Miami Beach Art Week at The Bass was fun and exciting as new exhibitions, openings and special events took place throughout the week. The Bass was proud to announce generous awards from our partners at the Knight Foundation and Art Basel: Miami Beach, in continued support of museum exhibitions and educational programs. Save the date for Culture Crawl, taking place next week at The Bass, and check out the newest exhibitions for free, including Adrián Villar Rojas with Mariana Telleria: El fin de la imaginación. Pictured: Phraseology, installation view, 2022 CULTURE CRAWL, THURS | DEC 15 Every third Thursday The Bass opens its doors at sunset for City of Miami Beach’s monthly Culture Crawl. Enjoy free admission from 6 PM – 9PM and visit The Bass’ newest exhibitions. Stop by and groove to the beats of DJ Mauricio Parra. Members of The Bass enjoy a free glass of wine courtesy of Dry Farm Wines and a museum gift shop discount! Get a start on your holiday shopping and stop by The Shop at The Bass for unique gifts and artisanal accessories. Right now, The Shop is offering 40% off on select books. Arrive in style and enjoy $15 off two rides with Alto! Use the promo code CULTURECRAWLDEC through December 31. To redeem your promo code: Open or download the Alto app. Create an account and join as a member – your first 14 days of membership are free! Select the profile section of the app, tap promotions, and enter the promo code. To attend The Bass' member events throughout the year, check your membership status, and join, upgrade or renew by contacting membership@thebass.org or calling (305) 673-7530. Pictured: Sylvie Fluery, Eternity Now, 2015 This event is generously supported by Alto and Dry Farm Wines. ADRIÁN VILLAR ROJAS WITH MARIANA TELLERIA: EL FIN DE LA IMAGINACIÓN Adrián Villar Rojas with Mariana Telleria: El fin de la imaginación is a large-scale, site-specific environment of works by the Argentine artists. The exhibition includes newly commissioned sculptural and installation works, as well as older work re-contextualized by the artist. Villar Rojas and Telleria transform spaces by creating immersive environments and experiences, inviting viewers to be explorers of the unpredictable cosmos while probing existential questions relating to the temporality of humanity and the ephemerality of nature. Learn more about this exhibition at our website. Pictured:Adrián Villar Rojas, Two Suns I, 2015-2022. Installation view El fin de la imaginación. El fin de la imaginación is part of the Knight Art Commissions Program funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The exhibition is also sponsored by PHILLIPS and the National Endowment for the Arts. The exhibition is also supported in part by Maestro Dobel Tequila; and The Marian Goodman Gallery, kurimanzutto and Patrick Charpenel. JAMILAH SABUR: THE HARVESTERS Visit The Bass and enjoy Jamilah Sabur: The Harvesters, now on view! Artist Jamilah Sabur takes inspiration from Pieter Bruegel's 1565 painting titled The Harvesters, which features adults harvesting wheat under a bright summer sky. Sabur found herself reexamining the painting in the context of record-breaking heatwaves, and uses the theme of 'harvesting' as a term with double meaning, connecting with her ongoing interest in mining and mineral extraction. Jamilah Sabur: The Harvesters will be on view through April 30, 2023. Explore this newest exhibition at The Bass! Pictured: Jamilah Sabur, The efficiency of the turbine, 2022 The exhibition is part of the Knight Art Commissions Program funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Generous support is provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. JORGE MÉNDEZ BLAKE, DISMANTLED LANDSCAPE, (JOSÉ JUAN TABLADA’S HAIKUS) For this site-specific commissioned artwork Dismantled Landscape (José Juan Tablada’s Haikus), Jorge Méndez Blake (b. 1974, Mexico) was inspired by Mexican poet José Juan Tablada, the first writer to introduce haikus to the Spanish language in Latin America. In the inaugural Macallan Art Prize-winning work, Méndez Blake examines the two books of haikus published by the writer: “Un día… (Poemas sintéticos)” [One Day… (Synthetic Poems)], 1919, and ”El jarro de flores (Disociaciones líricas)” [The Flower Jug (Lyrical Dissociations)], 1922. By deconstructing the 99 poems contained in those books, Méndez Blake creates a visual composition that uses each and every word and punctuation symbol. While in general the themes of the haikus refer to nature, animals and plants, the words invite each individual viewer to create their own narrative, with personal connections colored by time and place. Learn more about the artwork on our website. Pictured: Jorge Méndez Blake, Dismantled Landscape (José Juan Tablada’s Haikus), 2022 This work is generously sponsored by The Macallan Art Prize. PHRASEOLOGY, ON VIEW NOW Examine the use of text in contemporary artworks in Phraseology, where artists merge form and idea by creating works that contain text, familiar phrases and poetry. Artists present new or different perspectives by providing conflicting methods of observing the art in this exhibition of works from the collection and works on-loan. Explore Phraseology during your next visit! Pictured: Phraseology, installation view, 2022 Generous support for this exhibition provided by Art Bridges. Phraseology is supported in part by the Berkowitz Contemporary Foundation. KNIGHT FOUNDATION AWARDS, $1.25M TO THE BASS The Bass was honored to receive $1.25 million in arts investments from Knight Foundation during Miami Art Week. As Knight Arts Miami Grantee, The Bass will direct this support towards expanding art exhibitions and public programs that explore the intersection between art and technology. Silvia Karman Cubiñá, Executive Director and Chief Curator for the museum was excited to announce the award. “Building on The Bass’ established art commissioning program, Knight Foundation's grant will allow the museum to work with artists to push the boundaries of technology, by creating new works of art and also experimenting with new ways to distribute art experiences," she said. The Knight Foundation award comes on the heels of The Bass receiving $20.1 million from Miami Beach's General Obligation Bond (G.O. Bond), which passed in the November 6 election. The bond, which totals $159 million and supports 16 local city-owned cultural facilities, improves resiliency and infrastructure for arts and cultural groups to transform and expand their impact on the community. With the G.O. Bond funds, The Bass plans to update Pritzker Prize-winning architect Arata Isozaki’s original 1995 building concept by adding a new wing south-west of the museum, as well as undertake infrastructure enhancements to the current facility. Pictured: Cara Despain, test of faith, 2021 ART BASEL: MIAMI BEACH AWARDS GIFT TO STEAM+ PROGRAM As part of Art Basel: Miami Beach's 20th Anniversary celebrations, Art Basel is giving back to the community with a gift of support to The Bass' Miami Beach STEAM+ program. Initiated in 2018, the STEAM+ program integrates visual and performing arts into science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEAM) classes in local Miami-Dade county public schools. Coordinated by The Bass, STEAM+ programs support the curriculum of seven Miami-Dade County schools reaching close to 5,000 area students. WINTER ART CAMPS DEC 27 - 30 | JAN 3 - 6 Don't miss your chance to keep your young artist engaged during winter break with The Bass Creativity Center's Winter Art Camps programs. The Bass Museum of Art is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.The Bass is generously funded by the City of Miami Beach, Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council; the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, and the National Endowment for the Arts; and The Bass membership. CH697 - A copy of the official registration & financial information for Friends of the Bass Museum, Inc. (d.b.a. The Bass) may be obtained from the division of consumer services by calling toll-free (800-435-7352) within the state. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval, or recommendation by the state. The Bass Museum of Art2100 Collins Avenue Miami Beach, FL 33139 By ML Staff. Image Courtesy of The Bass, Miami Beach

