As the World Cup reaches the semifinal stage, Miami’s match-day scene is moving beyond the standard sports bar setup. Across the city, restaurants, rooftops, hotels, and waterfront venues are turning screenings into full game-day experiences. Photo/Unsplash These are some of the best places to watch the World Cup semifinals in Miami and South Florida, from Brickell Key to Coconut Grove, Wynwood, Miami Beach, and Fort Lauderdale. American Social Bar & Kitchen Photo credit: American Social Bar & Kitchen Address: 690 SW 1st Ct., Miami, FL 33130 Official Website: americansocialbar.com American Social is showing World Cup matches across all five locations, with every game on every screen and a setup built for fans watching with a group. The venue is pairing its 360-degree TV coverage with themed food towers for top participating countries, premium cocktails, and brand activations throughout the tournament, including Jim Beam giveaways, Hard Rock Bet’s Spin to Win experiences, and Tito’s Bike & Blender pop-ups at select locations. The Mexican Miami Photo credit: The Mexican Miami Address: 601 Brickell Key Drive, Suite 100, Miami, FL 33131 Official Website: themexican.com Set along the waterfront on Brickell Key, The Mexican Miami offers a polished setting for World Cup viewing, with matches shown across multiple screens throughout the indoor bar, Champagne Terrace, and Las Lomas lounge. The restaurant’s schedule includes major tournament matchups, Miami-hosted games, the quarterfinal, bronze final, and the World Cup Final, making it a strong option for fans looking to pair the semifinals with dinner, cocktails, and waterfront views. Ball & Chain Photo credit: Mad Room Hospitality Address: 1513 SW 8th Street, Little Havana, Miami, FL 33135 Official Website: ballandchainmiami.com Ball & Chain brings World Cup energy to Calle Ocho with screenings throughout the tournament, 10 LED screens, drink activations, DJs, dancers, and live entertainment. The Little Havana venue gives fans a lively setting where the match can turn into a full evening out, with cocktails such as mojitos, Calle Ocho Old Fashioneds, and Pastelito Daiquiris available during game-day programming. Bakan Photo credit: Bakan Address: 2801 NW 2nd Ave., Miami, FL 33127 Official Website: bakanwynwood.com In Wynwood, Bakan is showing every World Cup match across three indoor TVs and two patio TVs, creating an indoor-outdoor setup suited for groups. Known for regional Mexican cooking, agave-forward cocktails, mezcal, tequila, and a lively atmosphere, the restaurant offers a match-day option that feels casual without being limited to standard bar food. Upside Photo credit: Upside Address: 59 NW 28th Street, Miami, FL 33127 Official Website: upsidewynwood.com Upside is bringing World Cup screenings to Wynwood with game-day festivities and cocktail programming throughout June and July. The cocktail bar is partnering with Diageo on Casamigos, Don Julio, and Buchanan’s offerings, with drink specials, food packages, Stella Artois, burger-and-fries specials, and shareable towers featuring items such as tuna poke nachos, smoked fish dip, chicken tenders, Wagyu sliders, lobster nuggets, and spicy salmon crispy rice. Pastis Miami Photo credit: Starr Restaurants Address: 380 NW 26th Street, Miami, FL 33127 Official Website: pastismiami.com Pastis Miami is showing World Cup matches at the bar, with new screens and special cocktail activations for French and U.S. games. Seating is first come, first served, making early arrival important for fans hoping to watch the semifinals in the Wynwood brasserie’s Parisian-inspired setting with cocktails, wine, and French classics. LIV Miami Photo credit: Groot Hospitality Address: 4441 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, FL 33140 Official Website: livnightclub.com Presented by DraftKings, LIV Miami is turning the World Cup into a South Beach watch party series through its “Road to the Final” programming, which runs from June 24 through July 19. Fans can watch marquee matchups with venue-wide screens, VIP tables, bottle packages, cocktails, and official afterparties at Fontainebleau Miami Beach, making LIV a nightlife-driven option for the tournament’s final stretch. STK South Beach Photo credit: STK Steakhouse Address: 2305 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, FL 33139 Official Website: stksteakhouse.com STK South Beach is showing World Cup matches across the bar, lounge, and patio during game time, with a tournament-themed food and beverage menu available throughout the competition. Specials include $3 beers, $6 seltzers, $9 cocktails, Champagne options, loaded fries, Wagyu fried rice, Wagyu potstickers, Buffalo wings, and the STK Wagyu cheeseburger, giving fans a high-energy steakhouse setting close to Miami Beach nightlife. Watr at 1 Rooftop Photo credit: 1 Hotel South Beach Address: 2341 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, FL 33139 Official Website: 1hotels.com Watr at 1 Rooftop is showing World Cup matches from June through July, with TVs set throughout the main dining room and private cabanas available upon request. The rooftop restaurant at 1 Hotel South Beach will also host a Championship Viewing Party on July 19, featuring an 18-by-9-foot screen and a live DJ lineup. Joia Beach Photo credit: Joia Beach Address: 1111 Parrot Jungle Trail, Miami, FL 33132 Official Website: joiabeachmiami.com Joia Beach brings World Cup viewing to a waterfront setting with Biscayne Bay and the Miami skyline as the backdrop. The venue is showing matches with screens, drink specials, and a beachside atmosphere, while guests can order cocktails such as La Buchanita, classic margaritas, spicy margaritas, and Palomas alongside Joia Beach’s European-inspired menu. Benihana Photo credit: The One Group Address: 1665 NE 79th Street Causeway, North Bay Village, FL 33141 Official Website: benihana.com Benihana is showing World Cup matches from June 11 through July 19, with a special match-day food and beverage menu available at the bar and lounge. Specials include $3 beers and sushi snack rolls, $6 seltzers and bites, $9 cocktails, loaded fries, spicy chicken gyoza, Buffalo chicken wings, Wagyu fried rice, and cheeseburgers, giving fans a casual and accessible option for semifinal watch parties. The Hangar at Regatta Harbour Photo Credit: The Hangar at Regatta Harbour Address: 3385 Pan American Drive, Miami, FL 33133 Official Website: thehangarcoconutgrove.com The Hangar at Regatta Harbour is hosting World Cup screenings in Coconut Grove with large TVs throughout the waterfront property. The venue’s tournament programming includes ticketed options through DoorDash Reservations, with general admission, VIP packages, and table and bottle service available for fans who want to turn the semifinals into a full afternoon or evening plan. Koko by Bakan Photo credit: Koko by Bakan Address: 2856 Tigertail Ave., Coconut Grove, FL 33133 Official Website: kokobybakan.com Koko by Bakan is showing every World Cup match in Coconut Grove, with two TVs inside and two TVs on the outdoor patio. The indoor-outdoor Mexican restaurant comes from the team behind Bakan and focuses on handcrafted tortillas, wood-fired cooking, cocktails, mezcal, tequila, and shareable dishes, offering a relaxed Grove setting for semifinal match days. Level 6 Rooftop Photo credit: INK Entertainment Address: 3480 Main Highway, 6th Floor, Coconut Grove, FL 33133 Official Website: