“Westward, ho!” went the rallying cry of the gallery scene from Wynwood over the past several years, at least for many of its early denizens. First, they went to just west of the I-95 corridor, or north to Little Haiti and Little River. Now they’ve ventured further west to Allapattah, a Miami neighborhood drenched in local history.
Derived from the Seminole Native American word for alligator, Allapattah’s earliest permanent white settlement began in 1856 with the arrival of William P. Wagner from Charleston, South Carolina.
The story of how Allapattah became an art destination mirrors historical cycles, be it locally, such as in South Beach, or other cities across the country, from New York City to Los Angeles. Artists, gallerists, and other creatives identify a neighborhood that has fallen onto less-than-desirable circumstances, whether because of crime or obsolescence, or another reason in between, resulting in depressed property values, and thus translating into opportunity for their careers and businesses because of the affordability of the inexpensive purchase prices or rents.
(Courtesy of Mindy Solomon Gallery)
Heather Rubinstein, Untitled (forest), 2025
They move in, putting down roots and starting to build a new foundation. Ultimately, if the planets align, they are successful in creating an enclave, once again flourishing, and with a bohemian ambiance and energy that draws everyone’s attention and desire to be there.
With all this revitalization percolating, people flock to the area, including entrepreneurs in the food and beverage industry because, well, being amid all that creativity makes one hungry and thirsty. Niche or specialty retailers come too. Real estate developers and speculators eye larger opportunities, from bringing in higher profile businesses with deeper pockets, to building new residential or mixed-use projects.
Before you know it, the neighborhood’s gentrification is in full swing. And the end game is not always in the favor of many who were there at the beginning, unless they had been fortunate enough to have bought their space or to have locked into a long-term lease below market value.
HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF
In Wynwood, this cycle and its trajectory played out in textbook fashion. Gloriously so, as it has become an exciting destination in Miami, noted internationally for its eclectic mix of galleries, shops, bars, and restaurants, and with it recognized as a thriving hub for other creatives and innovators — all backdropped against blocks of eye-catching, Instagrammable street art murals and installations.
It hasn’t always been that way, and certainly not in 1993, when Don and Mera Rubell purchased a 40,000 square foot former DEA warehouse for $450,000 to serve as the base for their eponymously named Rubell Family Collection. What had started in 1965 with their first acquisition was by then a large and significant contemporary art collection and they needed more space to share it with the public. While the neighborhood was marked by neglect and urban blight, the Rubells settled into the new home for their collection.
Fast forward to 2002 when Art Basel — the world’s leading fair in the international art market — launched its Miami Beach edition. It was a development the Rubells and other community leaders had been lobbied for. Art Basel Miami Beach galvanized Miami’s profile nationally and abroad, and Wynwood’s as well.
With its deserted buildings, low real estate prices, and central location, along with the presence of the Rubell Collection, and some key players in the real estate market, such as Tony Goldman and David Lombardi, Wynwood was perfectly positioned for the renaissance of art and culture that was both beginning and that followed. Locust Projects, a nonprofit alternative art space, had come in 1998 and Brook Dorsch had opened his gallery in 2000.
The evolution continued, with the establishment of the Wynwood Arts District, which at one time boasted over 70 galleries, monthly gallery walks, and a booming hospitality industry. And with the progression into the 2010s came less vacancies, rising costs, and high rents — the price for gentrification.
As artists and gallerists started looking at other areas, so did the Rubell family, who announced in 2016 their plans to leave their landmark location and move to Allapattah. Simply put, the Rubells’ ever-growing collection needed additional space and their new building in Allapattah was going to be more than double in size. In tandem with this move, was the metamorphosis of the Rubell Family Collection into the Rubell Museum, with expanded education, research, and artist residency programming.
THE WORLD’S EYES ON ALLAPATTAH
The Rubell Museum debuted in December 2019, introducing itself to the international art world during Art Basel Miami Beach and Miami Art Week. Opening in Allapattah the same week was El Espacio 23, a 28,000 square foot warehouse-turned-contemporary art space for billionaire real estate developer Jorge Peréz’s lauded private art collection. Perez had made his announcement in the fall of that year.
In short time, Mindy Solomon, who was then operating her namesake Mindy Solomon Gallery in Miami’s Little River Arts District, purchased a space in Allapattah, becoming the pioneering gallerist. Since her April 2021 inaugural exhibition in Allapattah, several new galleries have opened there too, enough so that last year marked the first Allapattah Art Night and earlier this summer an afternoon Sip & Stroll. The galleries also participate in the Progressive Art Brunch, a city-wide art crawl that takes place several Sundays throughout the year.
In addition to the galleries, there are other art venues that opened after the Rubell Museum and El Espacio 23 entered the area. These include Superblue, a state-of-the-art immersive light, sound, and digital museum featuring the world’s most innovative artists in their fields, and Marquez Art Projects, a nonprofit foundation and exhibition space established by real estate developer and restaurateur John Marquez. Sprung from Marquez’s own interest as an art collector and the works he’s acquired, it is committed to championing emerging artists, particularly those who are Miami-based.