Following stops in New York City, Houston, San Antonio, Chicago, and Denver, PIXAR PUTT, the ultimate pop-up, open-air mini-golf experience, will be arriving in Fort Lauderdale at The LOOP (Las Olas Oceanside Park) in late January, with tickets available for purchase beginning Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022. Made up of 18 fun, interactive, Instagramable holes inspired by the stories, characters, and icons from some of Disney and Pixar's most beloved films, including Toy Story, The Incredibles, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, Coco, A Bug's Life, Wall-E, and Inside Out, PIXAR PUTT is set to take guests to infinity… and beyond! PIXAR PUTT, co-presented by Rockefeller Productions and TEG Life Like Touring, will be staged at The LOOP on Fort Lauderdale Beach beginning Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023, and run through Sunday, March 26, 2023. The course will be open seven days a week, Monday-Friday from 3 p.m.-10 p.m. (last entry at 8:30 p.m.) and Saturday-Sunday from 12 p.m.-10 p.m. (last entry at 8:30 p.m.). PIXAR PUTT AFTER DARK will feature evening sessions for guests 18+ and take place Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 7 p.m.-10 p.m. Pixar Putt is also available for rent to private groups and corporate groups. Following its run in Fort Lauderdale, PIXAR PUTT will continue touring nationally, with more locations to be announced in 2023. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit https://pixarputt.com/fortlauderdale/ By ML Staff. Images courtesy of Pixar Putt

Every year somewhere between 25 million and 30 million Christmas trees are sold in the United States. If you’re one of the people who decorate for the holiday with a freshly cut Christmas tree, you might be wondering how to keep it looking good all the way through Santa’s visit – and maybe even a little beyond. Curtis VanderSchaaf is a forestry specialist at the Mississippi State University Extension Service who knows a thing or two about conifers. The Conversation U.S. asked him for guidance on how to keep a fresh green Christmas tree from becoming a giant pile of brown needles, for as long as possible. Whether you end up with a Douglas fir, a Scotch pine, a Leyland cypress, a piñon or any other evergreen, he says the quality of care you provide is a major factor in the prolonged freshness of your tree. What to consider when choosing a tree Select a tree that looks fresh and whose needles are not brittle. You want one that has a strong fragrance and a dark natural green color. Avoid bored holes in the wood, signs of bugs – like spider egg sacs – and other marks of pest damage. This advice holds whether you’re chopping down your own tree or buying it from a retailer. Different species of trees have various colors, shapes, branching habits, needle types, scent and even bark type. Depending on what’s available to you, this comes down to personal preference. If you can, pick a tree that’s been harvested as recently as possible and been watered and kept cool. Often a tree’s freshness is directly related to the moisture content of its needles. If the stump – where the tree’s trunk was cut – is sticky with sap, that’s a good sign. Give the tree a good shake, even a hard pound on the ground. That will dislodge any animal stowaways. If a ton of dead needles or dry limbs fall out, keep looking. Netting the tree makes it easier to transport and helps prevent damage to the branches.Wicki58/iStock via Getty Images Plus Getting your tree home Tree farms and retail lots will net your tree. It’s a lot easier to transport with the branches tucked in. If you’re going to bring it home on top of your car, consider using a tarp to keep scratches and sap off your vehicle. Make sure the tree is securely tied down, with the trunk facing forward to reduce wind damage to the branches. Take it easy on the road. If you’re not bringing your tree indoors right away, store it in a cool, damp area that is blocked from wind and out of the sun. Make a fresh, straight-across cut on the butt of the tree about a half-inch to 1 inch (1 to 3 centimeters) above the original cut. After any cut, a tree tries immediately to seal off, or compartmentalize, the injury, which makes it hard for the tree to take up water. So as soon as you make the new cut, place the tree in a bucket of warm water. Make sure it stays full as the tree drinks. If you have allergies, you may want to spray the tree with a garden hose to remove residual pollen or dust – as long as the weather’s not freezing. Get the freshly cut tree into water immediately or the wound will start to seal, preventing any water uptake.koldunova/iStock via Getty Images Plus Setting up your tree inside To keep a cut tree fresh you need to provide adequate water. Use a tree stand with a built-in reservoir, and make sure it’s always filled. A rule of thumb is 1 quart of water per inch of stem diameter. A freshly cut tree may use one-half to 2 gallons of water the first day, but this amount will taper as the tree acclimates to its indoor environment. You don’t need to worry about adding anything to the water. It seems to just be an old wives’ tale that anything – including corn syrup, aspirin, vodka, soda pop, sugar or any specialized preservatives or gels – beyond H₂0 helps prolong the freshness of the tree. No special temperature is necessary either, just not freezing cold or boiling hot. Do not drill a hole in the bottom of the tree trunk thinking it will improve water uptake – it doesn’t. If you have to whittle down the sides of the trunk to fit, the tree is too large for your stand. It’s the outer layers of wood that take up most of the water, so if you shave them off your tree will be in trouble. Secure the tree in its stand, ensuring the freshly cut stump is submerged. If it’s ever out of the water for more than about a quarter-hour or so, the cut starts the healing and sealing process and you should think about making a new cut. With the right preparation and care, your tree can last a month or so.10'000 Hours/DigitalVision via Getty Images Keeping the tree fresh into the New Year Once your tree is all set up, your goal is to keep it from drying out. Remember, you want your tree to be fresh, but more importantly you don’t want to create a fire hazard. Keep the tree at least 3 feet (1 meter) from any heat source and minimize direct sun exposure. Lowering the temperature in the room may also help to maintain freshness. Make sure any lights and their cords are in good condition and turn them off when you aren’t present. Unplug completely if you are leaving the house or going to bed. Occasional breaks from using the lights may help slow the tree’s drying-out process. And make sure your smoke detectors work and you have a fire extinguisher on hand just in case. If properly cared for, a fresh tree will last for three to four weeks, often even five. If it starts to get dry at any point, the safest move is to get rid of it. Chipping it for compost is the most environmentally sustainable option when it’s time for the tree to go. Then you can start enjoying the lengthening days and look forward to the next holiday on your calendar. By ML Staff. Top image by Unsplash. Words by Curtis VanderSchaaf Assistant Professor of Forestry, Mississippi State University. Special thanks to the Conversation.

