We brought together three of Miami’s cultural shape-shifters to discuss what it means to make an impact on your community through creativity, art and dialogue. For those who missed it, we’ve condensed the evening to the most notable takeaways of the night. Read on.

Images by Liona Nyariri

For most people, Art Basel means perusing art fairs, attending events, networking, and of course, drinking. This year, it meant all those things for us, but it was also an opportunity for us to shed some light on issues that are important to us, by way of a panel featuring award-winning writer and youth advocate Octavia Yearwood, art historian and curatorial fellow of the Pérez Art Museum Miami, Naiomy Guerrero, and Helen Peña, founder of Fem Power Miami, a queer collective awakening Miami's intersectional feminist movement. Moderated by Roundtable Editor-in-Chief, Wase Aguele, the discussion explored the phenomenal work these womxn are doing to influence and spotlight their communities, and have a lasting impact on culture.

The evening’s most notable takeaways:

Helen on how the city influences her work: I felt an urgency to start creating spaces where people could be themselves, be unified, and create a ‘community’ that shifts the notion of ‘its me’ to ‘when I amplify the people around me, we can work higher, together and anything is possible’.

Naiomy on how regular people can champion their communities: I’m regular. Very very regular, and I would say whatever skill set you have, it’s needed. All these things are needed right now. If you’re really good at making coffee, let’s go. If you’re really good with technology, connect with a community organiser for a skills share. We all have power and everything’s at our disposal especially with the internet. Whatever makes you feel alive, do that.

Octavia on what we need right now – evolution vs. revolution: Evolution just, happens. But, revolution is an action and it’s intentional. So if you want to be free, that’s a practice. If you want to shift culture, that’s a practice and when I say ‘practice’, that’s something you gotta do over and over again. It’s about making that action and that movement, always.

Helen on what she learned through her work that surprised her: Mary Hooks, founder of Black Mama’s Bailout, said “the mandate of the work is to be transformed in the service of the work,” and I was not anticipating for that at all. I thought, I’m going to teach this class but I didn’t expect that the children will change me or this experience will change me. We are constantly growing.

Shaping Communities, Shifting Culture