People & Lifestyle

Women’s History Month Art Event Honors the Eco-Feminist Artist Mira Lehr at the Kimpton EPIC Hotel Miami through April 20th

Published

2 years ago

March 21, 2022

Celebrating the 60th anniversary of Mira Lehr founding “Continuum,” one of the country’s first-ever women artist collectives

Featuring all new works by Lehr never exhibited before, on view now through April 20th at the Hotel’s new 16th floor gallery space

Panel discussion event about Women in the Arts will premiere the worldwide release of new 400-page international volume about Mira Lehr by Skira Editore, one of the world’s leading art book publishers

The eco-feminist artist Mira Lehr (photo by Michael E. Fryd).

The Kimpton EPIC Hotel, one of Miami’s leading boutique hotels, presents a new art exhibition celebrating Women’s History Month titled Mira Lehr: Continuum, on view now through April 20th.

The nationally acclaimed, eco-feminist artist is celebrated for co-founding Continuum in 1961, one of America’s first art collectives for women artists. It thrived for more than 30 years, and her vision to kickstart the local art scene influenced the evolution of the visual arts in Miami.

The Hotel created its new EPIC Art initiative to advance the works of local artists and provide its visitors an insider’s look into the destination’s vibrant art scene.

Sunkissed from Within, by Mira Lehr (2022) Burned and dyed Japanese paper, handwriting, ink, and ignited gun powder on canvas (48” x 60”).

Critics praise Mira Lehr as the real-life Marvelous Mrs. Maisel of the male-dominated art scenes in 1950s New York and 1960s Miami.

Now, at the bold age of 87, Lehr is creating more new work now than ever before in her six decades of artmaking. The all-new works in this exhibition have never been exhibited before and were created by Lehr in 2022 and 2021.

Lehr is now gaining even more national and international acclaim, and she is the subject of a major new 400-page artist monograph book by Skira Editore, celebrating its worldwide release in April.

Reproductive Genesis, by Mira Lehr (2021) Burned and dyed Japanese paper, handwriting, ink, and ignited gun powder on canvas (48” x 60”).

The exhibition is on view through April 20th, and will feature a panel discussion event about the role women artists played in the evolution of Miami’s art scene.

The moderator of this event will be The Miami Herald’s Jane Wooldridge, and the panel features some of South Florida’s groundbreaking cultural leaders, including: Lorie Mertes (Executive Director of Locust Projects, formerly of the National Museum of Women in the Arts); Melissa Diaz(Cultural Arts Curator of the Deering Estate); Vivian Donnell Rodriguez (former Director of Miami-Dade County Art in Public Places, now on the Palm Beach County Public Art Board); Diane Robinson (filmmaker); and Ombretta Agro (curator, environmental activist, and Executive Director of ARTSail).

The public will have the opportunity to meet the artist at this panel discussion, where she will sign advance copies of the new 400-page book by Skira Editore, the renowned art book publisher. Learn more about this major new international monograph honoring Mira Lehr at skira.net/en/books/mira-lehr-arc-of-nature-the-complete-monograph.

The marvelous Mira Lehr in the 1950s (Rome)

“Mira Lehr blazed trails as a woman artist in the 1950s during the male-dominated art scenes in New York and Miami during the mid-century era,” says Ericka Nelson, general manager of Kimpton EPIC Hotel and director of operations for Kimpton’s Florida hotels.

“Today, sixty years later, Lehr is recognized as one of the early influencers who helped Miami become an epicenter of creativity and diversity, and her new art continues to inspire new generations throughout her six decades of propelling the art movement forward. The launch of our Hotel’s EPIC Art initiative has infused the visual arts into the guest experience ‒ paying homage to the extraordinary creative talent that has served to make our city a cultural destination,” adds Nelson.

“I feel the urgency of both our global climate problems and our

continuing need for progress for women in the arts,” says Mira Lehr.

“It is a privilege to be on the Earth and I believe we are

meant to be a success on the planet.”

“If we can expand our thinking to cross borders and transcend places,

our united vision for the planet can raise our awareness.

It is this sense of hope and purpose

that calls me to action through my art,” adds Lehr.

Mira Lehr was recently selected by PBS Television for this virtual town hall about Women in the Arts — pbs.org/video/women-in-the-arts-virtual-town-hall-obqsgn/

Watch the PBS Television “Women in the Arts” virtual town hall at pbs.org/video/women-in-the-arts-virtual-town-hall-obqsgn/

From 1956 to 1960, Mira Lehr had her art studio at Carnegie Hall in New York while she also raised a young family. She had just graduated from Vassar College in 1956 with a degree in Art History, under the mentorship of Linda Nochlin, the renowned feminist art historian.