Ann Storck Center, a Fort Lauderdale-based private nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching lives of children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, is pleased to host its 27th Annual Celebrity Chefs Event on Friday, March 31, 2023. Having garnered a reputation as one of South Florida’s most sought-after fundraising events, and back for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, the event will take place at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood’s Terrace Ballroom in Hollywood, Florida. South Florida’s community leaders, philanthropists and influencers will be among the 250 guests. This year’s event will honor Susan Renneisen, vice president of Community Affairs and Special Events at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood. Ann Storck Center’s 27th Annual Celebrity Chef’s Event will raise awareness, funds and “glasses” for the Ann Storck Center, which accommodates 96 permanent residents and serves more than 300 clients daily through an array of critical care, learning and ability focused programs. Taking place from 6–10 p.m., the event will include local tastings featuring South Florida’s top restaurants, breweries and bakeries. In addition, guests will enjoy live entertainment, plus live and silent auctions offering luxury items ranging from unique travel opportunities and elegant jewelry to memorabilia and lifestyle experiences. Cocktail attire is required. Since its inception, Ann Storck Center’s Celebrity Chefs Event has raised nearly $5.5 million dollars to support Ann Storck Center’s mission, which is throughout all of its programs and services to discover ability and build independence so that individuals live happier, more independent, fulfilling lives. “It’s an honor to host our 27th Annual Celebrity Chefs at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, and we look forward to seeing everyone back in person,” said Patricia Murphy, CEO of Ann Storck Center. “We are incredibly grateful and humbled by the unwavering support of our board members, donors and restaurant partners who are committed to enriching the lives of children and adults with developmental disabilities.” Single tickets for the 2023 event are $125. Sponsorships and underwriting opportunities are available and range from $500–$20,000. For more information regarding tickets and sponsorships, visit annstorckcenter.networkforgood.com/events/49953-27th-annual-ann-storck-center-s-celebrity-chef-s. Restaurants, breweries and bakeries wishing to participate in the event, at no charge, can apply at annstorckcenter.org/restaurantschefs2023. Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood is located at 1 Seminole Way Hollywood, FL 33314. For more information about Ann Storck Center’s 27th Annual Celebrity Chef’s Event, visit annstorckcenter.org/aboutchefs2023. By ML Staff. Image courtesy of Unspalsh

Since its inception, hip hop has had its ebbs and flows, it’s peaks and plateaus, as corporate structures shapeshift the culture to satisfy commercialism, and political and corporate agendas. In the 21st century, rap music has been the culture’s primary sacrifice; a megaphone through which artists can influence the masses to adopt a lifestyle or a product. Then there’s the one that no one sees coming. Enter 27 year old Dayton, Ohio native and viral rap sensation, YelloPain. His words are not here to sell you, but to awaken and enlighten you to enlightenment and action rather than allowing for a state of generational complacency. In this interview, Yello who counts Oprah, Steve Harvey, Sharon Stone, Viola Davis and Jermaine Dupri as fans sits down to discuss what he learned growing up in urban Dayton, Ohio. He also deconstructs the lyrics from some of his most famous songs including: My Vote Don’t Count, Monsters, and Graduation; and his upcoming documentary that clears up government misinformation and our broken voting system. Allison Kugel: I just finished watching your documentary, simplifying how government and our voting process works. It really enlightened me and opened my eyes to some of my own blind spots about how our government works and how our laws are really created. What inspired you to create this film? Yellopain: It started with my cousin running for congress. She asked me to make a song about voting and I turned it down. I was just like everyone else. I participated in the system. I voted for Obama and nothing happened in my life. Then she asked me, “What are some things you want to see change?” I started to name some things I wanted to see change and she [rebutted] that everything I wanted to see change was connected to a person. She started to tell me who these people were. They were members of congress, school board members, city judges. They were not federal government. A lot of these people looked like me. Some of them were younger, and of all different races from Hispanic to Black, or white. My whole life, I thought they were these old crusty people in Washington. Once something is revealed to you, it sparks a level of curiosity. It’s why I made the song, “My Vote Don’t Count.” It was after going around and seeing those different people [in government]. I talked to so many politicians in 2020 and 2021 and that was kind of my research. I got to see where they counted votes at. I got to talk to people that just got bills passed to make a township into a city. I started to see these things and how it could benefit or hurt people just by people voting or not voting. The passion for this message really came from being in the field. Allison Kugel: When did the love of music start? Yellopain: Music started when I was a kid. I started making music when I was seven years old. I was influenced by the people around me and the Hip Hop culture, and I wanted that life. I wanted the money, cars, clothes, girls, etcetera (laugh). Allison Kugel: Wait, really? But you are one of the best voices in conscious rap music. When did you have that epiphany that you wanted to use your art to give back and teach? Yellopain: I started making music so early, and I wasn't the most popular kid. I was broke and my older cousin, he was staying with us at the time and he got all the girls. He had more money than I had ever seen at age seven. Even $500 in 20-dollar bills looked rich to me at that point, and he was rapping so I got easily influenced by that. I wanted to be like him at the time. But I was a very smart kid. I won a lot of Spelling Bees, so I was very into words, and as I dove into the music it started to become therapy for me. It became more of an emotional expression than it was about me trying to get something. It was a time period around ages 12, 13, 14 years old where I felt like writing music was all I had. I kind of blocked out the world around me and I was like, “I want to be a famous rapper.” That was my mindset, and I put all my emotions into the music. Then, around 2017, I made it my mission to help people because it helped me just seeing the feedback I was getting. Around 2017 was the first time I went viral when I had people calling and telling me, “Yo, that song changed my life.” Just seeing the power in music and knowing the impact that my music was having, I realized that it was a tool to help people in their everyday lives, and it became so much more important than those shallow things I desired in the beginning. Allison Kugel: I feel like people lose sight of the fact that RAP is an acronym for “rhythm and poetry.” It got co-opted and corporatized, and became something else from what it originally was in the ‘80s and early ‘90s. Your music and your lyrics are truly rhythm and poetry. Yellopain: Thank you, and I was going to also say that I think the type of rappers I was listening to probably influenced me as well, because even though I wanted the money, clothes, cars, and girls, that wasn't the stuff I was listening to, to get me through my hard times. I was listening to the conscious artists coming up. Allison Kugel: Which artists, specifically? Yellopain: I listened to a wide variety of artists, and not just strictly listening to Hip Hop. I listen to a lot of different genres, but specifically in Hip Hop it was a lot of the deeper artists. It was like Rakim, Ludacris… I know Ludacris has a lot of fun songs, but he has a lot of introspective ones as well. Meek Mill became my favorite rapper. When I really got tied into it and he kind of