"On February 29th, Alegria Community is back in action on this new year with an outstanding music & art lineup in collaboration with Respoke, a Dominican Republic music brand. The event will be held at the not-so-secret second floor of the Mandrake restaurant in Miami Beach. A unique experience at a unique venue. The main music headliner will be Canadian electronic musician Mike Shannon. Those fortunate enough to catch one of Mike’s rare live performances are encouraged to do so with an open mind, as it is in this context that the breadth of his creativity truly shines. From the shuffling house and techno of his solo performances to the narcotic jazz. The art exhibition lineup will include artists from Alegria Community’s roster including Pablo Manso, Simon Vargas, Gonzalo Gelso & live painting artists TBA soon on their social media" - Kenia Vasallo
Cultured partnered with Alegria Community on their bespoke event during Art Basel Miami and we had a moment to chat with the artist's involved. Here's a glimpse of Alegria.
Simon Cooper
Tell us about your collaboration with La Casa de Alegria. This weekend I’ll be providing the painting, alongside a group of some amazing artists and designers. I’ll also be doing some live painting throughout the event, with frequent breaks to enjoy the music.What do you hope viewers take away from your work? I hope viewers take away as much energy as I put into my work. With lots of vibrant colors and action in the painting, I feel the work mirrors the vibe of our event. All good vibes here.
What are you most excited about? I’m most excited to be here in Miami and to have escaped the ice and snow of New York City. It feels great to be back. Honestly though, I’m really looking forward to checking out all the art fairs and seeing some fellow artists and old friends. And of course the nightlife.
How do you decompress from an event? Ice cold beer and a round of pool or darts.
Does your work have a correlation with the other themes showcased in La Casa de Alegria (art, music and fashion)? Certainly. My work is a celebration. Music, wine, food, dancing... its all there. I’m sure after this event I’ll be working on a painting celebrating La Casa de Alegria.
What advice would you give a young artist attempting to excel in your field? Always carry a sketchbook.
What inspires you to create? Discovery. What will my work look like tomorrow? Next year? Over a lifetime? Where will all of this take me?
Gonzalo Gelso
Tell us about your collaboration with La Casa de Alegria. As one of the founders of La Casa Arthouse based out of Brooklyn, Claudia Leal and I were more than thrilled to bring our contemporary art exhibit experiences to Miami alongside the Alegria Community. We believe that all types of creatives can come together and break free from the traditional white walls of a gallery. By mixing emerging musicians, fine artists, fashion designers, photographers, etc., we hope to turn our space into a melting pot of creativity that our diverse audience can resonate with.What do you hope viewers take away from your work? I hope that viewers can appreciate digital art a little bit differently. As a UX designer by day, all of my art work is made on computers. I print on a black mirror to resemble a phone screen, which is where my work usually lives. Seeing it in real life is a whole different viewing experience though.
What are you most excited about?Finally being able to show people my work, alongside the crazy talented other artists in our show.
How do you decompress from an event? A food coma.
Does your work have a correlation with the other themes showcased in La Casa de Alegria (art, music and fashion)? Yes, I think minimalism within any piece of art is hard to achieve as it’s always easy to add more and more to a scary blank paper. I enjoy the subtraction phase of the process that leads me to recreating these late night memories in this digital space.
What advice would you give a young artist attempting to excel in your field? You can manifest anything you can imagine. I’ve always dreamed of having my pieces shown at Art Basel, instead we are putting together our own show. You just HAVE to believe in your vision and find the people who are willing to put up through the muddy parts.
What inspires you to create? As a UX designer, my curiosity to make contemporary art with computers fuels all of my experimentations. I feel like we’re still in the infancy ages of digital art and the tools we have are only getting better and better so I try to iterate on my work like it’s a digital app that can always get better.
Bruno Sicilia
Tell us about your collaboration with La Casa de Alegria. I'm excited to be part of a group of friends that are very passionate about art as well.What do you hope viewers take away from your work?The beauty of simplicity and the impact of black and white photography.
