Launched in 2020 with Carl Juste's I Am A Man, Art on the Plaza is our ongoing public art initiative dedicated to supporting and elevating local artists. Made possible in part by funding from the City of North Miami Community Redevelopment Agency, the series commissions South Florida-based artists to create site-specific installations that activate MOCA's plaza and foster community engagement.
Eternal Return & The Obsidian Heart offered a comprehensive survey of Raúl de Nieves’ practice, linking sculpture with music and Queer performance. Immersive installations, gem-encrusted figures, and “stained glass” environments explored divinity, desire, and cyclical time, transforming everyday materials into spiritually charged objects reflecting birth, death, and rebirth.
This retrospective marked the first presentation of Michael Richards’ work since his death on 9/11. Curated by Alex Fialho and Melissa Levin, it showcased sculptures and drawings addressing racial inequity, police violence, and diasporic identity. Developed largely during his Miami residencies, the exhibition later traveled to the North Carolina Museum of Art and The Bronx Museum of the Arts
The first comprehensive retrospective of Polish-born Holocaust survivor Maryan spanned four decades of paintings, sculptures, drawings, and film. Linking his biography to his visual language, the exhibition honored the resilience of the human spirit and art’s power to process trauma, featuring newly uncovered works and archival materials that later traveled to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.
Didier William’s largest solo exhibition examined memory, migration, and Haitian identity through over 40 works—paintings, prints, sculptures, and artist books. The show explored his immigrant experience, Black and Queer identity, and his negotiation of space and belonging in Miami.