talked from the struggle and the overcoming of it. Allison Kugel: I watched your video for the song, “The Real Reason Why Men Cheat.” It was interesting, because when men say things like, “I want to get girls,” what does that mean, exactly? Does it mean you want to really forge a genuine connection with somebody, or does it mean that girls are like a possession, just another item and just something else to check off on the list? In this song you break it all down, talking about how a lot of boys are conditioned from the time they’re really young that the more women you conquer, the more women you have sex with, the more of a man you are perceived to be by your peers. Well, how would you put it? Put it in your in your own words… Yellopain: What I would really call it is self-validation. I think as a kid you just get thrown into that world. You don't have that much knowledge. All you know is just what kids know, and if people value you based upon the amount of attention you get from females you think, “Hey, if I'm going to be somebody, if I'm going to have purpose in my life, if I'm going to feel good about myself, I need to be in that race, even at 12 and 13 years old. I'm from the hood and the young dudes brag about how many girls they had sex with. I didn't even think about having sex before being thrown into the culture of that fast-paced [life]. Everybody's trying to get something, so it became that type of chase, and as a kid you figure out how can I conquer by any means necessary? How can I not be lame? How can I not be corny? That's what happens to a lot of us, so as we get older some of those patterns, they stay in us and it becomes a part of our personality. Allison Kugel: It makes sense because if you're conditioned from the time you're a kid to associate having sex with a lot of women with success and acceptance, the reward centers in your brain light up and it gets hard wired like anything else. But were you taught what it means to be a good boyfriend? husband? father? Or the value of committed relationships. Yellopain: I think we are learning that more, now that it’s becoming more popularized. A lot of people think that social media is the demise of the world, but to be honest I think it’s access to information that we would never have gotten outside of our homes; a lot of things we were not exposed to. The only way you would be exposed to something was on television. Now you can hear somebody like me and the song “The Real Reason Why Men Cheat.” You can hear that song at age 12. You have access to truth. You have access to so much more information, and so many more influences, negative and positive. But it's way more of a choice now, and it's not just whatever you intake at home or in your own neighborhood. Allison Kugel: You have another song about Thanksgiving that's a pretty brutal commentary on America’s history. Do you celebrate Thanksgiving? Yellopain: Not anymore. I definitely have a bone to pick with it. As I was doing research, I was reading books and I visited Indian villages. I had zoom calls with Native American people who are still on their Indian reservations, who know their own history. I don't just go out and just start talking about something without having information and history. The more I found out it just kind of got sick, and I was like, “How did this become permanent history for us?” Once I found that out and I realized that I had to make a statement about it. We kind of just got tied into [a holiday] that was celebratory based around murder and successfully overtaking the country, So I don't celebrate Thanksgiving. I do love the aspect of family but what if the alternative is just another day? Another name? Just to break that tradition, kind of like how the Washington Redskins had to change their name to the Commanders. It's like, let's just take the brutal history out of it and make it something fresh. Allison Kugel: What do you think we can use some improvement on with our American way of life and our level of consciousness? Yellopain: America makes up 5% of the world and the whole world is entertained by America. I talked to people in Africa. I talked to people in other countries and everybody loves American culture. We are the the most viewed group of people in the world. I think because of that, in America, we don't look outward; we look inward. We feel like what's here is what it is like. This is our reality, and this is kind of all we know. I think with that, there's a lack of compassion for a lot of different things, and there is some entitlement. Like, even with Thanksgiving, if you talk to somebody that is directly affected by it and their ancestors are affected by it, they won't celebrate it. They talk down on Thanksgiving, and it's just the same way with Black culture, where there's things that we steer away from. I think people are in their own zones, like, “If it doesn't affect me, it doesn't matter.” I think that's kind of the American way. That's a mindset that I want to help change in the world, but especially in America. I think we don't look left and right and for other people as much as we should. Allison Kugel: What is the hardest lesson you've ever learned and how does it serve you today? Yellopain: I have been through a lot of things. I think like one thing that I have really learned is to just discern when you should speak, when you should share things, and when you should just make your presence known in a room. Sometimes when you are passionate and you want to just be a part of culture and be a part of different things that people have going on, it's a lot of cringy moments I've experienced where I was just talking too much. I learned to think about what I say before I say it, because you can hurt people's feelings. I think because I'm so emotional, if I hurt somebody it hurts me too, you know I mean? So, I think just learning to shut up. Allison Kugel: What is the best advice you've received? Yellopain: My mother's advice. She told me to, “Dare to be different.” She said it my whole life. Sometimes it resonated and sometimes it didn't, but there has been a lot of times where I just took that advice and it always worked out for me. When you look [my song], My Vote Don’t Count, or something like that, I originally shut it down because I didn't want to get pigeonholed. Where I'm from, it's more popular to make lit music and I don't want to not be able to make fun music. But when you know how important something is, you have to dare to be different and my mother's advice really saved me from a lot of potentially harmful situations and it also changed my life. Allison Kugel: Is there a famous historical period that you are fascinated with or would have like to witness in real time? Yellopain: I would probably say ‘80s Hip Hop. I wasn't alive then, but I’m pretty fascinated with that. I'm also fascinated with a lot of Bible scriptures and to see how they apply today. The Bible is subjective history, but definitely documented history. And this is about to sound crazy, but I would have wanted to witness the crack era, just because it's a culture I didn't see. My parents did tell me this story when they had moved to the projects, and when crack cocaine had first hit the community it was like a wildfire. People would be begging trying to get the crack off you. You pull into the neighborhood and they bang on your window saying, “Hey, I got this.” They knew what it was going to do, and it was just like this crazy obsession with everybody trying to sell crack. Then just seeing how that went and how indictments worked in the government, and just that whole era. It’s the ‘80s and still kind of tied to Hip Hop, because Hip Hop started to shift in that time into what it is now from what we first fell in love with. I would like to just go there and experience it just to see how it was. Allison Kugel: I wonder if the crack epidemic of the ‘80s led to Bill Clinton’s mass incarceration for drug offenses. I think crack caused a panic and that fear trickled down to the point where they were putting people in prison for 20 years for selling weed. Yellopain: Exactly. That's what makes it so fascinating, because I was already into the Hip Hop culture aspect of it and watching drug movies, and to see how it operated in the time period. Once I got into politics and seeing how it tied together and became this whole thing, seeing how the government works. With Clinton, and this