Where Books and Art Meet

The Culture Edit, February 3rd-16th

Author

Susan Bannon
February 02, 2025

The second edition of Tropic Bound Book Fair kicks off in the Design District February 6th.

First off, good luck to everyone running the Miami Marathon today! The rest of us will try to stay out of your way. We don’t have much choice, since the roads in the Grove and on the Beach and on the causeways are closed until 2pm. But we’re not blaming you! Really.

Coming up this weekend, Miami has a pretty unique event in the Tropic Bound Book Fair, which aims to showcase the intimate form of contemporary art known as artists’ books. Unlike what you find at a typical art fair, this is tactile, narrative work you can hold in your hand (don’t try that at Art Basel, please). With over 500 artists represented from all over the world, plus purveyors of rare books and literary oddities, there should be plenty to see and touch. And with relatively gentle price points, you might decide to take a piece of it home.

Let’s get planning...

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Ongoing Theater

Bad Dog

Miami New Drama presents Bad Dog, a world premiere play by Harley Elias skewering Miami’s contemporary art scene (after last year’s Museum Plays and Gablestage’s Laughs in Spanish, I’m sensing a trend here). The plot follows a performance artist who’s taken up residency in a Miami art gallery to live as a dog for a month, biting visitors and causing chaos within the gallery staff.

Performances through February 16th, Miami New Drama at the Colony Theatre, $47-$77

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Appropriate

Gablestage presents “one helluva family reunion” with Appropriate, the Tony Award-winning play by Pulitzer Prize finalist Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. The plot follows the estranged members of the Lafayette clan, who gather at the family’s crumbling homestead to argue over their recently deceased father’s effects. Turns out Daddy had some secrets, and once his collected possessions spill the beans, the reunion takes a turn for the explosive. Hailed as “a brilliant, blistering, outrageous play” by The New York Times, you don’t want to miss this one!

Performances through February 23rd, Gablestage at the Biltmore, $40-$60

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Lincoln Road Hustle

In the depths of the pandemic, Miami New Drama triumphed with The Seven Deadly Sins, an innovative roving theater piece set in shuttered Lincoln Road storefronts. Last year, they brilliantly staged a series of short plays in The Rubell Museum for The Museum Plays. Now, MiND is bringing a similar concept to Lincoln Road Hustle, a new play co-written by Billy Corben (Cocaine Cowboys). Staged in secret locations - shops, restaurants, public spaces - along Lincoln Road, the audience will be “eavesdropping” on the actors. The plot features a massive casino and real estate deal that could change Miami Beach forever, and all the hustlers in its orbit. How Miami is that?

Performances through February 16th, Miami New Drama at the Colony Theatre, $45-$95

Jersey Boys

The “Iconic Season” at Actor’s Playhouse continues with Tony Award-winning musical Jersey Boys, a juke box crowdpleaser that tracks the rise of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The story unfolds through each band member’s perspective, featuring their 1960’s hits “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.”

Performances through February 23rd, Actor’s Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre, $85

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Thursday, February 6th

Tropic Bound Book Fair - Opening Symposium

At the nexus of art and publishing, the second bi-annual Tropic Bound Book Fair showcases hand-made artists’ books from around the country and the world. Newly expanded for this second edition, the fair will host talks, workshops, and 94 exhibitors presenting artists’ books and other paperbound rarities. Opening day features a public educational symposium on book arts around the world, followed by a welcome party. The fair runs through Sunday at Palm Court and Paradise Plaza in the Design District.

4pm Symposium, 6-8pm Welcome Party, Design District Palm Court, $20

Neighborhood: Design District

Nearby Eats: Mother Wolf, Nami Nori, Mandolin | Drinks: COTE, Michael’s

Also on February 6th:

Friday, February 7th

Nu Deco at the Citadel

Nu Deco Ensemble, Miami’s genre-bending contemporary orchestra, returns to the Citadel cabaret space for its intimate - and very popular - Nu Deco Lounge series. In Icons of Hip Hop, the orchestra takes on the music of OutKast, The Notorious B.I.G., and Dr. Dre. If you’ve never experienced one of these concerts, they are very high energy, with a lot of audience participation. Note that general admission prices are for standing-room only. If you want a seat on the floor or the balcony, you’ll need a VIP ticket.

