Miguel Sirgado’s latest story (Artburst Miami) “explores how Vizcaya Museum and Gardens has turned community artmaking into a beloved Miami summer tradition.” This year’s Studio Vizcaya project, “The Fruit We Bear,” brings people together to create giant illuminated fruit lanterns before a twilight procession through the gardens. Workshops and all related events take place from July 11 through July 25, 2026.See detailed information at the end of the article. Here are excerpts. For full article and additional photos, visit Artburst Miami.
For nearly a decade, Vizcaya Museum & Gardens has invited Miamians to do something unusual each summer: come together to create art.
This year, participants are building giant papier-mâché fruit lanterns as part of “The Fruit We Bear,” the latest edition of Studio Vizcaya. Led by artist Shawna Moulton, the free weekend workshops will culminate Saturday, July 25 with an illuminated twilight procession through Vizcaya’s waterfront gardens, where more than 1,000 participants are expected to carry their creations through the historic estate. [. . .]
“The feedback we’ve been getting is that people want to come back to Vizcaya and be part of this immersive experience again,” says Gabriella Roman, Vizcaya’s community programs manager. “So, this year we’re returning to some of the program’s early roots.”
Participation is designed to be as welcoming as possible. “We’re intentionally trying to create a third space where adults can engage their creative side,” Roman says. “Maybe it’s an experience you normally would have had at summer camp or art camp, but now you get to experience it later in life.” [. . .]
For Moulton, the project began with a walk through Vizcaya.
Born in the Bahamas and raised in Jamaica, Moulton lives in Plantation, in Broward County, and maintains her art practice and studio in Miami. She studied sculpture at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. While visiting Vizcaya with a group from the Norton Museum of Art, she was drawn to one of the four herms —sculptural figures—that flank the entrance to The Barge, the estate’s monumental stone breakwater overlooking Biscayne Bay. The figure carries a basket of fruit on its head, immediately transporting her back to childhood memories in Jamaica. [. . .]
“Fruit immediately made me think about community,” Moulton says. “In Jamaica, if you came to my house during the summer, you weren’t going to be hungry. My family was going to feed you mangoes, bananas and whatever had grown nearby. We all have a story of somebody giving us a piece of fruit, and that felt like a beautiful place to start.”
Florida’s landscape offered another layer of inspiration. “One of my favorite things about South Florida is that it reminds me of Jamaica,” she says. “There are mango trees, papayas and all kinds of fruit growing here, so I was also inspired by the land itself and what a fruitful place Florida can be.”
The lanterns are tied to values such as joy, kindness, peace and patience. Throughout the summer, participants are encouraged to talk about those ideas and what they mean in their own lives. [. . .]
WHAT: Studio Vizcaya: The Fruit We Bear
WHEN AND WHERE: Free workshops: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday, July 11, Miami Beach Regional Library, 227 22nd St., Miami Beach. 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sunday, July 12, Vizcaya Village, 3250 S. Miami Ave., Miami. Finale performance: 7 to 9:30 p.m., Saturday, July 25, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, 3251 S. Miami Ave., Miami.
COST: Workshops: Free with online registration. Finale: $15, $10 for children, 6 to 12, free admission for children under 5.
INFORMATION: 305-250-9133 and vizcaya.org/studio For full article and more photos, see https://www.artburstmiami.com/visual_arts/studio-vizcaya-miami-summer-tradition
Miguel Sirgado’s latest story (Artburst Miami) “explores how Vizcaya Museum and Gardens has turned community artmaking into a beloved Miami summer tradition.” This year’s Studio Vizcaya project, “The Fruit We Bear,” brings people together to create giant illuminated fruit lanterns before a twilight procession through the gardens. Workshops and all related events take place from