is my opinion, I don't really share political opinions too much, but it just kind of goes into what I was saying in my documentary. It's that thing of where politicians work for the people who vote for them. It was a very popular thing to say, “I want to be tough on crime.” It still is, but back in the day it issued a level of protection that made a lot of people vote for the person. So I'm thinking Bill Clinton thought, “If I'm running, I have to say what the people who are voting want to hear.” I think that's kind of like that first little clear example of how the system works. Whoever is voting the person into power, they are going to pander to them to get their votes. Then they have to be held accountable for the things they said, which means he's then signing a crime bill. It all kind of works together and it's a fascinating story. Allison Kugel: Do you pray, and if so, who or what do you pray to? Yellopain: I'm Christian, so I pray every day all day. Not day by day, but moment by moment. Before everything I pray. Before this, I prayed. I pray to Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit. I pray for things. I pray in gratitude. I thank God all the time. I come from a really big family, so that has been my first response in so many different circumstances. People tell me “Hey, I'm going through this.” I don't have the resources to change everybody's life, but I know who does have the resources, so I instantly go into prayer. Allison Kugel: What was your home city of Dayton, Ohio like growing up? And what has changed over the years? Yellopain: It's a small city, so the part I've experienced is, like, small town mentality. I haven't met the level of friendliness from the people in my hometown anywhere else in the world, but as far as resources, as far as opportunity, I didn’t see a lot of that and it was tough. I grew up in a house with a lot of siblings, and when I say a lot, it's not even a defined number because I have the type of parents that just showed love to anybody that needed it. It wasn't resources, it was difficult. Allison Kugel: Where does the name Yellopain come from? Yellopain: It’s from the type of music I make. I'm not going to tell you my old rap name because I still have to delete some videos. That name wasn't as cool, so I needed a name to represent the type of music I made, and the music I make is enjoyable but at the same time I put a lot of my life story and my pain into it. You don't listen to it to cry. You listen to it for joy. Yellow is a color that represents happiness. And pain represents everything I've ever been through, so Yellopain is a happy representation of my pain. Allison Kugel: What do you think you came into this life to learn, and what do you think you came here to teach? Yellopain: That's a great question. Every now and then I think my purpose is one thing and then it goes into another thing. I thought I was going to be this super lit rapper and then I made a song that went viral. I made a song about drug addiction. My uncle had just recently passed, and I live in a community where it was the number one city for drug overdose deaths. People overdosed right outside my front door, so it was those types of experiences that made me passionate about that subject matter. Then I was performing, flying around to different rehab facilities throughout America and I thought, “Okay, maybe this is my calling. Maybe God is calling me to be compassionate for people struggling with addiction.” But as I continued, it went into another place. Now it's the voting space, and even in the voting space it was the song, but now it's a documentary film. I don't believe in just one purpose. I believe in assignments, and I think God puts us all on assignments. I take every assignment seriously, and I try to execute it to the best of my ability Allison Kugel: Where and when can people see your upcoming documentary about government and our voting system? Yellopain: Right now we're doing private screenings at different universities and colleges, and we are looking for the perfect platform to make sure it has the biggest impact. We’re in communication with a lot of different streaming services and platforms. America has needed these tools to get people interested in voting and to understand the voting process. Nobody's teaching it. Alliosn Kugel: Have you linked up with a major label, or are you still independent? Yellopain: No, no. I'm fully independent right now. Allison Kugel: You are considered a viral sensation in the music space. You built a tremendous grassroots fanbase. What’s the secret sauce for going viral in such a crowded space? Yellopain: I think first you have to have some level talent and skill in what you're doing. If you're going to go viral for the right thing and for the right reasons, it comes down to authenticity, to be honest. I speak about a lot of things that people probably wouldn't speak about, because why would they put that in the rap? Why would they? The authenticity has always made it go viral. It's original and it's authentic. Anything you see viral, it’s viral because you've never seen it before, and it throws you off in some kind of way. I think that's what happened. By ML Staff. Images Courtesy of YelloPain. Interview by Allison Kugel

Artists are invited to make proposals for temporary public art installations spanning three to four months in duration. Each selected artist can be awarded up to $13,000. Artist proposals will be reviewed by a MOCA-appointed selection committee. Selected artists will implement projects with the support of MOCA staff. The museum will host a series of programming to coincide with the art installations throughout the year. Selected art works will be displayed on MOCA’s plaza, including but not limited to: The building façade or architecture Interventions within or incorporating the fountain Free standing elements Light based artworks/projections Artworks adhering to social distancing guidelines Landscape-based artworks or earthworks Interested artists can submit their qualifying materials electronically by visiting https://forms.monday.com/forms/a26d4201274160d5f55c4d37e6592edf?r=use1. The deadline for submission of art projects is Jan. 8, 2023 by 11:59 p.m. For more details on the process and to view important dates, please visit https://mocanomi.org/2022/12/2023-art-on-the-plaza/. More information about past Art on the Plaza commissions can be found at https://mocanomi.org/category/exhibitions/past-exhibitions/. Art on the Plaza is presented by MOCA, with major support from the North Miami Community Redevelopment Agency (NMCRA). MOCA North Miami exhibitions and programs are made possible with the continued support of the North Miami Mayor and Council and the City of North Miami, the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, and the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners. MOCA North Miami also thanks its Board of Trustees, Curator's Circle and MOCA Members for their meaningful support. MOCA North Miami presents contemporary art and its historical influences through exhibitions, educational programs, and collections. Inspired by its surrounding communities, MOCA connects diverse audiences and cultures by providing a welcoming place to encounter new ideas and voices and nurturing a lifelong love of the arts. MOCA developed from the Center of Contemporary Art which was inaugurated in 1981. The establishment of the permanent collection coincided with the institution’s move into their current building designed by Charles Gwathmey of GSNY in 1996. By ML Staff. Images courtesy of MOCA

