BY SHANKAR AND ISA TRAVERSO-BURGER
PHOTOS BY: ALFONSO CORONA
The Fairchild Tropical Garden founded in 1936 is one of the oldest institutions in Miami Dade. Its main focus is on conservation and education believing that botanic gardens grow people and plants. The peaceful surroundings and interesting art exhibits are an opportunity to explore the ancient link between plants and people. Even if you don’t know about flora and fauna, you will be delighted by the unusual facts and the pleasant journey when you visit this natural habitat. Tropical plants are part of everyday life. Particularly in Miami, we are in a wonderful position to explore.
Chihuly is the precursor of blown glass in the form of sculptures. His inspiration: environmental art.
Now until May 2006, Chihuly’s exhibition will be on display at the garden and in this case it also allows for an education opportunity for students in grades K-12 in order for them to connect glass, nature, ecology and technology. Mike Maunder, Director of the Museum spoke to Distrikt.
Where did you get the idea to bring an artist like Chihuly to the botanical garden?
Over the last three years we have brought more artists to the garden. Venezuelan Patricia Van Dalen, then the Luminous Garden two years ago, the McKee Gallery brought a Daisy Youngblood sculpture. We needed something really big, and with Chihuly we achieved another level.
This is the first of our annual sculptor exhibitions. We present one major art exhibition per year, but smaller artists are presented ongoing throughout the year. There is also the The Rare Event -A Connoisseur’s Auction of Rare and Uncommon Plants- which benefits conservation purposes.
What do you expect from Miami?Some people don’t even know about us down here, we are Miami’s best-kept secret, a world class, beautiful botanical garden dedicated to conservation. Down the line, we plan to become the central part of Miami, the defining public space.
How will the visit of Chihuly enhance the Fairchild?
Young kids are blown away by the art pieces, people from all over have visited, not only the traditional group that visit the botanical garden on a regular basis. It’s a sad reality that parents take their children to the Fairchild only when the zoo is closed. They should appreciate that they can explore the beauties of the tropics and be exposed to thousands of trees, flowers and plants that you can’t see anywhere near Florida. Our mission is to let everyone understand what the garden is about. We feature live music, have a delicious restaurant on location and many different events and activities throughout the year. The intention is for everyone to know about it.
Even though some people are not sure of what will happen inside the garden after CHIHULY is gone, we thank this beautiful and lively space for bringing to the city the incredible mastery of this world-renowned glass sculptor.