What are you most excited about?To see so much talented artists and their work gathered all in a small place.
How do you decompress from an event? With a nice cocktail in hand, while listening to beautiful tunes.
Does your work have a correlation with the other themes showcased in La Casa de Alegria (art, music and fashion)? I mainly got inspired by the Bauhaus movement, but using my very own interpretation.
What advice would you give a young artist attempting to excel in your field? Having a healthy social life is essential to connect with other artists.
What inspires you to create? Beauty, everywhere!
Claudia Leal
Tell us about your collaboration with La Casa de Alegria. La Casa de Alegria came out of a collaboration between La Casa Arthouse (based out of Brooklyn, NY.) and Alegria Community (Miami, FL.) As one of La Casa founders, along side Gonzalo Gelso, we were more than excited to accept this invitation and bring our concept to one of the major art events in the world.What do you hope viewers take away from your work? I hope that viewers take away the energy that we put into our work. The idea that collaborations can help you create better work. We want people to work together in a safe space which makes them feel as comfortable as if they were in their own home (hence La Casa). I want them to look at the work and question it, and question themselves and the world around them.
What are you most excited for while in Miami during Art Basel? Im most excited to work with my friends and meet new people! Working together is something we haven’t done since we graduated and went out into the real world. So excited to start creating more work with the homies. This is the begging of many more to come! (And of course escaping NYC and enjoying Miami weather)
How do you decompress after a show? A cold beer, food and sleep.
Does your work have a correlation with the other themes showcased in La Casa de Alegria (art, music and fashion)? Yes, all of the above. La Casa's theme changes every show, which gives our artists the opportunity to create something new with a specific vision. The beautiful thing about this is that each person will interpret it in their own way. Every piece will be different, yet have something in common. Art is the way in which we interpret the world around us (the result).
What advice would you give a young artist attempting to excel in your field? Just start creating. Nothing will ever be perfect so stop waiting for your work to be perfect before you start showing it to the world. You need fewer resources than what you think to be able to achieve things. Just get out there! Don’t be afraid. Work with your friends or people who are as passionate as you, even if your fields are completely different. You can always find a common ground ;). Learn to listen.
What inspires you to create.Everything. People, materials, music and colors. Shapes and fabrics. Having to learn something new in order to bring my ideas to life. Collaboration.
Kenia Vasallo
Tell us about your collaboration with La Casa de Alegria. As Founder of Alegria Community a brand based out of Miami our brand has always concentrated on creating unique experiences for our audience involving music, art and entertainment. For our first Art Basel event we decided to collaborate with NY brand La Casa on curating a unique music & art show.What do you hope viewers take away from your work? As an event curator and DJ I hope that viewers can appreciate a type of party where theres more to it than just a big DJ name that sells tickets.
What are you most excited about? Our community is all about getting musicians, artists and any type of entertainer to network in creating future projects together anywhere in the world. Its a platform for artists of any kind to showcase their art. So we could say Im excited for people to meet and connect!
How do you decompress from an event? Concentrate on myself. After these kind of events you feel super drained energy wise because you meet so many people. I like to give a day to myself, take a massage and leave my phone on silent. Eat something I don’t usually eat and just chill on my mind.
Does your work have a correlation with the other themes showcased in La Casa de Alegria (art, music and fashion)? Yes, all of the above. We’ve previously worked with Fashion Designer Oscar Carvallo and I have been in charge of curating the music lineup with me also as a DJ.
What advice would you give a young artist attempting to excel in your field? Work on yourself, work many hours in your field of choice. Its all about how many hours you put into your work. In my opinion, dedication plus passion is the key to success. Im all about having a routine but in my own way. The same routine that works for you might not work for me. Its all about how well you know yourself.
What inspires you to create? Experiences, movies, music. Just go out there and live! The world is full of inspiration. Remember to pay attention to what you’re looking at!