The emerging professionals' group dedicated to raising awareness and funding for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital held the signature event at the JW Marriott Marquis in Downtown Miami. St. Jude "It's All About the Kids" Committee Friends of St. Jude (FOSJ) Miami, the emerging professionals’ group dedicated to raising awareness and funding for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital held the 14th Annual International Dermatology It’s All About the Kids signature event, presented by the Andrés Asion Foundation at the JW Marriott Marquis in Downtown Miami. “Although St. Jude is sent the toughest cases, it has the world’s best survival rates and is at the forefront of developing new treatment options that are then shared freely with hospitals around the world,” said Andrés Asion. At this year’s event, Friends of St. Jude Miami honored Telemundo Anchor Gloria Ordaz, an active committee member for over 10 years, and for her dedication of time and energy to raising funds and awareness on behalf of St. Jude. TV Host and Talent on Air for Televisa – Univision Network, Migbelis Castellanos, Co-Host of En Casa con Telemundo, Carlos Adyan, graced the stage as this year’s emcees. The theme was “Candy,” taking guests through a sweet evening filled with bites and cocktails, as well as tunes by DJ DZA and Live Band Extasy. Andres and Julian Asion Deanna Etzold and Jonathan Dresnick Tomas N. Regalado Carolina Toledo, Frances Franco, Carolina Armas-Bustamante Lopez/Pelaez Family In Memory of Tony and Carolina Arminana International Dermatology served as the event’s title sponsor, alongside presenting sponsor Andres Asion Foundation. Other sponsors include: Univision, Isaias Group, Neiman Marcus Coral Gables, Telemundo, Versailles, McArdle, Perez & Franco, SBS, Salubris Health, Vous Church among others. “I’ve had the pleasure to witness the great work that St. Jude does for their patients and their families first-hand,” said Silvia Trinidad, CEO of International Dermatology. “I am wholeheartedly committed to St. Jude and their tireless work in the advancements of cancer research and treatment for children.” Silvia Trinidad and Gloria Ordaz Andres, Maria, Julian Asion Laura Ledon Larrieu Karen Duque - patient mother Migbelis Castellanos and Carlos Adyan Laura Larrieu, Frances Franco, Carolina Toledo, Jess Cerda, Carolina Armas Bustamante, Desi Valls Lebess, Luly Valls Manny Rodriguez, Freddy Balsera, Manny Machado Vilte Vaitkus, Sara Diab, Rola Diab George Fraguio, Barbara Estela, Alejandra Castillo, Jon Ander Berto Laura Larrieu, Frances Franco, Carolina Toledo, Jess Cerda, Carolina Armas Bustamante, Desi Valls Lebess, Luly Valls, Andres Asion Gloria Ordaz Migbelis Castellanos and Carlos Adyan Brian, Paul, JoAnn, Jenny Palmer More St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Its purpose is clear: Finding cures. Saving children.® It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to more than 80% since the hospital opened in 1962. St. Jude won’t stop until no child dies from cancer. St. Jude shares the breakthroughs it makes, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. Because of generous donors, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food, so they can focus on helping their child live. Visit St. Jude Inspire to discover powerful St. Jude stories of hope, strength, love and kindness. Join the St. Jude mission by visiting stjude.org, liking St. Jude on Facebook, following St. Jude on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok, and subscribing to its YouTube channel. By ML Staff. Image Courtesy of St. Jude Miami

Repossi continues its artistic dialogue unveiling a jewelry tribute collection in collaboration with the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, inspired by the artist’s works with a high jewelry approach. The Repossi / Robert Mapplethorpe collection will be on view for the first time in Miami with a special installation at Saks Fifth Avenue at Bal Harbour Shops from November 30th. The tribute collection is the result of three years of research and development by Gaia Repossi. © Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. Licensed by Artestar, New York Gaia Repossi’s relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe’s work began ten years ago when she acquired a work titled Puerto Rico, 1981 by Robert Mapplethorpe, which still hangs in her design studio and marks the beginning of her art collection. From then on, Mapplethorpe’s photographs regularly illustrated the House’s visual communication. When the Foundation approached Gaia to reinterpret this little known part of the American photographer’s work, she accepted on one condition: to be able to offer a High Jewelry reinterpretation, incorporating all the know-how and technical expertise of the Repossi workshops. The collection consists of pieces divided into seven themes, whose names refer to major themes in the work of Robert Mapplethorpe: Jetty, Dagger, Black x Cross, Bullseye, Relic, Chain, and Americana Eagle. Robert Mapplethorpe by Valerie Santagto REPOSSI / ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE For this collection, Gaia Repossi was inspired by more than 150 of the artist's references kept in the archives of the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation in New York. These are mainly necklaces made of "bits of nothing" as Robert Mapplethorpe liked to call them: shells, pearls, crab claws, nails, dice, engine parts, among others, that he assembled between 1965 and 1968 in New York. Patti Smith, his muse and companion at the time, was the first to wear his creations. This research led Gaia to take an interest in other elements of the photographer's work as well: his drawings, collages and three-dimensional works. For the Repossi / Robert Mapplethorpe collection, Repossi preserved the style and aesthetic that are characteristic of Mapplethorpe’s work, what Gaia calls "lateral symmetry": the accumulation and balance of volumes, as well as the play of contrasts. Photo by Jeremy Everett. Mapplethorpe Works © Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation. Used by permission. MAPPLETHORPE and the excellence of Place Vendôme Gaia's strong artistic vision for this collection was supported by the expertise of the Repossi workshops. Months of study and exchange between the workshops and the design studio were necessary to develop the nineteen designs, each with a high level of detail and real technical complexity, in order to honor the authenticity and aesthetics of the inspirational models. All the elements have been shaped, assembled, set and polished by hand, in France or Italy, respecting the codes of the jewelry tradition and the excellence of the Place Vendôme. The experience and technical skills of the workshops have enabled them to integrate all the signatures of the House of Repossi: assembly systems, unconventional settings, setting of hundreds of diamonds - more than 1000 on the Chain necklace! - singular gold colors such as champagne gold, the most precise polishing so as not to alter the angles, and black rhodium plating, unconventional in the jewelry world, mastered only by a handful of Italian workshops. Particular attention was also paid to the different finishes, with varying degrees of patina for a vintage effect yet framed to the exact brushstroke. Repossi called on Parisian "masters of the arts" for some of the technical parts of these pieces, such as the crab claw in the Crab Claw pendant, carved in 18ct white gold from a real crab claw, or the Americana Eagle necklace, which reproduces the American eagle symbol in detail using the lost wax technique. The collection also highlights the excellence of Italian workshops. Indeed, several pieces required skills mastered only in Italy, such as the ruthenium coating technique used for the Dagger ring, the Relic necklace and the Black x Cross pendant. Repossi/Robert Mapplethorpe collection is available for November 30th through December 14th at Saks Fifth Avenue at Bal Harbour Shops, 9700 Collins Ave, Bal Harbour, FL 33154. T: 305. 865.1100, Website: repossi.com More on Repossi Repossi perpetuates the creative family heritage of three generations as a high jewelry house.The jewelry house began in Turin in 1957 when Constantino Repossi opened his first boutique after studying industrial design and developing a pronounced taste for Art Deco. The legacy continued when his son Alberto added an international dimension by moving to Monte-Carlo in the late 70’s and becoming the official jeweler to the royal family of Monaco. From the glamour of the 80’s to the elegance of the Parisian avant-garde when the house settled into the Place Vendôme in 1986, Repossi anchors in its time by continuously offering a new incarnation of jewelry. Gaia Repossi was born in 1986, in Turin (Italy). She grew up instilled with the passion for jewelry from Alberto, her father, and grandfather and developed very early a taste for visual arts. After studying painting at the Beaux Arts school in Paris, she pursued a course in Archeology. In 2007, she joined her father to work at the family House and took on the role of Artistic and Creative Director to instill her innovative vision. Her inspirations reflect her passion for artists like Joseph Beuys, Franz West, Donald Judd, Robert Mapplethorpe, Walter de Maria or Robert Smithson. Her influences are also architectural, including the Bauhaus and Le Corbusier, and the new boutique in Place Vendôme is the result of her encounter with Rem Koolhaas. Her openness to the world also has an influence on her collections inspired by sometimes distant cultures and times, crossing tribal or ancient references to combine simplicity and complexity. Gaia Repossi has regenerated the vision of the house by reinventing the traditional codes of jewelry. She combines primitive jewelry with art and architecture to create bold pieces intended to be worn as a second skin. Particularly known today for its emblematic collections that play with notions of full and empty as Serti sur Vide, which is characterized by floating diamonds. Antifer is recognizable with its peaks and sharp angles, and Berbere repeats minimalist lines. The timeless creations with resolutely bold and architectural lines push the limits of traditional craftsmanship and positions Repossi as the most avant-garde jewelry house on the Place Vendôme. By ML Staff. Images courtesy of Repossi. Top image of Robert Mapplethorpe by Valerie Santagto