level6miami.com Level 6 is showing select World Cup matches from its rooftop perch above Coconut Grove, pairing Biscayne Bay views with Spanish-inspired tapas, wine, Champagne, and match-day cocktails including the El Clásico and Golden Goal. Its listed tournament programming includes the World Cup Final on July 19 at 3 p.m., making it a fitting option for fans looking for a rooftop setting during the tournament’s final week. STK Aventura Photo credit: STK Steakhouse Address: 19505 Biscayne Blvd., Aventura, FL 33180 Official Website: stksteakhouse.com STK Aventura is showing World Cup matches throughout the tournament across the bar, lounge, and patio, with the same World Cup-themed menu offered at STK South Beach. The Aventura location will also host “Kickoff Lounge” activations on select dates, including July 11 and July 18, with beverage partner programming, fan experiences, and exclusive swag. W Fort Lauderdale Photo credit: W Fort Lauderdale Address: 401 N Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 Official Website: marriott.com W Fort Lauderdale is showing matches throughout the World Cup season, with screenings in the Living Room and at the rooftop WET Deck. The hotel’s soccer programming runs July 8 through July 19 and includes watch party packages with beer, chips and guacamole, pizza, wings, Don Julio 1942 options, beachfront cabana upgrades, curated cocktails, and private viewing options for fans watching outside Miami proper. By ML Staff.

Miami Living's picks for sports events from July 22–29, featuring Miami Marlins, Inter Miami, Miami FC and more live sporting action in Miami. Photo/Pixabay Inter Miami CF Inter Miami CF vs. Chicago Fire FC — July 22 Purchase Tickets Inter Miami returns from the FIFA World Cup break with a major Eastern Conference matchup against Chicago. Lionel Messi's short turnaround from the World Cup final makes his availability a central storyline, while Robert Lewandowski could make his long-awaited Chicago debut after the Fire's previous match was postponed. Miami Marlins Miami Marlins vs. San Diego Padres — July 24 Purchase Tickets The Marlins return home after road series in Milwaukee and Houston to open a three-game set against San Diego. Miami begins the week in the National League postseason race, while Manny Machado and the Padres arrive looking to climb back above .500. Miami Marlins vs. San Diego Padres — July 25 Purchase Tickets Saturday's game combines an important National League matchup with the Marlins' Venezuelan Heritage Celebration. The afternoon start gives Miami another opportunity to strengthen its impressive home record as the postseason race intensifies. Miami Marlins vs. San Diego Padres — July 26 Purchase Tickets Miami closes the weekend series with a Sunday afternoon game at loanDepot park. The scheduled Javier Sanoja Gold Glove bobblehead giveaway adds extra appeal, while the series finale could carry valuable Wild Card implications. Miami Marlins vs. Philadelphia Phillies — July 27 Purchase Tickets The Phillies arrive for a divisional series with immediate significance in the National League East. Only two games separated Philadelphia and Miami on July 18, giving every meeting between the clubs added importance in the standings. Miami Marlins vs. Philadelphia Phillies — July 28 Purchase Tickets The rivalry continues Tuesday night with Philadelphia bringing a lineup led by Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber. Miami will look to its pitching staff and young core to contain one of its closest competitors in the division. Miami Marlins vs. Philadelphia Phillies — July 29 Purchase Tickets The six-game homestand concludes with a weekday afternoon series finale against Philadelphia. With both clubs pursuing postseason places, the result could shape the NL East race heading into the final days before the trade deadline. Inter Miami CF II Inter Miami CF II vs. Toronto FC II — July 25 Purchase Tickets Inter Miami CF II returns home for an MLS NEXT Pro matchup against Toronto's developmental side. The intimate setting offers supporters a closer look at emerging players working toward opportunities with their respective first teams. Miami FC Miami FC vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies — July 25 Purchase Tickets Miami FC welcomes the Tampa Bay Rowdies for an in-state USL Championship showdown during Noche Latina. Miami will also be seeking a response after Tampa Bay won their earlier USL Cup meeting, adding another layer to this Florida rivalry. By ML Staff. Photos courtesy of each featured team on this story

Miami will host one of the year's highest-profile chess events when WR Chess brings Team USA and Team Uzbekistan to Faena Miami Beach for a two-day international rapid and blitz competition on July 27 and 28. The event marks the American debut of WR Chess's head-to-head national team format, featuring 10 of the world's leading grandmasters in a series of matches designed for both live audiences and global streaming. The competition uses the classic Scheveningen format, with every player from Team USA facing every player from Team Uzbekistan across multiple rapid and blitz games. The format creates a continuous lineup of elite matchups that are rarely seen outside major international team championships. One of the most anticipated pairings is a rematch between Hikaru Nakamura, the top American grandmaster, and Javokhir Sindarov, the 20-year-old Uzbek grandmaster who defeated Nakamura at the 2026 Candidates Tournament in Cyprus to earn the position of official World Championship challenger. Their meeting in Miami adds another chapter to one of chess's emerging rivalries. Team USA will be represented by Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, and Levon Aronian, with Leinier Dominguez serving as reserve. Team Uzbekistan's lineup includes Javokhir Sindarov, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Nodirbek Yakubboev, and Shamsiddin Vokhidov, with Mukhiddin Madaminov as reserve. WR Chess founder Wadim Rosenstein said the organization developed the format to create a more engaging spectator experience while maintaining elite-level competition. "Chess has become one of the most exciting cultural movements in the world today," Rosenstein said. "Our goal is to create experiences that celebrate the highest level of competition while making the game more engaging, accessible, and visible to new audiences. Miami and Faena provide the perfect backdrop for bringing together strategy, culture, hospitality, and competition in a way that reflects where chess is headed." The Miami event follows another major development for WR Chess. On June 26, Rosenstein announced his candidacy for the presidency of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), with the organization's election scheduled for the end of September. The tournament also highlights a contrast between two of the world's strongest chess nations. Team USA enters the competition with six Chess Olympiad gold medals and a roster featuring experienced world championship contenders. Team Uzbekistan, which won the 2022 Chess Olympiad, brings one of the youngest elite squads in international chess, with an average age of 21 compared to Team USA's average of 37.6. Hosting the event at Faena Miami Beach places the competition in one of South Florida's leading cultural destinations as chess continues to attract wider audiences through streaming platforms, artificial intelligence, and growing mainstream interest. Key Details Event: WR Chess USA vs. Uzbekistan National Team Rapid & Blitz Dates: July 27-28 Venue: Faena Miami Beach Format: Scheveningen head-to-head national team rapid and blitz competition Team USA: Hikaru Nakamura, Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Levon Aronian; reserve: Leinier Dominguez Team Uzbekistan: Javokhir Sindarov, Nodirbek Abdusattorov, Nodirbek Yakubboev, Shamsiddin Vokhidov; reserve: Mukhiddin Madaminov For event information, visit the official WR Chess website at: wr-chess.com. By ML Staff. Photos courtesy of WR Chess.