While in New York, Lehr studied painting within the Hans Hofmann circle, and met many of the great American artists of that famed time in New York ‒ including Helen Frankenthaler, Joan Mitchell, Lee Krasner, James Brooks, Ludwig Sander, and Robert Motherwell.

The marvelous Mira Lehr in the 1950s (New York)

Then, in December of 1960, she moved her family back to Miami Beach. “I was shocked at the lack of an art scene in Miami in 1960, especially for women artists,” said Mira Lehr.

“So we decided to take matters into our own hands and banded together our group of women artists to form Continuum as a working co-op to showcase women artists when no one else would, and it thrived for more than 30 years,” adds Lehr.

“We learned on our own how to create opportunities for ourselves, to display our work via DIY exhibitions throughout the 1960s, the 1970s and 1980s, an era in the art world that would be difficult for today’s young artists to imagine.”

Historic photo of the Continuum group of women artists in Miami, circa 1970. Lehr is standing on the balcony, top-right.

In honor of Women’s History Month, one of the new paintings in this exhibition is titled Julia’s Prophecy (for Julia Tuttle). Known as “the mother of Miami,” Tuttle was pivotal in pioneering the City of Miami in the 1890s.

The Hotel is located near the very spot where Julia Tuttle first settled.

The term Continuum is equated with being limitless

and with the idea of boundlessness, and this current time

has been a powerful period of creativity for Lehr.

Installation image of the exhibition at the Kimpton EPIC Hotel Miami

New techniques and discoveries have paved the way for new visions and experiments in her art, and this exhibition thrives on that sense of newness for Mira Lehr.

“I am grateful to have been selected for this art exhibition honoring Women’s History Month, and to share this new series of works, some definitely representing a departure point,” says Mira Lehr.

“I no longer feel as though I have those Masters of art history sitting on my shoulders, watching what I am doing. I am more of an explorer now. I can now create in a more powerful way. I find that this realization often comes late in life, after a long career and I believe my sixty years of work has made me, in Hans Hofmann’s words, ‘search for the real’ in a more profound way,” says Mira Lehr.

The eco-feminist artist Mira Lehr (photo by Michael E. Fryd).

To emphasize the peril of climate change that we are now experiencing, Lehr experiments with the use of fire. “This natural element of fire, often controlled and abused by man, is a major medium in my work and my interest in the environment has become a driving force.”

“Drawing with fuses and loose gunpowder on top of subtle hand drawing, I set the entire work ablaze, embracing the risk that such a gesture could destroy my entire painting. Afterward, only a trace of the flame’s path remains, bringing an exciting energy to the work and the suggestion of destruction,” says Lehr.

In her essay for Skira Editore’s new book about Mira Lehr, the art historian Eleanor Heartneystates: “The 20th century opened with a burst of optimism, as advances in art, science and technology seemed to presage the birth of a marvelous new reality.”

“In the first two decades of the 21st century, by contrast, the news has been relentlessly grim at times. It takes a brave person these days to hold onto hope for a better future ‒ yet Lehr is not, however, a starry-eyed romantic,” adds Heartney.

“She is well aware of the challenges that face us, and she has the advantage of a long perspective. In the over sixty years that she has been active as an artist, Lehr has lived through any number of social upheavals,” says Heartney.

Installation image of the exhibition at the Kimpton EPIC Hotel Miami

“These paintings reflect Lehr’s conviction that the current crises are planetary in scale, and she has shifted her work into new, more activist directions and explorations that push the limits of painting, experimenting with a wide range of new techniques and materials,” says Heartney.

“Such innovations have allowed Lehr to reach out to new audiences, to create whole new worlds that draw viewers into an awareness of their relationship with the natural world. But like all her works, they resist literal readings, instead inviting viewers to create their own narratives about the worlds they conjure.”

“She leavens her message with a seductive beauty that is designed to inspire contemplation about what is at stake,” adds Heartney.

The artist Mira Lehr (photo by Michael E. Fryd).

“I feel the urgency of both our global climate problems and our

continuing need for progress for women in the arts,” says Mira Lehr.

“It is a privilege to be on the Earth and I believe we are

meant to be a success on the planet.”

“If we can expand our thinking to cross borders and transcend places,

our united vision for the planet can raise our awareness.

It is this sense of hope and purpose

that calls me to action through my art,” adds Lehr.

My Love Letters, by Mira Lehr (2021). Burned and dyed Japanese paper, handwriting and ink on canvas (60” x 72”).