7pm & 9:30pm, the Citadel lounge, $45 or $85 VIP

Neighborhood: Little River

Also on February 7th:

  • Juggerknot Theatre Company brings Miami history to life in Bus Stop Stories: Tropical Dreams, an interactive theater experience at HistoryMiami Museum, at 11am.

  • The Arsht Center presents legendary Cuban-born pianist Chucho Valdés and his Royal Quartet, making a Miami stop on their tour for Cuba & Beyond, a new album from the octogenarian, at 8pm.

Saturday, February 8th

Transitions and Trailblazers

As part of its annual I Dream A World festival celebrating the Black artists that helped shape 20th-century music, New World Symphony presents Transitions and Trailblazers, featuring Julia Perry’s haunting Stabat Mater. Jeri Lynne Johnson, the first Black woman to win an international conducting award, will make her debut leading the NWS.

7:30pm, New World Center, $40-$140

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Nearby Eats: Mimi Chinese, Tropezón, Blue Ribbon Sushi | Drinks: Greystone Bar, Water Lion at the Sagamore

Also on February 8th:

  • Internationally-acclaimed funk jam masters Snarky Puppy host Day 1 of the GroundUP Music Festival at Miami Beach Bandshell, with masterclasses from 1-5:30pm and music sets from 6-11pm.

  • Spinello Projects celebrates the opening of Of Reverance, a solo show of engraved steel work by Haitian-American artist Francesca Lalanne, with an opening reception from 6-9pm.

  • Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida presents a one-night-only performance of classical ballet, including Marius Petipa’s Paquita, set to the music of Ludwig Minkus, at Sanctuary of the Arts at 7:30pm.

  • Contemporary orchestra Nu Deco Ensemble presents Icons of Hip Hop for a second night at The Citadel, at 7pm and 9:30pm.

Sunday, February 9th

A Frédéric Chopin Celebration

Adrienne Arsht Center and the Miami Symphony Orchestra present A Frédéric Chopin Celebration, featuring masterworks from one of classical music’s most beloved composers, including Les Sylphides, his most famous ballet. (Fun fact: Chopin never wrote for the ballet. The now-famous ballet to Les Sylphides was choreographed in 1909, sixty years after his death, and was the first example of precomposed music being adapted for a ballet, an innovation that changed the course of dance history.) World-renowned pianist and Chopin specialist Kevin Kenner will be joining MISO and Maestro Eduardo Marturet for this special evening.

6pm, Knight Concert Hall at the Arsht Center, $40-$140

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Nearby Eats: Momento by Ikaro, IKO Miami, Bunbury | Drinks: ViceVersa, Klaw

Also on February 9th:

  • Day 2 of the GroundUp Music Festival at Miami Beach Bandshell features more guest artists than the stage can hold, with a “family dinner” style jam session from 5-10pm.

  • New World Symphony presents a second performance of Transitions and Trailblazers, at 2pm.

Happening NEXT Week:

Because maybe your friends are busy this week. Or you're busy this week. Or this week just seems too soon to pull your act together and make a plan.

Wednesday, February 12th

An Evening with Geraldine Brooks

Books & Books is thrilled to present an evening with Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of March and Year of Wonders, discussing her new memoir, Memorial Days. In 2019, Brooks lost her husband of thirty years, fellow author and journalist Tony Horwitz, to a sudden heart attack. Not feeling like modern life had left her with enough space to mourn, Brooks took herself to a remote island off the Australian coast to write, process her loss, and begin rebuilding. Brooks will be in conversation with local literary hero Mitchell Kaplan, founder of Books & Books and co-founder of the Miami Book Fair.

7pm, Books & Books Coral Gables, $28 admits two and includes one copy of Memorial Days

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Thursday, February 13th

Locust Projects: Jaye Rhee and Wendy Wischer

Locust Projects, whose gigantic new warehouse space in Little River makes it Miami’s largest art incubator, opens two new large-scale exhibitions with one of its signature (free) parties. Visitors entering the Main Gallery will find Jaye Rhee: Fragile Terrain, an installation of 600 carefully crafted pixelated paper cubes and 100 rounded paper objects, all hand-folded. In the Project Room will be Wendy Wischer: Open Water, an immersive sound and video installation reflecting the vast seas and the ocean within us.