Behind every collection that hits the runway, there is a sketch, and today it is increasingly born not in a Manhattan atelier but on an artist's tablet thousands of miles away from the showroom. The industry accepted this format quietly, without loud manifestos, but the changes turned out to be profound. In this article, we will tell you how remote illustrators are changing the fashion business and where to look for work in this field. The Digital Shift in Haute Couture and Conceptual Apparel Design Just ten years ago, a fashion illustrator's portfolio started with paper and markers and an interview, with a personal visit to the studio. The pandemic accelerated what had been brewing for a long time: fashion houses learned to accept concepts digitally, and geography stopped being a hiring filter. An artist from Austin now easily draws a capsule for a New York brand without ever visiting its office. The numbers confirm the scale of the shift. An analysis of more than a thousand vacancies in fashion design showed that Adobe Illustrator is mentioned in 86% of job postings, and three-dimensional modeling tools like CLO 3D and Browzwear are already in nearly a quarter. In other words, what matters to the employer is not where the artist sits but how quickly their file integrates into the production cycle. Virtual patterns reduce the number of physical samples, which saves brands weeks of work and tangible budgets. It is no wonder that even conservative couture houses, which for decades built their processes around the atelier, are gradually opening their doors to distributed teams of artists. Bridging New York Runways and Miami Resort Wear Through Virtual Sketching The remote format blurred the line between the two poles of American fashion, the strict runways of New York and the resort aesthetic of South Florida. PARAISO Miami Swim Week 2026, held in June for the twenty-second time, brought together more than a hundred brands from all over the world, and a notable part of the showcased Resort and Cruise 2027 collections went through the sketching stage in distributed teams. The RISE platform, meanwhile, brought over twenty young swimwear brands to the stage, which often have no in-house artists at all, only remote freelancers. Miami sets a special context for illustrators, because the city lives by seasonal events around which brands build their campaigns. The June Swim Week is followed by a series of other large-scale projects that shape the atmosphere of vacation luxury, which resort brands ask to convey in every sketch. The artist has to catch this rhythm remotely, using mood boards, references, and calls. Breaking Into the Global Design Market with Remote Fashion Illustrator Jobs The barrier to entry into the profession today is lower than commonly thought; however, looking for orders blindly is the worst strategy. It makes much more sense to start with platforms where offers are gathered in one place: the selection of fashion illustrator jobs on the Jooble website features about 2,700 remote vacancies, ranging from freelance contracts with a rate of $35–50 per hour to full-time positions with an annual salary from $70,000 to $120,000. Among employers, there are both big names like Michael Kors and niche clothing brands. The hiring platform Jooble is free for job seekers and verifies postings, filtering out spam and phishing advertisements. The scale of the service, at the same time, is truly global: Jooble in numbers Current scale Countries covered 66 New jobs added daily 300,000 Daily job searchers Up to 1 million Monthly candidate visits 90 million Jobs listed on the site ~9 million Market experience 15+ years For a beginning artist, applied functions also come in handy, as delivery of fresh vacancies to the inbox eliminates the need for manual monitoring of dozens of sites, smart tags highlight key conditions directly in the search results, and the built-in resume builder generates a document friendly to recruiters' ATS systems. In addition, the salary data section helps confidently negotiate an offer, and the mobile app allows applying for vacancies even from a beach in Key West. The recommendation system, in turn, suggests related roles, from a textile designer to a concept artist, expanding the search area without extra effort. Collaborative Technical Tools Connecting Remote Artists with South Florida Fashion Brands Remote collaboration relies on a shared digital desk where the artist and the brand meet daily. The standard toolkit of a remote illustrator working with brands from Miami or Fort Lauderdale looks roughly like this: iPad with Procreate or Adobe Fresco for quick concepts and live sketches; CLO 3D or Browzwear for virtual fittings and checking product fit; Figma or Miro as a shared board where the team can comment on sketches in real time; Cloud storage and task trackers that synchronize edits across time zones. Such a stack removes the employer's main fear, the loss of control over the process. A brand from Wynwood sees every iteration of the sketch just as clearly as if the artist were sitting in the next room. For Florida brands launching integrations for The Miami Spice 2026 Experience or other key regional media events, speed and synchronicity have long become the main competitive advantage. The Growing Influence of Hybrid Media Formats in Modern Luxury Brand Campaigns Luxury campaigns are less and less frequently built on photography alone. Brands mix shoots with hand-drawn graphics, animated sketches, and elements of virtual clothing, returning illustration to the status of an independent medium. The public is tired of uniform glossy imagery, and the artist's live line is read once again as a sign of handmade work. This is exactly why generative tools like Adobe Firefly and Midjourney are increasingly mentioned in vacancies alongside classic skills, not as a replacement for the artist's hand but as an accelerator of routine stages. For a remote illustrator, this is a chance, not a threat. A specialist who combines a live sketch with 3D visualization and knows how to refine material for animation covers several roles in a campaign at once and costs more for a brand than a narrow executor. Hybrid formats, while being a showcase of technology, still rely on the good old sense of silhouette and line, which no neural network has canceled yet. The Studio That Fits in a Backpack Fashion pretended for a long time that creativity requires personal presence, but remote illustrators proved the opposite through action. The market is open, tools are available, and the demand for expressive graphics grows along with campaign budgets. Thus, the distance between talent and the runway is measured today not in miles, but by the quality of the portfolio. By ML Staff. Photos courtesy of Unsplash: Munbaik Cycling Clothing; Rodrigo Rodrigues | WOLF Λ R T.

