The first thing you notice at the beautiful and beguiling Scope Art Show on Miami Beach is the light. It’s not just the natural sunlight pouring in through windows so picturesque they could be paintings themselves, or reflecting off the beach sand that flows in and out of the massive open concept pop-up. There is also a more conceptual light embodied in the exuberant, kinetic, and colorful multimedia artwork festooning every makeshift booth wall for Miami Art Week.
And then, almost dead-center in the building, you encounter the powerful, sobering Amnesty International exhibit, “Cruelty Is Their Point — But Another World is Possible,” designed to “spotlight the cruel and dangerous immigration detention center, Alligator Alcatraz” — the grim and impoverished facility a mere thirty-six miles from the glitz and glamour of Art Week — “and invite participants to reflect, respond, and take action demanding its closure.” The installation, presented by Amnesty International, features work by artists Agua Dulce and Clarence James to call attention to a new report by the human rights organization alleging the use of torture at the notorious facility.
“Amnesty has a really long history working with artists,” the organization’s director for refugee and migrant rights, Amy Fischer, tells New Times. “And we do that because art has the power to transcend politics — really, to tell stories in a way that a research report can’t, and to bring people together around a deeper sense of shared humanity.”…