Although it serves, and is probably mostly recognized, as a gallery, Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator (DV) is so much more. For Diaspora Vibe “building a critical vocabulary among cultural workers is a necessary step towards civic engagement.” It is in this light that DV carries out its various activities outside of the typical gallery duties. Most importantly, DV sees itself as a safe space where artists can engage in dialogue about the Caribbean Diaspora; where artists from the Caribbean basin can exhibit quality work, perform, meet, organize, and network together with U.S.-born Latino and African-American artists.

“This has been our goal all along—to create a relaxed, down-to-earth, nurturing environment where meaningful discussion about art, culture, and border issues can take place.”

Starting in the early 1960s Miami came to be regarded as something of an ethnic enclave, consisting primarily of Cubans, and to a lesser extent, other Latinos. There was a substantial financial infrastructure (entrepreneurial and cultural) developed around this community that supported the early wave of immigrants, including artists, but which in recent decades has become less and less evident. Today’s artist generation—mostly under 30 or 40—struggles to market and promote its work. Stepping in to fill this gap, DV provides emerging Latin, Caribbean and other artists of color a venue to explore and experiment with new forms and themes without having to deny or downplay strong connections with their countries of origin and immigrant experience.

With Artography support, Diaspora Vibe has been able to host its first International Diaspora Artists Biennale in Nassau, Bahamas to allow artists, critics, and curators to discuss the state of contemporary Caribbean art. The organization also launched its Off the Wall / Experimental Lab Series, a one to two-week residency in which artists present time-based, out-of-the-box work including performance, video/film screenings, poetry reading, research, sound art, music and workshops.

One area in particular where DV stakes an uncommon role as a gallery is in the field of arts patronage. DV has refined a practice of cultivating arts patrons as part of its larger strategy to expand the visibility of artists made (nearly) invisible in the current art and culture systems. This “ideology” is strongly informed by the immigrant experience of having to do for one’s self without depending on others to do for you.