Locust Projects’ Annual Wavemaker Splash Party

Miami Beach, FL – September 8, 2023 – Locust Projects’ 2023 Splash! Party at Soho Pool House celebrated the 13 Miami artists and collectives who received WaveMaker incubator grants for publicly accessible, community-driven projects across Miami supported annually since 2015 by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts’ Regional Regranting Program.

Guests stepped out of Wynwood’s urban street into the new Soho Pool House, an incredible oasis paradise in the midst of the city featuring a relaxing, stylish tropical ambiance with lush vegetation and luxurious lounge areas surrounding a gloriously large pool. Guests were greeted with vibe-perfect tunes courtesy of the music stylings of Andrew Byrd, aka Byrdipop, a resident DJ of Soho Pool House. A visually delightful and delicious array of bites and refreshing beverages were passed for arriving guests, including a revitalizing cool cucumber cocktail crafted by the talented bartenders at Soho Pool House using MEP Florida’s freshly cold-pressed juices and E11EVEN Vodka. It was the perfect foil to the end-of-summer heat and was complemented by Monaco Cocktails and eco-conscious Liquid Death Mountain Water.

More than seventy attendees, including Miami’s community of artists, current and past WaveMaker grantees, collectors, curators, and prominent members of the Locust Projects Board of Trustees, including Bette Ann Fialkov, Adler Guerrier, Brian Heller, Elizabeth Hoelle, Jamie Odabachian, and Munisha Underhill, mixed and mingled and got to know more about the award-winning artists and their projects.

To commemorate the celebration, the first 50 attendees, including WaveMaker grantees, were presented with the third annual limited edition artist-designed WaveMaker SPLASH! Towel. This year’s towel featured an abstract watercolor design by past WaveMaker grantee, Onajide Shabaka, which was immediately put to use by guests making a cool splash in the pool.

Since 2015, Locust Projects has awarded $570,000 in incubator grants to 116 of Miami’s visionary artists through WaveMaker grants supported by the Warhol Foundation. In the spirit of Locust Projects’ artist-driven mission, WaveMakers experiment and take risks, creating innovative work that is shared with the public in unconventional spaces across Miami. Congratulations to the 2023 WaveMakers: New Work / Projects: Trish Gutierrez and Nicole Pedraza, Monica Lopez de Victoria, Laura Marsh, Karen McKinnon and Caecilia Tripp, Misael Soto, and Hsieh Yi Chin; Long-Haul Projects: Nicole Nyariri and 3rdPortal (Starr Abraham, Luz Estrella Cruz & Kay-Ann Henry); Research & Development + Implementation: Isabella Marie Garcia, Luna Palazzolo, Christina Pettersson, Martina Malka Potlach, and Monica Sorelle.