Nicole Martinez

For Spanish King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas in 1492 represented an incredible opportunity to cement their legacy. If they could colonize this previously unknown part of the world -- rich with natural resources and inhabited by indigenous peoples -- they could create an empire the likes of which the world had never seen.
But to lay claim to these lands, the monarchs had to abide an edict from the ruling Pope Alexander VI, who, in a papal bull is...

Paulo Nazareth believes his social art practice is driven by an innate thirst for rebellion. “Sometimes we don’t choose, we are chosen instead,” he says. “It’s difficult to escape the suffering, the ugly history and an ugly present; watching police brutality, seeing and feeling racism, feeling them watching you and following you all because of the color of your skin and the texture of your hair. This is the place from which I’m creating, using the gifts I have to hopefully change something wh...

Wilfredo Prieto's public art comes out of his nomadic life as an artist
The Cuban artist Wilfredo Prieto has broken ground on his most ambitious public art project—a road in the shape of an infinite loop. The 1km-long highway, Viaje Infinito (infinite journey), on 490 acres in Prieto’s hometown, Sancti Spiritus, in central Cuba, was announced at the 13th Havana Biennial in April, and is expected to be completed within two years.
The work is being constructed in a largely rural area, with seve...

Supplement Projects is a communal home and a studio, alternative art space & community meeting point. The project explores ideas of domesticity with the urban landscape. As a place of comfort, communication, gathering and rest, it offers a provocative alternative to the often commercialized, hyperreal spaces of art galleries and institutions.
The space is run by Miami/Berlin based artist and arts organizer GeoVanna Gonzalez and represents artists Mahogany L. Browne (NYC), Lizania Cruz (NYC), ...

Fempower takes us inside its art slash fashion show exploring the future for black and brown people in a transforming world
The year is 2040. The world’s largest economic powers failed to heed the UN’s warning, in 2018, that we had 12 years to mitigate a climate change catastrophe. The atmosphere has warmed by 1.4 degrees Celsius, and in Miami, the effects are devastating. Heat and humidity have swelled to unbearable temperatures. Ninety per cent of the city’s vibrant coral reefs have vanishe...

At a panel discussion during ULI’s Fort Lauderdale Emerges conference in February, Mike Jackson, longtime chief executive officer of AutoNation, was joined by Vinnie Viola, chairman and owner of the NHL’s Florida Panthers and chairman emeritus of Virtu Financial, to discuss Fort Lauderdale’s place among America’s most important business communities.
With moderator Bob Swindell, president and CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, the pair discussed the appeal and consistent challenges f...

Cuba’s highly anticipated biennial, which kicks off this week, explores the future amid a turbulent present
Salvadoran performance artist and activist Alexia Miranda spent several weeks in Havana, weaving large, looming nets out of gauze and inviting seamstresses, artists, and even tourists to join her throughout the process. The socially engaged installation, titled Tejido Colectivo and shown at the Centro Contemporaneo Wilfredo Lam, was just one of the works produced specifically for the 13...

Independent artists groups plan to put Cuba's controversial Decree 349 to the test
A group of Cuban artist-activists plan to stage another alternative event during the run of the official Havana Biennial, which is due to open on 12 April after a year’s delay. The independent project is being organised in protest at a recently passed law known as Decree 349, which requires artists to receive approval from the Cuban government before their projects are mounted.
Under the title Bienal Sin 349/Bi...

With so many highfliers dropping some serious dough for a piece of downtown real estate in recent years, Miami’s condo market seemed a sure bet for developers.
But market volatility in Europe and Latin American, where many deep-pocketed buyers came from, has caused a sudden drop in condo resale prices since last year, local real estate analysts say.
After five years of double-digit increases, condo prices in the greater downtown dipped 4 percent in the first six months of 2016, according to a...

Works on view draw on themes of collaboration and agency, at the same time the government seeks to control what art can be shown on the island
The sweeping Havana skyline—with its Modernist towers and colonial buildings coloured golden yellow, bubblegum pink and lime green—is strung together by the Malecón, the city’s expansive esplanade and seawall. In its northernmost corner, Cuban artist Jorge Otero has positioned dozens of vintage chairs, sourced from neighbours and friends, like a bandst...

Dealers mount work that responds to political tensions while noting art is a 'difficult business' in Havana
The Havana Biennial opens on 12 April after its last edition was cancelled due to Hurricane Irma. In that time, the city’s gallery scene has weathered significant change since the show’s launch in 2015.
“A lot of new spaces popped up with President Obama’s announcement [to normalise US and Cuba relations in 2014],” Lida Lilian Sigas Nieto, the director of Havana’s El Apartamento gallery...

Works at mid-tier price points are moving quickly at the 16th edition of the Mexico City fair, according to exhibitors
Despite challenging political and economic developments in Mexico recently, dealers were mostly positive on the opening day of the 16th edition of Zona Maco (6-10 February), the seminal Mexico City art fair that has helped bolster the capital’s art market growth. As the afternoon wore on, dealers were busy greeting familiar faces while engaging new international collectors ap...