The design world has been shifting dramatically. For so long, it seemed as though we had become a culture obsessed with showing off our status to everyone around us. Each space is designed to shout louder than the last, often at the expense of everything else around it. Over-sized furniture, a seemingly endless array of bold, brightly colored accents, and large logoed pieces created the perception of status, whilst actually leaving the space feeling hollow and impersonal. However, of late, we have witnessed a marked change in this perception, and designers are increasingly moving towards creating quieter, more intimate spaces to induce feelings of calm and serenity in those who experience them. There is a misconception about luxury items and how they are perceived. People may think that they need to scream for attention, however, this isn’t the case. In reality, luxury has the ability to provide comfort and relaxation to those who are fortunate enough to have it in their lives. It can be achieved through soft lighting, textured fabrics, and tactile surfaces that evoke a sense of calm. This is what we call quiet luxury, a feeling that isn’t provided by loud colors, metallic accents, and oversized logos. We describe quiet luxury as a home that feels like an escape. We attempt to achieve this with a grounded aesthetic by beginning from the bottom up – literally – with the floors within a home. No matter what is on the floor, the feeling one gets from it is immediate. The Foundation of a Grounded Home When building or designing a room, it’s essential to focus on the most basic element, and that is the floor. It is the canvas of a room, and whatever design elements you add to your room will have to sit on it. If the floor of your room makes you feel like you are walking on a cold, hollow, or flimsy surface, then the overall feeling of your room will never be as magical as it could be. Therefore, when choosing a floor covering for your room, you have to choose one that feels great under your feet and makes you feel good. Design in the past was often associated with luxury, featuring very expensive materials, rare hardwoods, and high-quality stone. But today, there are many options on the market that are equally high quality, durable, and don’t have to cost an arm and a leg. They can look just like natural wood or stone and have a very luxurious look and feel. And they don’t have to be as fragile as some of the natural materials on the market. Designing a home that is of the Quiet Luxury aesthetic means choosing the best-sourced materials for your space. Rather than spending an arm and a leg on imported exotic hardwoods or large, expensive stone flooring, look to wholesale vinyl flooring. Many high-quality designs offer a very realistic imitation of real flooring- offering the exact same texture and grain of natural wood or stone- at a fraction of the cost of real flooring. This allows for a high-end designed space within a very smart budget- truly the heart of Quiet Luxury design. From there on in, the design details can fall into place, and you don’t have to overcomplicate things with the selection of furnishings, accessories, and anything else for your home. Elements of the Quiet Aesthetic The design elements to attain the perfect blend of peaceful elegance are found in simplifying and editing all elements within a home or space, and in selecting a few truly perfect items to bring a touch of elegance. This, in turn, can aid in relieving much stress and allow the mind to focus on all of the positive aspects of design as well as daily life. Perhaps this is why the aesthetic of Quiet Luxury is becoming increasingly more popular. Here are a few key elements that can bring the perfect touch of Quiet Luxury to your own personal space or home. Warm, Earthy Neutrals Steer clear of bright, clinical, white, and cold, gray, sterile-colored paint. In contrast to these spaces, a home incorporating elements of the quiet luxury of a natural, earthy interior will contain warm-colored walls painted in such neutral shades as warm beige, soft cream, muted clay, and gentle, mossy sage green. These colors can effectively absorb light throughout a room to prevent a harshly lit area. A room incorporating warm, earthy neutrals will immediately allow the senses to recognize a feeling of peaceful, luxurious comfort that a contrasting space would never be able to achieve. These colors are great because they are absorbers. They don’t reflect light harshly. Instead, they create a warm, cozy atmosphere in your home that makes it feel cozy and inviting. It instantly makes you feel relaxed, because the atmosphere is so warm and inviting. Your shoulders will instantly drop when you walk into a room painted with these colors. It feels so much better to be surrounded by warm colors rather than harsh, glaring ones. Rich, Tactile Textures Since you are not using loud colors to grab attention, you need texture to make the room interesting. Mixing different materials is the secret to creating depth and warmth. Combining various materials of different textures to make a space more interesting is key. A soft and chunky Bouclé sofa in a warm color will add plenty of comfort to a room. Pair it with a coffee table made of rough, matte-finish stone for a great contrast in texture. Add some light linen panels for your windows to filter in natural light in a soft and diffused manner. You want people to feel like touching every surface of your home, and it should feel great to the touch. It is all about the sensory experience. Mindful Minimalist Furniture Clean lines and soft, rounded edges make for excellent minimalist furniture. Chrome or other metallic trim and embellishments detract from the aesthetic beauty of the items. Even in more ornate designs, the lines and edges should speak to the observer and be the real point of interest. Make sure each piece has a purpose. Also, be sure to give each piece a lot of room around it. Having plenty of space around your furniture will make your home look and feel luxurious. Having space in your home will also make your home look and feel bigger, and it will feel less cluttered and less chaotic. A home with plenty of space and a good balance of form and function is what a home should be. Designing for Real Life The best thing about the quiet aesthetic of a luxury home is that it is truly meant to be lived in. As opposed to a museum, where you are expected to tiptoe around in white gloves and not dare to sit on the couch, a luxury home should exude an air of comfort and relaxation. And that’s exactly what a home with a Quiet Aesthetic does best. One of the most important things when choosing your flooring for your luxury home