The newly reimagined CocoWalk, a 150,000-square-foot, open-air lifestyle center anchoring Coconut Grove’s commercial district, announces the first ever free community Candlelight Concert series. Starting in November, CocoWalk’s courtyard will be filled with hundreds of candles and the sounds of music legends such as ABBA, Beyonce, and Queen, creating a unique, live, multi-sensory musical experience for the community. Present in over 100 cities worldwide, Candlelight concerts are a Fever Original experience aimed at democratizing access to classical music by allowing people all over the world to enjoy live music candlelit performances played by local musicians in various stunning venues that form part of each city’s cultural heritage. Now, for the first time ever, CocoWalk’s plaza will be added to its list of spectacular locations. Set underneath a 60-foot Kapok tree, the candlelit concert series will highlight the area’s tropical oasis and create an enchanting environment under the moonlight for guests to enjoy a variety of musical genres. Known for creating a memorable ambiance, each Candlelight location is carefully chosen to elevate the listening experience, creating a serene atmosphere that will sweep you off your feet. “We are thrilled to activate the CocoWalk courtyard with the first-of-its-kind complimentary concert experience in partnership with Candlelight,” said Brittany Lawrence, CocoWalk Marketing Manager. “Historically, the Grove has been known as a creative enclave where musicians would gather. Now that it is dubbed as Miami’s coolest neighborhood, we are excited to bring music back to the heart of the Grove, providing our community with a magnificent experience.” Occurring on the third Friday of the month, the series kicks off with professional musicians performing a tribute to ABBA’s most legendary tracks, including “Mamma Mia,” “Fernando,” and “Dancing Queen,” on Friday, November 18. Experience Beyonce’s most female-empowering songs and the favorite Queen B chart-topping hits, from “Crazy in Love” to “Irreplaceable,” in a dazzling setting on Friday, December 16. Whether you listened to them in the 70’s or are a fan of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” British Rock band Queen’s notable tracks will echo from the courtyard on Friday, January 20 for the grand finale concert. “With the Candlelight concerts, we will continue to create events to cultivate the city's unique venues, as we contribute to making culture accessible to people who wouldn’t normally have access to classical music. CocoWalk serves as a central gathering point in the Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, making it the perfect setting for a community Candlelight concert series", said Dana Moutis, Fever Originals Regional Manager for Americas. CocoWalk’s Candlelight concert series makes the perfect intimate, breathtaking setting ideal for a girls’ night out or a romantic date night. To enhance the experience, Narbona Market & Restaurant will offer a personal charcuterie board with Narbona’s reggianato cheese, manchego cheese, gouda cheese, dried salami, dried fruit, and mixed nuts for $17. Oenophiles can enjoy two glasses of Narbona’s branded house red blend or white wine for $14. Attendees can purchase their charcuterie board and wine while registering for the event. Details: A Tribute to Beyonce: 12/16; A Tribute to Queen: 1/20 Cost: FREE (complimentary concert for the community courtesy of CocoWalk) To obtain your ticket please click here. By ML Staff. Images Courtesy of CocoWalk

Mercury pollution is a global threat to human health, especially to unborn babies and young children. Exposure to methylmercury, a type that forms when mercury washes into lakes and streams, can harm children’s brain development and cause symptoms including speech impairment and muscle weakness in adults who consume seafood as their main food source. Methylmercury also threatens health and reproduction in fish and other wildlife. Humans, animals and birds are exposed to methylmercury when they eat fish and shellfish. Scientists have been working for decades to understand how and when fish accumulate mercury. This information is key for assessing mercury risks across different water bodies and landscapes, and for evaluating policy changes designed to reduce mercury emissions. For decades, scientists have used fish ear stones, known as otoliths, to gain insights into fish growth, migration, diet and the timing of their exposure to certain pollutants. These tiny structures of calcium carbonate, roughly the size of a pea, form inside fishes’ inner ears, where they help regulate hearing and balance. Otoliths can also provide clues about how climate change is affecting fish. But some pollutants, including mercury, are not incorporated into otoliths. Rather, they bind very strongly to tissues that contain sulfur, such as muscle tissues. That’s why muscle tissues have historically been used to assess contamination due to mercury pollution. Fish otoliths (above) and eye lenses (below) reveal complementary information about fish life history.Karin Limburg, CC BY-ND In a newly published study, we describe a new window into individual fish’s lifetime exposure to mercury by measuring it in the fish’s eyes. This work is unlocking new possibilities for understanding fish lifetime exposure to this potent neurotoxicant. Clues in fish ears and eyes Today, scientists analyze mercury uptake in fish by measuring how much of it accumulates in whole bodies of fish, or often just in fillets – that is, muscle tissues. This approach tells us how much mercury the fish has accumulated over its lifetime, but it doesn’t tell us specifically when in its life the fish was exposed. A time stamp is missing. Mercury concentrations can vary widely within any given fish species. For example, from 1991 to 2010, U.S. government monitors detected mercury levels in cod that averaged 0.111 parts per million but ranged as high as 0.989 parts per million, a ninefold difference. This suggests that in addition to changes in mercury emissions over time, an individual fish’s movements and diets can significantly affect its exposure. In our study, we propose a new method that combines measurements of otolith aging and of mercury in the lenses of a fish’s eyes to assign ages to fish eye mercury concentrations. Eye lenses are made of pure protein, are high in sulfur content and thus readily take up mercury either directly from water or from the fish’s diet. Methylmercury appears to be preferentially taken up in certain organs, including eye lenses. At high doses, it may impair fish vision. Our approach starts with the well-established technique of aging a fish using its otolith. As a fish grows and ages, its otoliths add yearly layers of calcium carbonate. We can estimate the fish’s age and growth rates by measuring the distance between the yearly growth layers, which are called annuli, much as foresters date trees by measuring the growth rings in their trunks. An eye lens of a brown bullhead catfish (top) sliced into a cross section that shows the core, formed at birth, and the layers that grow throughout life. The lower