People & Lifestyle

Celebrating 25 Years: Otumfuo Osei Tutu II’s Reign

Published

7 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Ameyaw Debrah

Celebrating 25 Years: Otumfuo Osei Tutu II's Reign

Today marks the 25th anniversary of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II’s reign as the Asantehene, the King of the Ashanti Kingdom.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II: Celebrating 25 Years of Local and Global Impact.
Showing on @GTV_Ghana and streaming on all our social media platforms on Sunday, April 28, at 8:30PM.#Asanteman #OurCultureOurHeritage pic.twitter.com/g3u0Ql5q6i
— GTV Ghana (@GTV_Ghana) April 26, 2024

The celebrations, which began with spectacular fireworks witnessed by Otumfuo himself, will culminate in the Silver Jubilee anniversary on Akwasidaekese on June 12 at Dwabrem, Manhyia Palace.

This milestone is a testament to Otumfuo’s impactful leadership, dedication to the Asante people, and contributions to education and research as the Chancellor of KNUST.

❤️ @AkwaboahMusic meets The King of Ashanti Kingdom Otumfoc Osei Tutu II. pic.twitter.com/wdvlulV7Ez
— FELICIA OSEI (@Osei_Feliciaa) April 26, 2024

The event is being celebrated across Ghana, with well-wishes and congratulations pouring in from various quarters, highlighting the significance of this occasion for Asanteman and Ghana as a whole.

People & Lifestyle

Mr. Beast in Ghana: Surprising Visit Sparks Excitement

Published

7 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Ameyaw Debrah

World-renowned YouTuber Mr. Beast, known for his philanthropic acts, has been spotted in Ghana, specifically in Accra and Tema, sparking excitement among locals.

Wow, Mr Beast is in Ghana! Look at how boys are gathering to take pictures with him. pic.twitter.com/46gawXYWnJ
— Big Kay🇬🇭 (@OfficialBigkay) April 26, 2024

His visit has led to discussions about his choice of Ghana over other African countries, with some suggesting that the country’s popularity as a tourist destination played a role.

MrBeast is in Ghana and no one is talking about it? Make I step out more times I go get new phone or car saf pic.twitter.com/AUP9CSoDoV
— Kofi Ntim (@NtimBarima) April 26, 2024
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Mr. Beast’s presence in Ghana is part of his global outreach, as he recently gifted a Ghanaian $25,000 as part of his X (Twitter) giveaway.

The YouTuber has been seen exploring the country and interacting with locals, with many expressing their desire to meet him and participate in his charitable endeavors.

People & Lifestyle

Stephen Appiah to contest John Dumelo and Lydia Alhassan in MP race for Ayawaso West Wuogon

Published

8 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Ameyaw Debrah

Stephen Appiah to contest John Dumelo and Lydia Alhassan

Former Black Stars captain Stephen Appiah is set to enter the political fray by rubbing shoulders with notable personalities in the upcoming general elections.

The former Juventus midfielder is believed to be lacing his boots to face the likes of John Dumelo and the incumbent member of Parliament for the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency Lydia Alhassan.

While Dumelo and Alhassan represents the NDC and NPP respectively, Appiah is expected feature in the elections as an independent candidate.

This was revealed by the Spokesperson of the Ayew family Fiifi Tackie via X on Friday afternoon.

“Stephen Appiah to contest Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency as an independent Parliamentary candidate,” he wrote.

If Stephen Appiah affirms the reported news, he will be following in the footsteps of other renowned figures in Ghana football who have indulged in politics recently.

Earlier this year, all-time top scorer of the Black Stars Asamoah Gyan was appointed as the sub-committee chair of Youth and Sports in the campaign committee of Dr Bawumia, the flagbearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party.

In acceptance of the appointment, Gyan emphasised the need to share hos ideas garnered through experience in the game.

Anas took $100,000 to stop documentary release – Kwesi Nyantakyi
‘I have enough experience to contribute to sports – Asamoah Gyan reacts to political appointment
“I always ask myself, how do we create change if we don’t want to change? How do we spectate without being on the bench, and how do we score without being on the field?… All I know and will ever know, all I love and will ever love is SPORTS.” he stated.

Another figure in Ghana football who recently announced his intention to engage in partisan politics is Kwesi Nyantakyi, former Ghana Football Association (GFA).

The former football administrator showed up as one of the candidates to contest in the NPP primaries for the Ejisu constituency following the demise of incumbent John Kumah.

However, it didn’t pan out well for the former Wa All Stars owner as he lost disappointingly.

He garnered a paltry 35 votes after close to 1,081 delegates had cast their votes in the parliamentary primary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) held in the Ejisu Constituency on April 13.

