 7:30 p.m.

Choreographer Pioneer Winter and Sound Artist Juraj Kojs will collaborate with performers and community members on a Pride Month Activation at the Electric Tree. Collected oral histories and elder stories of ‘first prides’ will become an interactive soundscape for dancers to embody themes of memory, resilience and community – reflecting on the Electric Tree created by Artist Mark Handforth as a meeting place for Corporeal and Social Exchange.

Pioneer Winter is a Miami-Based Choreographer and Artistic Director of Pioneer Winter Collective, an Intergenerational and Physically Integrated Dance-Theater Company, rooted in Social Practice and Community, Queer Visibility and Beauty beyond the Mainstream. Recognized in Dance Magazine’s 25 to Watch, Pioneer Winter’s Work democratizes Performances in Public Spaces, Museums, Galleries, Stage and Film. Juraj Kojs’s (he/him) commissions for Acoustic, Electroacoustic, Multimedia and Installation Pieces include: Meet the Composer, Harvestworks New York, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, Deering Estate, Miami Light Project and Miami Theater Center. His Works have received multiple Awards in Europe and he currently Directs the Foundation for Emerging Technologies and Arts (FETA) and he Teaches at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music.

You can RSVP for the Event At: https://mocanomi.org/2022/06/under-the-electric-tree/

Educational Programming
The Museum of Contemporary Art recognizes the need to enrich the cultural life of the Community and to nurture a knowledgeable and supportive audience. To further an understanding of Contemporary Art, MOCA offers Educational Programs geared toward the Community and its diverse population. In 2009, the Museum launched its Wednesday Evening MOCA by Moonlight Programs featuring Contemporary Art Boot Camp Lectures, 5 Minutes of Fame Artists Forums and Arts for All, Hands-On Art Classes for adults.

Other Programming includes: Popular Jazz at MOCA Concerts held outdoors on the last Friday of each month; Music at MOCA Concerts featuring Musicians from the Cleveland Orchestra and Florida Grand Opera; the Teen Junior Docents Program and Magazine MOCA’zine which actively engage High School Students in learning about Contemporary Art; After School Drawing Classes for Teens; the development of the new Museum Studies Magnet Program with the North Miami Public Schools, Creative Arts Hands-On Art Programs for children and families taught by Professional Artists and Educators from the Miami area; HeArt to HeArt for children and adults with varying exceptionalities; Women on the Rise! for at-risk teenage girls; Master Artist Workshops; an Active Members Program; Docent Tours; Lectures and Internship Opportunities; as well as visits to Private Collections and Artist’s Studios.

About MOCA
Located in one of the most diverse communities in the country, MOCA North Miami welcomes 35,000 visitors per year and its Award-Winning Education Programs have served thousands of children and teens. MOCA North Miami Exhibitions and Programs are made possible with the continued support of the North Miami Mayor and Council and the City of North Miami, the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners. The Museum is supported by the Green Family Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Terra Foundation for American Art and Individual Donors.

Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami (MOCA)
770 Northeast 125th Street, Miami, Florida 33161.
Visit The MOCA Museum’s Web-Site At: www.mocanomi.org