image shows the spatial pattern of the element mercury in the same lens, analyzed at the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source. Note that concentrations are at background levels in the layers deposited when this fish was young and increased as it got older and began to consume other fish.Karin Limburg, CC BY-ND We also know that a fish’s eye grows at a rate that is proportional to the growth of its otolith. So in our analysis, we apply the proportional distance that we found in the fish’s otolith to its eye lens. For our focal species, the Round Goby (Neogobius melanostomus), the linear relationship between these two measurements is strong. As the eye lens grows and accumulates mercury, we can pinpoint when the fish was exposed using this correspondence with the otolith. And because the fish’s eye lens grows in layers throughout life, we can follow the chronology of lifetime exposure. When fish like this netted cod are exposed to mercury, it accumulates in certain organs, including the lenses of their eyes. Yvette Heimbrand, CC BY-ND A possible climate connection With this new method, we can start to trace the chronology of a fish’s lifetime mercury exposure. And we can ask questions about how life history events, such as migration and diet shifts, or temporal events such as low dissolved oxygen levels in water at certain times of year, may influence a fish’s mercury levels. The strength of this method is that it provides information for individual fish, which matters just as it does for humans. Different individual fish have varying abilities to catch prey and avoid or tolerate stress, all of which can affect their growth and exposure to mercury. And having information about mercury exposure for all ages of a single fish can help decrease the need to collect large samples of many fish across all ages, which is how scientists traditionally have assessed how fishes’ exposure changes over their lifetimes. This new method may also help us understand how climate change is affecting mercury exposure. As water temperatures rise, rivers, lakes, estuaries and oceans are losing some of their dissolved oxygen. This process, known as deoxygenation, is a critical stressor for aquatic life. When oxygen in a pond or bay falls below 2 milligrams per liter, compared with normal levels of 5 to 8 milligrams per liter, that water body is said to be hypoxic – and hypoxic conditions can be associated with elevated concentrations of methylmercury. This loss of oxygen is exacerbated by nutrient pollution – for example, from urban or agricultural runoff. But it can also occur in the open oceans, far from continents, due to warming. Increasing hypoxia could negate recent global efforts to reduce mercury emissions by making the mercury that is already in lakes and oceans more available for uptake into fish. However, fish response to hypoxia can vary by individual and by species. Our current research, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, is exploring how fish eye lenses, together with otoliths, can help us disentangle exposure to mercury from diet and hypoxia. Increasingly, scientists are recognizing that various body parts of organisms function as archives of the past. For us, eye lenses and otoliths serve as key means to understand the secret lives of individual fish. Words By Roxanne Razavi Assistant Professor of Environmental Biology, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Hadis Miraly PhD Candidate in Environmental Biology, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry & Karin Limburg Distinguished Professor of Environmental Biology, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Special thanks to The Conversation for republishing permission.

Gaucho - Buenos Aires, a ready-to-wear and leather accessory fashion company, kicked off Art Basel with an event featuring contemporary artist Michael Shellis at their flagship store in the Miami Design District. CEO of Gaucho Holdings Scott Mathis and Actor Neels Visser attended the Gaucho - Buenos AiresArt Basel Edition live activation inside the flagship store in the Miami Design District. VIPs including Actor Neels Visser, Lifestyle Influencer Chris Lavish, alongside CEO of Gaucho Holdings Scott Mathis, and Creative Director Lautaro García De La Peña. Guestsenjoyed aperitifs, live music and were able to see the process of hand-painting 10 unique Gaucho - Buenos Aires leather jackets and hats, which were also available for purchase. Lifestyle Influencer Chris Lavish attended the Gaucho - Buenos AiresArt Basel Edition live activation inside the flagship store in the Miami Design District. Lifestyle Influencer Chris Lavish, Matias Mazza and Creative Director Lautaro García De La Peña attended the Gaucho - Buenos Aires Art Basel Edition live activation inside the flagship store in the Miami Design District. CEO of Gaucho Holdings Scott Mathis, Actor Neels Visser and Creative Director Lautaro García De La Peña attended the Gaucho - Buenos AiresArt Basel Edition live activation inside the flagship store in the Miami Design District. Contemporary Artist Michael Shellisattended the Gaucho - Buenos AiresArt Basel Edition live activation inside the flagship store in the Miami Design District. CEO of Gaucho Holdings Scott Mathis and Contemporary Artist Michael Shellisattended the Gaucho - Buenos AiresArt Basel Edition live activation inside the flagship store in the Miami Design District. Guest, CEO of Gaucho Holdings Scott Mathis, Contemporary Artist Michael Shellisand Creative Director Lautaro García De La Peña attended the Gaucho - Buenos AiresArt Basel Edition live activation inside the flagship store in the Miami Design District. Contemporary Artist Michael Shellis and Lifestyle Influencer Chris Lavish attended the Gaucho - Buenos AiresArt Basel Edition live activation inside the flagship store in the Miami Design District. By ML Staff. Image Courtesy of Gaucho - Buenos Aires

On the weekend of December 16th - 18th, 2022, the Dillard Center for the Arts Dance Company, located at 2501 NW 11th. FTL 33311, presents its annual Chocolate Nutcracker, a soulful and creative approach to a holiday classic under the direction and choreography of Alina Guerrero-Peña. This winter classic will be performed by high school dancers of diverse backgrounds in race, culture and economic status. Although DCA incorporates its own innovative twist by exploring other forms of modern dance, the production does not stray far from the traditional interpretations of The Nutcracker Ballet, which is based on a story by E.T.A Hoffman, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King as well as Alexandre Dumas’ adaptation, The Tale of The Nutcracker. The Chocolate Nutcracker will be performed by black and brown high school students who push the boundaries of traditional ballet. The concept of accessibility and diversity makes the Chocolate Nutcracker a unique experience enriched beyond the expected, providing students access and exposure to classical ballet dance. This annual performance is an effort to help Dillard students gain a competitive edge at the next level when preparing for conservatory, college or industry dance opportunities. “We are thrilled to offer this amazing weekend of dance to the South Florida community performed by our talented pre-professional high school dancers. The Chocolate Nutcracker is an annual favorite and truly special because It’s warm, inclusive and sweet - just like real hot chocolate” commented Israel Charles, Artistic Director. DATES & TICKETS Friday, Dec 16th at 7:30pm Saturday, Dec 17th at 7:30pm Sunday, Dec 18th at 4:00pm Tickets $15 adults and $10 children and students with identification Tickets on sale at www.dillardhs.com/showtime or call 754-322-0838 More on Dillard Center for the Arts Dance Department The dance program at Dillard Center for The Arts provides excellent dance training in a creative art setting and offers students a broad range of experiences. All aspects of dance (technique, performance, choreography, history, and production) are experienced in their beautiful, modern facilities. Throughout the year, students have the opportunity to engage in a variety of dance-related activities including masterclasses, post-performance discussions, and professional dance concerts. All students are taught by full-time and visiting part-time specialists in dance. By ML Staff. Image Courtesy of Dillard Center