People & Lifestyle

Rebecca Osam: A Champion for Women’s Empowerment in Africa

Published

8 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Ameyaw Debrah

In a heartfelt social media post, Rebecca Osam, Managing Director of Reflo Company Limited, Reflo’s TV, and Femme Fatale Productions Limited, has pledged her full commitment to empowering young women.

Rebecca expressed her desire to move beyond mere inspiration and instead build a deeper connection with young women, offering guidance and support to help them achieve their goals.

Her passion for women’s empowerment stems from her experiences growing up in Africa, where she witnessed firsthand the oppression and lack of opportunities faced by women. This drove her to co-found The Florence Mensah Foundation with her mother, aiming to empower African women and girls, and encourage them to recognise their worth, strength, and potential.

Through her foundation and personal endeavors, Rebecca seeks to provide a supportive platform for young women to thrive. She aims to be a relatable figure, offering mentorship and encouragement to help them overcome challenges and achieve success on their own terms.

Rebecca’s dedication to empowering young women proves her leadership and commitment to creating positive change in her community. Her efforts serve as an inspiration to others, highlighting the impact one person can have in driving gender equality and women’s empowerment.

As Rebecca continues her work, her message resonates with young women across Africa: “Anything is possible, and I am here to support and cheer you on every step of the way.”

img 20240426 wa00917316400868815534883 3

People & Lifestyle

Caradise Ghana Car Rental Facilitates Transportation for Global Christian Forum held in Accra

Published

9 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Ameyaw Debrah

Caradise Ghana Car Rental has once again successfully facilitated the transportation of over 240 participants from 60 countries across the globe for the recently ended Global Christian Forum in Accra, Ghana.

Numerous buses hauled the various participants from the Airport to their designated hotels from the 12th to 15th of April, 2024. Participants were then transported from their hotels to the conference grounds daily for the gathering of devoted Christians from the 16th to the 19th of April, 2024.

The forum began with a vibrant, joyful worship service held at Accra Ridge Church. The Rev. Dr. Casely Essamuah welcomed participants to Ghana and to the Fourth Global Gathering, and participants spent the day sharing their faith stories with one another across the litany of differences represented.

The forum was climaxed with a dinner and 25th anniversary celebration at the Action Chapel Internation Church hosted by Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams.

After the forum, the participants took the opportunity to visit the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and Mausoleum where they learnt about the great Pan-Africanist, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and Ghana’s journey to inpendence.

The participants also spent a day in Cape Coast where they learnt about the millions of enslaved, dehumanised African men, women, and children at the Cape Coast Castle. Witnessing first hand how Africans were forcibly taken captive to the Americas, Caribbean, and Europe as objects of lucrative trade.

People & Lifestyle

DJ Khaled Announces Second Annual We The Best Foundation Golf Classic On June 12 & 13 in Miami Beach !

Published

10 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Ameyaw Debrah

GRAMMY® Award-winning, global megastar DJ Khaled proudly announces the return of his annual WE THE BEST FOUNDATION GOLF CLASSIC for the second year in a row.

For 2024, the mega-popular charity event expands to two days on Wednesday June 12 and Thursday June 13 in Miami, FL. Given the demand by countless superstar artists, A-list athletes, and entertainers to participate, he needed to stretch the proceedings over two days!

Once again, the event will be sponsored by Jordan Brand, and all proceeds support the We The Best Foundationand its numerous efforts to bolster education. Stay tuned for the multitude of exciting confirmed guests, and more.

Khaled created a cultural groundswell and personally appeared on ESPN’s SPORTSCENTER to break the news of the second installment of the WE THE BEST FOUNDATION GOLF CLASSIC today. Watch HERE.

Regarding the return of the WE THE BEST FOUNDATION GOLF CLASSIC, he commented, “Last year, the WE THE BEST FOUNDATION GOLF CLASSIC brought out so many friends and family to make a difference, play some great golf, and have an incredible day for a great cause. This year, we’re going even bigger, and we thank everyone for their continued support. TEE UP AND BLESS UP!”

Last year, the inaugural WE THE BEST FOUNDATION GOLF CLASSIC hosted Serena Williams, pro golfers Michael Block and Bubba Watson, Odell Beckham, JR., Shannon Sharpe, Victor Cruz, Jalen Rose, Terrell Owens, Marcus Jordan, Jeezy, Quavo, The-Dream, Swizz Beatz, Timbaland, Fat Joe, Cedric The Entertainer, Joey Fatone, and more. The foundation raised over $500,000 which benefited the enrichment of children and youth through educational programming, scholarships, and extracurricular activities.

More guests and partners for 2024 will be unveiled soon.