is that it is durable and can be well and truly lived in. Our premium vinyl flooring has the look of natural stone or hardwood but is a lot more hard-wearing and easier to clean and maintain. That means you can be sure that it will withstand the day-to-day wear and tear of family life, including scratches from pets, scuff marks from muddy shoes, and spillages from family meals. Another great aspect of quiet luxury is that it can be very durable, meaning you can have a beautiful home and still enjoy it with your kids and pets. Premium vinyl flooring is a great example of this, because while it may look like carpet or hardwood, it is scratch-resistant and easy to clean. The Art of Slow Sourcing Sourcing items to add to your home slowly is key to building a space that reflects your sense of style and gives it lots of character. It is also crucial to create a home of quiet luxury because every item will have soul and tell a story. Because of this, it is very important not to put your home together to look like a typical home with lots of mass-produced pieces. Items like vintage or antique pieces, unique rugs, and flooring all make a home stand out and create a unique home, or as I like to call it, a Home of Quiet Luxury. A home filled in one weekend can often look unremarkable, lacking character and personality. It is typically filled with mass-produced items, lacking soul and personality. Taking your time to slowly source individual items that resonate with you creates a home with real personality and history, telling a story of who you are and what you like to surround yourself with. Begin with the foundation of your home and be sure that the items you choose are of the highest quality. Let the rest of the room develop around these basic pieces. With time, your home will become a comfortable, grounded, and beautiful living space – one that is truly your own. By ML staff. Images courtesy of Unsplash.

The first major institutional Baldessari survey in South Florida brings together nearly 40 works spanning five decades, drawn from the Craig Robins Collection August 20, 2026–May 9, 2027. Photo: Fundación Malba Archive Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) is pleased to present John Baldessari: The End of the Line, a major survey spanning five decades of work by one of the most influential figures in conceptual art, opening August 20, 2026. Drawn largely from the Craig Robins Collection, the exhibition marks the first significant institutional presentation of John Baldessari in South Florida and the first iteration of the exhibition in the United States, following presentations in Argentina and Uruguay. A pivotal figure in postwar contemporary art, John Baldessari (1931–2020) fundamentally redefined what art could be, shifting emphasis away from craftsmanship and technical mastery and toward ideas, language, and systems of meaning. Abandoning a career in traditional painting in the late 1960s, he favored text, found photography, film stills, and appropriated imagery to develop a practice that combined deadpan humor with philosophical rigor to challenge conventions surrounding authorship, originality, and how images convey meaning. John Baldessari, One Figure (with Qualities) / Two Figures (without Qualities), 1990. Two color photographs with vinyl paint. 83 1/2 x 98 3/4 inches overall. Craig Robins Collection. © John Baldessari 1990–2026. Courtesy Estate of John Baldessari © 2025. Courtesy John Baldessari Family Foundation. Courtesy Sprüth Magers Bringing together nearly 40 works across painting, photography, video, and installation, The End of the Line traces Baldessari’s enduring investigation into the relationship between image and language. Organized across three thematic sections, the exhibition explores the artist’s early foundational works, his serial and experimental photographic methodology, his iconoclastic engagement with mass media and popular culture, and the wide-ranging artistic and literary influences that informed his approach. Among the exhibition’s early highlights is Clement Greenberg (1966–68), a seminal text painting that encapsulates Baldessari’s challenge to artistic authorship and modernist orthodoxy: rather than painting the work himself, he hired a commercial sign painter to reproduce the opening lines of an essay praising Abstract Expressionism, collapsing distinctions between artist, fabricator, and idea. This radical reconsideration of artistic practice culminated shortly thereafter in Baldessari’s landmark Cremation Project (1970), in which he burned the paintings he had created between 1953 and 1966 and transformed their ashes into commemorative objects, symbolically marking a decisive break from traditional painting and the beginning of a new direction. John Baldessari, Kissing Series: Simone. Palm Trees (Near), 1975. Craig Robins Collection. © John Baldessari 1975. Courtesy Estate of John Baldessari © 2025. Courtesy John Baldessari Family Foundation. Courtesy Sprüth Magers. The exhibition also foregrounds Baldessari’s groundbreaking use of photography as a conceptual tool. Works such as Blasted Allegories (1978) and Kissing Series: Simone. Palm Trees (Near) (1975) disrupt traditional compositional logic through repetition, fragmentation, and absurd juxtaposition, encouraging viewers to reconsider how meaning is constructed through images. Throughout his career, Baldessari assembled an expansive visual archive drawn from cinema, advertising, newspapers, and popular culture, freely incorporating appropriated and found imagery into his work. In Miami—a city deeply shaped by spectacle, media, design, and cinematic visual culture—these works take on renewed resonance, offering a sharp and playful reflection on the images that structure everyday life. Positioned between conceptualism and Pop art, Baldessari profoundly influenced subsequent generations of artists with his blending of intellectual rigor, figuration, and wit. His influence carried through his teaching at California Institute of the Arts and University of California, Los Angeles, where students including Barbara Bloom, Mike Kelley, David Salle, and Tony Oursler would go on to define the ensuing decades. John Baldessari. Throwing Three Balls in the Air to Get a Straight Line (Best of Thirty-Six Attempts), 1973. 12 offset lithographs. 