2016/17 season details coming soon!
2016/17 season details coming soon!
XOJ Gallery
• VISIT IN PERSON →
Our galleries are open Tue-Sat, 12-4pm, and are free of charge.
• “SUNDAYS IN THE GALLERY”→
Schedule a private viewing experience for up to 10.
Binard’s portraits combine painting with ceramic and mixed media to comment on the tension between one’s identity in the eyes of others, and the one we choose ourselves. Intensely personal, the pieces touch on Binard’s racial and cultural history.
sponsored by Benson Lights
made possible in part by a grant from the Anne McKee Artists Fund of the Florida Keys, Inc.
This body of work is an exploration of the decisions others have made and continue to make regarding my identity. Being mixed-race and being non-identifiable as either of the cultures or races that I am comprised of, so often I am questioned or even brazenly told what I am. It is only recently that this personal phenomenon has begun to unsettle and agitate me. In my youth, I outwardly accepted what others labeled me, never questioning those who had the power to define me, even though, at the core, I felt something just wasn’t right. When certain age and life-related seismic shifts occurred and I chose to look inward a little deeper, I noticed myself getting offended and frustrated and questioning much of what I had accepted. This series of portraits is a means for me to voice what I am uncovering about my complicated racial and cultural past and share my private dialog about the effects of allowing others to decide for you what and who you are. It is also my way of making my identity just that – mine.
With one of the tallest buildings – and most spectacular views – in town, the Hugh’s View rooftop terrace serves as The Studios’ creative space in the sky. The terrace sits four stories above street level and offers panoramic views of the island. The Kitwald Stage glows in the golden twilight of our sunset performances.
With original seating from its days as a Masonic temple, the Helmerich Theater has been updated to also include floor seating. As a black box theater, the set up is intimate but professional, and sets the stage for concerts and performances that leave guests feeling like they really got to know the performer.