— NOW OPEN —

Telling Overtown Stories, Saying Their Names

Telling Overtown Stories, Saying Their Names

An Interactive Mural Exhibition

Two people smiling and grasping hands in a friendly handshake at an indoor gathering with a woman smiling in the background.

Airport Mural Launch.  Left to right:  Jacki Altman, The Miami Foundation; James McQueen, Overtown CRA Executive Director;  Connie Kinnard, Sr. VP, Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau; Ralph Cutié, Director & CEO, Miami International Airport;  Daniella Levine Cava, Miami-Dade County Mayor;  Marilyn Holifield, Esq., Holland & Knight Senior Partner;  Raquel Regalado, Miami-Dade County Commissioner;  Dr. Dorothy Fields, Black Archives Founder.

Sign with text 'I AM' in blue, a green heart, and 'MIA' in red.
Four women smiling and chatting in a bright indoor hallway, dressed in colorful attire.
Six women standing in front of colorful murals, smiling at the camera in a gallery setting.
Four women standing and smiling in front of a Miami Overtown mural exhibition display.
Group of women greeting and conversing in a brightly lit hallway, with two women hugging center foreground.
Three women warmly greeting each other and holding hands in a hallway.
Two women and a man shake hands and talk in front of a mural at an exhibition.
Seven people standing in front of a mural, smiling and posing for a group photo indoors.
Two women warmly greeting each other with smiles and an embrace in a hallway with other people nearby.
Group of nine diverse people standing indoors in front of a colorful mural with raised fist and faces.
Four people standing in front of colorful posters at an event, one woman in pink waves and another claps.
Man in glasses and brown blazer speaking at a Miami-Dade County podium with colorful mural background.
Group of six adults standing and smiling in front of colorful mural art inside a building.
Four people smiling and standing in front of a colorful mural with a soccer theme.
Calendar icon with pink and blue gradient color.

Exhibition Dates

April 16 - October 13, 2026

Location pin icon with pink and blue gradient color.

Location

Connecting Communities Wall

Arrivals Level, Door 11
Concourse E, MIA

Admission

Free to all visitors

Contact

305.876.0749

tquintero@flymia.com

Presented by

Miami MoCAAD x MIA Galleries

Sponsor a Mural Exhibition

support@miamimocaad.org

See exhibition

Where ARt Meets the World

Male and female soccer players in mid-air kicks near a soccer ball with 'Scan Here' text on a colorful abstract background.

You don't need to travel to Overtown to encounter its stories. They are waiting for you at Arrivals - a reminder that every journey passes through someone else's history.

Pause | Scan | Listen | Walk away changed

About the Exhibition

"We are not just placing art in an airport - we are placing truth in transit."

Miami Museum of Contemporary Art of the African Diaspora (Miami MoCAAD) and Miami International Airport transform its Connecting Communities Wall into a living archive of Black Miami. “Telling Overtown Stories, Saying Their Names” features three large-scale interactive murals by local African American artists, weaving oral histories, augmented reality, and community memory into one of the world's busiest crossroads.

Overtown - once called the "Harlem of the South" - is not just a neighborhood of what was taken. It is a living cultural force. This exhibition centers on what has endured: resilience, creativity, and the voices of the people who shaped Miami.

Why This Exhibition Matters

01

Art Where People Already Are

Millions of travelers, locals, workers, and families pass through MIA each year. This exhibition meets people at the airport - no museum visit required. Culture doesn't ask you to choose it; it finds you mid-journey.

02

Reframing Overtown's Narrative

Overtown is too often defined by what was taken from it. This exhibition shifts public understanding - from "historic neighborhood" to living cultural force, centering endurance alongside displacement.

03

Voices as Authority

Oral histories bring nuance - emotion, memory, and contradiction - that archives may miss. Community voices are not supplemental here; they are the primary source. Residents, historians and artists shaped every panel.

04

Technology as a Doorway

Augmented reality and QR codes invite visitors to enter stories at their own pace and depth. Technology isn't the headline - it's the bridge between a passing traveler and a century of living memory.

05

A Global Audience at a Local Intersection

Millions who may never walk Overtown's streets will meet its story here. Miami positions itself as a city that values - and shares - its cultural heritage, not just its tourism.

06

Narrative Ownership in Real Time

In a moment when how history is told - and who tells it - is under scrutiny, this project ensures Overtown's stories are documented, visible, and accessible now. Not decades later.

“Showcasing this impressive exhibition at MIA during the same months as our FIFA World Cup matches and Miami-Dade 250 events creates a unique opportunity to share Overtown’s story with visitors from around the globe, to honor and recognize the contributions of Overtown’s Black communities, to celebrate the pride of their enduring legacy, and to highlight their ongoing impact.”
— Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, Miami-Dade County —

Experience the Exhibition

Art Where People Already Are

Large-scale works by local African American artists, each exploring a different dimension of Overtown's 130-year story through image, color, and form.

Featured Works:
“OVERtown: Our Family Tree” by Anthony “Mojo” Reed II
“International Longshoremen Local 1416” by Reginald O’Neal
Two soccer players in mid-air kicking a ball against a colorful abstract background.
“Overtown Pitch: Game Changers” by Stefan Smith
Scan & Go Deeper

QR codes embedded in each mural unlock augmented reality layers - oral histories, archival footage, and community voices accessible right from your phone.

Community as Co-Creator

Overtown residents, historians, and cultural leaders shaped the content of this exhibition - not as subjects to be documented, but as co-authors of their own story.

A Distributed Museum Model

Part of Miami MoCAAD's broader vision: a museum without walls, where culture lives in unexpected public spaces - airports, transit hubs, street corners - wherever people already gather.

 “Overtown’s cultural legacy reflects a rich history that connects Miami to the global African Diaspora. Through our partnership with Miami International Airport, we are transforming a highly visible public space into a platform that brings these stories to an international audience. Shaped by the influences of the Bahamas, Haiti, Jamaica, and beyond, Overtown embodies the spirit and cultural depth that define Miami itself. This exhibition invites travelers to engage, reflect, and experience these narratives, demonstrating the power of collaboration to elevate history, amplify artistry, and connect communities across borders.”
— Marilyn Holifield, Board Chair & Co-founder, Miami MoCAAD —