10 1/2 x 13 5/8 inches each. Craig Robins Collection. © 1973–2026 John Baldessari Family Foundation. Courtesy Estate of John Baldessari; Sprüth Magers. Photo: Brooke D’Avanzo “I am thrilled that PAMM has the opportunity to present such a significant body of work by John Baldessari, one of the most influential American artists of the 20th century. With three works by Baldessari in PAMM’s collection, this exhibition offers a deeper look at his expansive practice and enduring impact on contemporary art. It is difficult to understand the work of many artists today without acknowledging Baldessari’s radical contributions to image-making, language, and conceptual art,” said José Carlos Diaz, PAMM senior director of curatorial affairs & chief curator. “Craig Robins began collecting Baldessari’s work in 1993, and in nearly three decades has assembled one of the most significant holdings of his art anywhere in the world, right here in Miami. Baldessari, in turn, made this city part of his practice with the permanent public commissions he created in the Miami Design District in 2014. To bring this exhibition to PAMM feels like a homecoming of sorts, a local story finally told in full, and I look forward to seeing audiences engage with work that has, in many ways, been part of this city for a long time,” said Karen Grimson, curator of the Craig Robins Collection. John Baldessari. Tetrad Series: What Was Seen, 1999. Inkjet print on canvas; acrylic and enamel paint on canvas, in four parts. 94 x 94 inches overall. Craig Robins Collection. © 1999–2026 John Baldessari Family Foundation. Courtesy Estate of John Baldessari; Sprüth Magers John Baldessari: The End of the Line will be accompanied by a bilingual publication with color reproductions of all the works in the show, an illustrated chronology, and essays by Craig Robins, Karen Grimson, José Carlos Diaz, Analia Saban, Alejandro Cesarco, David Lamelas, and Dorit Cypis. The catalogue will be available for purchase at the PAMM Shop. John Baldessari: The End of the Line is organized in collaboration with the Craig Robins Collection and originally curated by Karen Grimson, curator of Craig Robins Collection and director of art & culture at Miami Design District. The exhibition at PAMM is organized by José Carlos Diaz, Senior Director of Curatorial Affairs and Chief Curator, and Fabiana A. Sotillo, Curatorial Assistant. Support from Funding Arts Network and Jayne Binzer-Jacowitz and Steven Jacowitz is gratefully acknowledged. Courtesy of PAMM.

With the end of the FIFA World Cup around the corner, you're going to need something to fill all that time with! Here is everything Miami Film Festival is bringing to a screen near you for the rest of July and into August. For fans of documentaries, we have screenings covering the past and present of activist movements in Cuba and Puerto Rico. If you're looking for something more lighthearted, then check out The Devine Tragedy (don't let the title fool you). We also still have the upcoming double feature in partnership with Filmed in Peru. And as always, this month's member screening and CineClub presentation. See all HERE. Screenings The Freedom Tower Presents: The Long Cuban Night +Q&A with filmmaker Sergio Fernández Borrás Through live mobile broadcasts, the film depicts three pivotal events in recent Cuban history: the hunger strike led by Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara (whose whereabouts remain unknown after serving a five year prison sentence) and his group of artivists from the San Isidro Movement. Tuesday, July 28 at 7PM MDC's Freedom Tower, Knight Skylight Gallery TICKETS Third Horizon Presents: Todo Parecía Posible, workshop & film Ramón Rivera Moret's compelling archival documentary, Todo parecía posible (Everything Seemed Possible), revisits a utopian chapter in Puerto Rico’s history through dozens of short films made in rural communities from the late 1940s to the 1960s. unit. Saturday, August 1 4-5:30PM workshop 7-9PM film + Q&A MDC's Koubek Center TICKETS NOCHE CINEMUNDO: The Divine Tragedy The Divine Tragedy is a sharply funny, yet tender dramedy about midlife reinvention, unexpected brotherhood, and the messy, beautiful process of starting over when everything you knew falls apart. Tuesday, August 11 at 7:30PM MDC's Koubek Center TICKETS See both Miami Film Festival + Filmed in Peru films for only $25 by taking advantage of the Two Films plus Reception bundle. Miami Film Festival Society members can FREE claim tickets by emailing the Membership Office. 1982 +Q&A with director Garcia JC Join Miami Film Festival, in partnership with Filmed in Peru, for the Florida premiere of 1982. Set in the Andes in 1982, this film follows 12-year-old Tato, whose world is upended when his father is accused of being a terrorist, forcing the family into exile and exploring the impacts of Peru’s internal conflict on childhood and identity. Friday, July 24 at 6PM MDC's Koubek Center TICKETS The Innocents +Q&A with Germán Tejada The Innocents is a 2025 coming-of-age drama that follows Cara de Ángel, a sensitive teenager who joins a neighborhood gang and takes part in a risky robbery in his search for identity and manhood within a culture of hostile masculinity. This film is brought to you by Miami Film Festival in conjunction with Film in Peru. Friday, July 24 at 8:45PM MDC's Koubek Center TICKETS Society 72 Hours – CineclubA HANGOVER IS THE LEAST OF HIS PROBLEMS A 40-year-old executive hopes to save his floundering career by joining a group of twentysomethings on a wild three-day bachelor party, after he’s inadvertently added to their group text.Kevin Hart, Miami, youth, and chaos are the key ingredients of Netflix's upcoming raunchy comedy from Barbershop director Tim Story. Tuesday, July 21 at 7:00 PM Silverspot Cinema TICKETS The Marching Band A world-renowned orchestra conductor battling leukemia discovers a brother he never knew he had — a school cafeteria worker who plays trombone in a local marching band. As music brings them together, an unforgettable journey of family, laughter, and newfound connection unfolds. Wednesday, July 29 at 7:30PM MDC's Koubek Center TICKETS SUBMISSIONS ARE OFFICIALLY OPEN FOR THE 44TH ANNUAL MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL Take advantage of our early-bird pricing from now through September 1! LEARN MORE Around Town I WANT YOUR SEX Free Advance Screening You're invited to an advance screening of Magnolia Pictures' upcoming release, I WANT YOUR SEX, the latest film from acclaimed New Queer Cinema pioneer Gregg Araki (Mysterious Skin, The Doom Generation, White Bird in a Blizzard). I WANT YOUR SEX opens in select theaters on July 31. Date: Tuesday, July 28 at 7:30 PM Location: AMC Sunset Place RSVP FilmGate Films with Subtitles Festival FilmGate Miami is inviting the community to the Films with Subtitles Festival, featuring a curated selection of international short films and Florida-based filmmakers, to foster cross-cultural storytelling and community connection through cinema. Tickets Photos courtesy of Miami Film Festival, Miami Dade College.

Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is extending its hours on select Fridays this summer with Vizcaya Summer Fridays, a program that gives visitors extra time to explore the property with music, live art and views of Biscayne Bay. On Summer Fridays, the Main House stays open until 7:30 p.m. and the gardens remain open until 8 p.m. The program is included with standard daytime general admission, allowing guests to spend the day at Vizcaya and stay into the evening. The series is built around a relaxed after-hours format. Visitors can move through the historic bayfront campus at their own pace rather than follow a fixed schedule. Each evening includes DJ sets, live art demonstrations and food and drinks available for purchase from local vendors. The events are designed to offer a social way to experience Vizcaya later in the day. The setting is a major part of the draw. Guests can take in the Main House, waterfront grounds and formal gardens as the sun sets and downtown Miami begins to light up in the distance. Upcoming Summer Fridays dates are June 26, July 10, August 7 and September 18. General admission is $20 for adults and $10 for children up to age 13. Children 5 and under are admitted free. Evening-only tickets are also available for $15. Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is located at 3251 South Miami Avenue in Miami. For tickets and more information, visit Vizcaya Summer Fridays. By ML Staff. Photos/Vizcaya Museum & Gardens

Right before I was born in the 1970s, my family moved to Texas from Nebraska. A big reason was because Texas was – and still is – considered a low-tax state, and my dad wanted to start his business there. A lot of Americans pay both state and federal income taxes, but not in every state. Joe Raedle/Getty Images Texas is also one of nine states that don’t have an income tax on the “earned income” of people working there. That doesn’t mean Texas doesn’t impose any taxes on its residents – it does. Texans pay other taxes to help pay for schools, hospitals, health care, roads, airports, firefighters, business loans, public safety and all kinds of other public services. For example, Texans pay some of the highest property tax rates in the United States. The highest income tax rate in each state California and New York have the highest top tax rates for earned income, but not everyone pays that rate. Most states have several tax brackets so lower-income residents pay a lower percentage of their income. Nine states have no tax on earned income. Understanding the kinds of taxes that states can collect can be complicated. As a tax professor and policy expert, it’s my job to explain how our tax system is designed and operates. Why states get to make the rules In general, states have the power to tax their residents. When residents choose to live in a state, they benefit from that state’s laws and protections and pay taxes as part of sharing the costs of government. Like how the U.S. Constitution gives the U.S. government the right to impose federal taxes, every state has its own state constitution and laws that may impose taxes on a range of items. They might tax earned income from wages, money earned from investments, purchases of alcohol, fuel, tobacco or groceries, or any number of other items, industries and activities, such as sports events and hotel stays. There are lots of different kinds of taxes, and every state has unique rules. Not just politicians decide what and how much tax to collect. Citizens often vote on whether to impose, increase or eliminate state taxes. For example, on Election Day in November 2024, voters in some states will be asked whether they want the state to increase taxes to fund social programs. In Oregon, voters will decide whether to increase taxes on corporations operating there to pay for a new anti-poverty program. A group of people rallied in 2014 to change Illinois’ constitution to eliminate the flat tax, which has everyone pay the same income tax rate. They wanted higher tax rates for wealthier people and lower ones for poorer people. However, voters rejected making that change. AP Photo/Seth Perlman Among the states that do have a personal income tax on wages, the tax rates can either be the same percentage of everyone’s income or they can vary depending on how big the person’s paycheck is. In some states, tax rates increase as a taxpayer makes more money. No income tax doesn’t mean tax-free The nine states that don’t have an earned income tax are Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. Two of those – New Hampshire and Washington – do tax some income, such as money earned from stocks and other investments, but they don’t tax income earned from working. When a state doesn’t impose income taxes, it often imposes other taxes to pay for education, roads, health care and other public services. In some cases, states will impose higher sales taxes or higher property taxes, such as taxes on a person’s home value. Or they may rely on cities and counties to impose those taxes to pay for services. For example, Tennessee has no state income tax, but it has one of the highest combined state and local sales tax rates – 9.548% – of any state. On the other hand, Alaska is one of the lowest-tax states. It does not have a state income tax or state sales tax. Alaska does, however, have a state property tax, and it is able to impose significant taxes on the oil and gas companies that operate there. Its cities and other local jurisdictions can also impose sales tax at the local level, and they often do. Pros and cons of no state income tax There are both benefits and drawbacks to living in states that don’t impose a state income tax. You might save money. But that doesn’t mean you will pay no taxes, and there are trade-offs to consider. Sometimes, states with no income taxes do not have the best public services. For example, you may want to move to a state such as Texas to avoid paying income taxes, but you will need to be prepared to pay more for health care. In general, Texas has some of the lowest government spending on health care or public transportation. When states impose higher property taxes or sales taxes to bring in enough money to make up for the lack of an income tax, that can also affect the overall affordability of living in a no-income-tax state. This matters the most for lower-income people because state sales taxes have a greater impact on overall affordability. For example, students going to college and working part time may have low incomes. But if they live in a state with a high sales tax instead of an income tax, they will be paying the same high rate as fully employed people with much higher incomes. As a result, the students may struggle more to make ends meet than the full-time worker. Remember, too, that in most cases, Americans still pay some tax on their income. Even if a person isn’t subject to state income tax, the majority of the U.S. population pays federal income tax, and for many people, those federal taxes are quite a bit higher than any state income tax. Caroline Bruckner Executive in Residence, Department of Accounting and Taxation, American University Kogod School of Business. Special thanks to The Conversation, support by donating today.

