DORAL AS A CULTURAL CENTER
Adjacent to Miami International Airport, the city of Doral has attained global significance as Greater Miami’s logistics hub. As a cultural center, however, Doral is just beginning to emerge.
A key indicator of that renaissance is the emergence of The Doral Contemporary Art Museum (DORCAM). In the wake of the COVID-19 shutdown in 2020, a group of artists decided to transform Doral’s public parks into open-air galleries, since traditional galleries and museums were closed to the public. Recognizing the relative safety of outdoor spaces and the universal accessibility of public art, DORCAM that year celebrated the largest outdoor sculpture exhibition of Spanish artist Manolo Valdés.
The show was the first major outdoor display by DORCAM, which had previously used unconventional spaces to set up exhibitions. Founded in 2017 by collectors, community leaders, artists, and entrepreneurs who saw the need for a contemporary art museum in Doral, DORCAM continues to display artworks in warehouses, garages, open office spaces – and now parks. “After the pandemic, there were many empty spaces. So, we have an agreement with them to occupy the spaces while waiting for new business. We always see how we can best maximize any space,” says Marcelo Llobell, co-founder of DORCAM.
Llobell says the museum pulls inspiration from the German artistic movement Bauhaus – combining art and technology in pursuit of creating a “total” work of art. The school emphasized a functional, minimalist aesthetic characterized by clean lines, geometric shapes, and a focus on craftsmanship, says Llobell which has had a profound influence on modern design and architecture, especially in Miami. “This type of art movement in Miami is changing the way the architects are creating,” says Llobell, who office is connected to a warehouse that contains his personal collection.
Unlike other cultural institutions or art museums in Miami, DORCAM has yet to find a permanent home. Instead, the group organizes and participates in pop-up shows, including joining in overseas shows. They also specialize in displaying the work of artists from Latin America and Europe. One of their more ambitious exhibitions covered 23 empty warehouses with artists from Venezuela, Cuba, Colombia, Spain, and more.
In its first six years, DORCAM achieved notable accomplishments, including six exhibitions of contemporary art and design, along with ten community outreach programs (encouraging artists of all ages), attracting more than 5,000 visitors. Strong institutional alliances were forged with the City of Doral, Miami-Dade Cultural Affairs, Chase Bank, and the Doral Business Forum, among others. The museum also established partnerships with international cultural organizations in Spain, Chile, Brazil, and Germany.
Each year DORCAM participates in Spain’s international photography festival PHotoEspaña, inviting its artists from Doral. Most of the museum’s participating artists live in Doral but have immigrated from South America. The group receives its funding from Miami-Dade County and fundraising initiatives to provide opportunities for local and global artists to showcase their work. “We are accessible to all kinds of artists, designers, architects, and from different countries. The support we provide helps them become part of the community,” says Llobell.
The presence of DORCAM in the Doral industrial hub is symbolic of the city’s evolution from a primarily commercial center to a multifaceted community with a burgeoning arts scene. “By repurposing industrial spaces for cultural purposes, we breathe new life into it,” says Llobell. The museum is now working with the county to find a permanent location in Doral.