With that, here’s a guide to what the galleries in Allapattah have in store for everyone in August. The collective temperature on their exhibition programming is set quite high — in sync with the heat we’re accustomed to in our dog days of summer, and very much in line with what they present on an ongoing basis.
BAKER—HALL
(Courtesy of Baker—Hall)
Francie Bishop Good, Blue May, 2025
1294 NW 29th St.
Multimedia artist Francie Bishop Good’s solo exhibition, “The Blur Between,” showcases her new body of work, with Good taking an even deeper dive into her ongoing exploration of memory and emotional vulnerability, and the permeable boundary between observation and imagination. Good, a South Florida legend, notably co-founded Girls Club in Ft. Lauderdale, a private foundation and alternative project space with a primary mission of nurturing the careers of female artists. The exhibition can be seen through Aug. 15, with the gallery resuming new programming in September.
KDR
790 NW 22nd St., Miami
“Florida Room IV,” a group exhibition featuring works from The Elisa Arimany Estate, Michaela Bathrick, Eric Oglander, Luna Palazzolo-Daboul, and Eva Robarts. For this fourth iteration of the “Florida Room” exhibition series, five distinctive voices were brought together, each contributing their own unique approach and perspective to sculpture. The exhibition officially closed July 30, but will return for the last week in August, as the gallery is presenting a pop-up show in Mykonos earlier in the month.
(Courtesy of the Estate of Elisa Arimany)
Elisa Arimany, Forest in the house, 1996
LA COMETA GALLERY
1015 NW 23rd St., Unit 2, Miami
La Cometa, in conjunction with Povos, presents Puerto Rican-born artist Isabella Mellado’s solo exhibition, “7 Pecados.” Through a series of seven paintings, Mellado takes viewers on a journey from Catholic shame to spiritual awakening, juxtaposing religious symbolism with references to the tarot, witchcraft, and her lived experience as a queer Puerto Rican woman. Mellado, who resides in Chicago, was in Miami last month as she had previously been selected for the esteemed Fountainhead Residency’s 2025 artists-in residence program. The exhibition is on view through Aug. 31.
ANDREW REED GALLERY
(Courtesy of the Artist and Andrew Reed Gallery)
Thérèse Mulgrew, Late Night Toast, 2025
800 NW 22nd St, Miami
Chicago-based artist Thérèse Mulgrew’s first solo exhibition in Miami, “Soft Hours,” runs through Aug. 16. Through her hyperrealist paintings, Mulgrew continues her recent exploration in still-life, mining intimate, everyday moments of friends, from breakfast time to cocktailing while gambling.
MINDY SOLOMON GALLERY
(Courtesy of Mindy Solomon Gallery)
Xavier Baxter, Upward, 2025
848 NW 22nd St, Miami
One gallery presenting four exhibitions translates into much to see and appreciate. On exhibit are Xavier Baxter’s “Resolute,” Andrew Casto and Ali Smith’s “Despite All,” Victoria Martinez’s “Flâneur,” and Heather Rubinstein’s “In Search of Bel Esprit.” While each exhibition is distinct, from Casto’s ceramic works and Smith’s paintings in their two-person collaboration, to the paintings in Rubinstein’s show, which is inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s “A Moveable Feast,” they unite harmoniously through their abstraction. The exhibitions run through Sept. 6.
VOLOSHYN GALLERY
802 NW 22nd St, Miami
The gallery’s August exhibition information was not available as of press time. Please visit the website for the month’s programming.
(Courtesy of Mindy Solomon Gallery)
Victoria Martinez, Untitled, 2025
(Courtesy of Mindy Solomon Gallery)
Andrew Casto, Pinnacle, 2024
COLLECTIONS, MUSEUMS, AND PROJECT SPACES
EL ESPACIO 23
2270 NW 23rd St., Miami
The former warehouse is the home of billionaire real estate developer Jorge Peréz’s vast private art collection, with regular exhibitions and special projects curated from the works Peréz has amassed. Free admission with walk-ins welcome.
MARQUEZ ART PROJECTS
2395 NW 21st Ter., Miami
The nonprofit foundation and exhibition space established by real estate developer and restaurateur John Marquez is committed to championing emerging artists, particularly those who are Miami-based. Free admission by appointment.
RUBELL MUSEUM
1100 NW 23rd St., Miami
The museum features the Rubell family’s extensive private contemporary art collection, acclaimed worldwide for the artists represented in it, and its breadth and scope, in long-term installations and special exhibitions in a former industrial building.
SUPERBLUE
1101 NW 23rd St., Miami
State-of-the-art immersive light, sound, and digital experiences featuring the world’s most innovative artists, from James Turrell, the legendary “Master of Light,” to teamLab, the renowned Japanese art collective.