Opening Reception 6-9pm, Locust Projects, Free

Neighborhood: Little River

Also on February 13th:

Friday, February 14th

Miami City Ballet: Winter Mix

Long story ballets, like Giselle and Swan Lake, are audience favorites the world over, but I personally prefer Miami City Ballet’s eclectic “mix” programs that showcase their sparkling technique and athleticism on more contemporary work. Their Winter Mix this year brings us a world premiere ballet (as yet unnamed) by boundary-pushing choreographer Pam Tanowitz, complementing two pieces by the legendary Balanchine. Performances through Sunday.

7:30pm, Ziff Ballet Opera House at Adrienne Arsht Center, $55-$255

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

Saturday, February 15th

Jon Lehrer Dance Company

Sanctuary of the Arts welcomes the Jon Lehrer Dance Company for its Miami debut. Based in New York, the JLDC tours around the world to rave reviews (“breathtaking physical excitement” says Dance Magazine). The company’s repertoire fuses jazz and modern styles with a dynamic athleticism that walks the line between art and entertainment.

8pm, Sanctuary of the Arts, $30

Neighborhood: Coral Gables

Also on February 15th:

  • Maestra Sabrina Maria Alfonso and the South Florida Symphony Orchestra present an evening of Berlioz and Strauss at New World Center, at 7:30pm.

  • Miami City Ballet presents its Winter Mix program for a second performance at the Arsht Center, at 7:30pm.

  • Siudy Garrido, one of the most exciting international flamenco performers today, brings her virtuosic footwork and original flamenco compositions to the Moss Center, at 8pm.

Sunday, February 16th

Chamber Music: Dvořák + Ravel

New World Symphony welcomes Amihai Grosz, founding member of the Jerusalem String Quartet and now Principal Viola of the Berlin Philharmonic, for an afternoon of chamber music. On the program will be a performance of Maurice Ravel’s only string quartet (entitled “String Quartet”) and Dvořák’s intense Piano Trio No. 3.

Neighborhood: Lincoln Road

Nearby Eats: Paya, Tropezón, Blue Ribbon Sushi | Drinks: Sweet Liberty, Water Lion at the Sagamore

Also on February 16th:

  • Juggerknot Theatre Company brings Miami history to life in Bus Stop Stories: Tropical Dreams, an interactive theater experience at HistoryMiami Museum, at 1pm and 3pm.

  • The final performance of Miami City Ballet’s Winter Mix at the Arsht Center, at 2pm.

  • Man in kilt Coinneach Macleod, aka “The Hebridean Baker,” visits Books & Books to explain Scottish cooking, at 5pm.

Planning Ahead:

Miami's most anticipated events sell out and those new restaurants you want to try book up. Here are a couple of upcoming events to get on your calendar now…

Friday, February 28th

Ailey II: The Next Generation of Dance

For over 50 years, Ailey II has operated as a springboard for some of America’s most talented young dancers and a showcase for emerging and boundary-pushing choreographers. These young artists are bringing their “off-the-charts energy” (The New Yorker) and signature Ailey technique to Miami for a one-night-only performance you don’t want to miss.

8pm, Knight Concert Hall at Arsht Center, $30-$75

Neighborhood: Downtown Arts & Entertainment District

February 28th-March 2nd

Montreux Jazz Festival Miami

Since 1967, the Montreux Jazz Festival has taken place for two weeks every summer in Switzerland, on the shores of Lake Geneva, now drawing 250,000 music lovers each year. Last year, they chose Miami and the Hangar in Coconut Grove as the site of their first stateside festival, and it was a smashing success, selling out weeks in advance (which is pretty impressive given the ticket prices). Now the MJT is back for a second year, with a star-studded lineup including Jon Batiste, Chaka Khan, Cimafunk, Willow, and Janelle Monáe.

The Hangar in Coconut Grove, tickets from $169 (single day) to $799 (all-access VIP)

Neighborhood: Coconut Grove

Nearby Eats: Carbone Vino, Krüs Kitchen, Bayshore Club | Drinks: pretty sure the festival will have you covered here, but if you want something different, head to Regatta Grove or to Sipsip rooftop at the Mayfair.

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