Miami Living’s picks for performing arts from July 21–28, featuring live comedy, theater, musicals, drag performances and cultural entertainment across the Miami metro area. Speaking Tours Pour Minds Podcast: Still Sippin’ Tour — July 24 Purchase Tickets Drea Nicole and Lex P take their candid podcast conversations from the studio to the stage. The live show explores dating, friendships and everyday life through the hosts’ unfiltered humor and easy audience rapport. Comedy Adam Ray: WHO IS ME Tour — July 25 Purchase Tickets Adam Ray delivers a character-driven comedy show shaped by stand-up and crowd interaction. His unpredictable stage presence gives the performance the loose, late-night energy that has helped his comedy clips reach millions of viewers online. Dunces & Dragons LIVE! — July 25 Purchase Tickets South Florida comedians enter a live tabletop fantasy adventure in which improvisation guides the story. Different levels of role-playing experience create unexpected decisions, failed plans and plenty of comedy along the way. Chris D’Elia — July 24–25 Purchase Tickets (July 24) Purchase Tickets (July 25) Chris D’Elia returns to the Miami Improv for a weekend of stand-up. The comedian and host of the Congratulations with Chris D’Elia podcast draws on personal observations and animated storytelling in his live sets. Plays Una Semana Nada Más — July 26 Purchase Tickets Cristian Rivero, Gianella Neyra and Carlos Carlín lead this Spanish-language comedy about a relationship crisis complicated by an uncomfortable domestic arrangement. Misunderstandings quickly multiply as the characters’ plan begins to unravel. Musicals In the Heights — July 25 Purchase Tickets Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical follows residents of Washington Heights as they face questions about home, ambition and belonging. Its score combines contemporary musical theater with the sounds of the neighborhood at the center of the story. Dance Diva Royale Drag Queen Show — July 24–26 Purchase Tickets (July 24) Purchase Tickets (July 25) Purchase Tickets (July 26) Diva Royale presents an energetic drag production featuring a rotating cast of performers and celebrity impersonations. Friday and Saturday offer evening shows, while Sunday shifts the experience to a South Beach brunch setting. By ML Staff. Photos/Courtesy of each artist

Miami Living brings you the following upcoming concerts and live performances happening from July 20–July 27, 2026 in Miami and nearby South Florida. Louis Tomlinson — July 24 Purchase Tickets Louis Tomlinson brings the How Did We Get Here? World Tour to Kaseya Center with special guest The Beaches. The former One Direction member’s solo catalog gives Friday night one of the weekend’s biggest arena performances. Lionel Richie and Earth, Wind & Fire — July 24 Purchase Tickets Lionel Richie and Earth, Wind & Fire unite at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood for their Sing a Song All Night Long Tour. The co-headlining concert brings together two extensive catalogs of soul, funk, pop and R&B favorites. 2Slimey — July 25 Purchase Tickets Rising underground rapper 2Slimey brings the No Bass No Fun USA Tour to Midline Miami in Wynwood. His distortion-heavy production gives the early evening a raw alternative to the weekend’s arena and nightclub shows. Disturbed — July 25 Purchase Tickets Disturbed takes over Hard Rock Live in Hollywood with a performance built around the band’s forceful heavy-metal sound. It is the weekend’s strongest option for fans looking for hard riffs and arena-scale intensity. Surf Mesa — July 25 Purchase Tickets Surf Mesa heads to DAER Nightclub at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood for a late-night electronic set. The producer’s melodic dance sound makes this an accessible club pick for listeners who favor polished hooks alongside house-driven rhythms. Damian Lazarus, DESIREE and Enamour — July 25 Purchase Tickets Damian Lazarus, DESIREE and Enamour share the bill at Club Space Miami for an expansive night of electronic music. The lineup offers a deeper, more hypnotic option for dancers heading into the early hours of Sunday. Ian Asher — July 25 Purchase Tickets Ian Asher takes over LIV Nightclub at Fontainebleau Miami Beach. The producer’s mix of house beats, vocal hooks and globally influenced sounds fits naturally into one of Miami Beach’s signature nightlife rooms. Eptic — July 26 Purchase Tickets Eptic brings his bass-heavy electronic sound to DAER Dayclub in Hollywood for a Sunday afternoon performance. The Belgian producer gives the weekend a high-impact daytime option with the intensity of a festival set. House Hats: Murphy’s Law — July 26 Purchase Tickets British brothers Sonny and Finn Murphy bring Murphy’s Law to Floyd Miami for a late-night House Hats event. Their sets move through house and tech house with a groove-focused sound suited to Floyd’s intimate dance floor. By ML Staff. Photos/Courtesy of each artist

Dutch design studio Vripack has launched Zero, a 70-meter all-electric sailing superyacht built in Harlingen, The Netherlands. Developed in collaboration with Dykstra Naval Architects, the vessel operates without a traditional engine and relies entirely on renewable energy. The yacht utilizes regenerative systems, including custom turbine propellers designed for hydro-generation. Additionally, 100 square meters of solar panels are integrated into the deck biminis to generate electricity and heat. A central mission control system manages the power distribution, enabling the vessel to sail for up to two weeks on solar and hydro energy. To optimize performance, Vripack partnered with Emirates Team New Zealand to shape the hull specifically for hydro-generation speed. According to simulation modeling, the curved profile delivers a 2.5 percent increase in speed and an 8 percent increase in electric power generation. Inside, the design prioritizes natural textures over polished finishes, incorporating materials like smoked European oak, reclaimed bark, and fire onyx. The studio embraced natural grain variations, cracks, and knots to minimize material waste. This approach allowed builders to utilize 70 percent of the oak veneer, compared to the industry standard of 30 percent. The layout includes modular outdoor furniture, a master suite, and four guest cabins. The absence of a traditional engine room created space for a concealed crew passageway, allowing for discreet service throughout the vessel. Readers can view the complete design specifications and project history through the Vripack digital portfolio. By ML Staff. Photos: Vripack.