Arts community gathers at Miami Dade College for the annual MAMP Conference

The Community Engagement Panel at MAMP 2025 Conference, from left, Maria Carla Chicuen, director of Cultural Affairs at Miami Dade College; Lissette Garcia, executive director of the Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce; Nick Katz, founder and owner of Skate Free and Andrew Skate Shop; Rosie Gordon-Wallace, founder of Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator.  (Photo by Keith Spurlock Photography)

In the heart of downtown Miami at the Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus, the arts community gathered in a conference room, familiar to Miami Book Fair attendees as the hub for the speaker series. Except today, they came to listen, learn and collaborate.

That was the scene at the 2025 MAMP Conference on Wednesday, July 16, hosted by the Arts & Business Council of Miami. It was a full day of educational panels, deep dive discussions and culminated in a hands-on/interactive workshop, all designed to propel artists, performers, creatives and leaders to new heights during a time when Miami-Dade’s arts community is reeling over proposed cuts in the mayor’s budget.

Renee Pesci, executive director of the Arts & Business Council of Miami addressing the attendees of the 2025 MAMP Conference, hosted by the organization and held at Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus. (Photo by Keith Spurlock Photography)

As the packed house settled in, the morning kicked off with welcoming words from Renee Pesci, executive director of the Arts & Business Council of Miami, who later introduced Maria Carla Chicuen, director of Cultural Affairs at Miami Dade College.

Chicuen expressed pride in the college being the host site saying, “we truly believe at Miami Dade we are a cultural anchor, and I wish you all an amazing day of learning and connection.”

Kim Hill, head of Marketing and Communications for the Miami Downtown Development Authority kicked off the morning moderating the Arts Funding & Sponsorships Panel.

During that conversation, Kristina Newman-Scott, vice president of Arts at the Knight Foundation, Adolfo Henriques, vice president at The Related Group and Ayansley Santos of Event Hub shared expert advice from their respective viewpoints.

Santos suggested strategic alignment over financial capacity, which she said, “is far more useful. I encourage you to create year-round partnerships rather than herding cats.”

She also gave pointers on nurturing long-term partnerships by understanding the business they are aligning with, collaborative ideation, personalized engagement and flexibility and adaptability. Also stressing that joint community initiatives are fantastic for engaging new audiences.

“As an individual or small- to mid-size organization, you must be adaptable and become an indispensable partner. Show them why you are important,” said Santos. “We must lean on other people to thrive in our creative processes.”

Arts & Funding Sponsorship at MAMP 2025 Conference, from left, Ayansley Santos of Event Hub, Adolfo Henriques, vice president at The Related Group and Kristina Newman-Scott, vice president of Arts at the Knight Foundation. (Photo by Keith Spurlock Photography)

In her role at Knight Foundation, Newman-Scott said, “We think of ourselves as part of an ecosystem. Artists need access to affordable spaces and to healthcare and cultural planning.”

Helping artists who feel disconnected from the community is an important part of their work at the Knight Foundation.

“Put energy into the work of your hyper-local community,” she said.

Henriques shared a heartwarming, personal memory of his grandmother who was an art collector He shared that his siblings were musicians and his daughter is a professional soprano.

“For any communication to truly be vibrant,” he said, “the arts are essential. It is the soul of the community, helps kids, and aids in attracting and retaining talent.”

Through his work with The Related Group, Henriques knows the goals and objectives of a board of directors. He told attendees that the board’s job is to raise funds for your organization’s specific needs. “They need to know what is expected of them and it is your job to be transparent and tell them exactly what you need.”

The second group of panelists discussed “Community Engagement: From Outreach to Impact.”

Kim Hill, head of Marketing and Communications for the Miami Downtown Development Authority at the podium kicking things off at 2025 MAMP Conference at Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus. (Photo by Keith Spurlock Photography)

Rosie Gordon-Wallace, founder of Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator, spoke about artists she helped by giving them exhibition space “because it our job  to encourage and help promote artists,” she said.

Nick Katz, founder and owner of Skate Free and Andrew Skate Shop fought for years to become a board member of the Miami Downtown Development Authority and has now been on the board for six years. His presence was a testament to the importance of perseverance.

“Knock on every door,” he advised, , “and if it opens just a crack then it can happenKatz has grown Lot 11 in Downtown Miami, the site of Skate Free.

Lissette Garcia, the recently named executive director of the Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, said travel and tourism is a big market driver for the organization and they also strive to be a connector for small businesses to thrive.

“We are here to drive traffic to your events so participate and be a guest at our chamber functions so we can let people know what you are up to.”

Following lunch, the final panel focused on Arts & Technology where Dahlia Dreszer, an artist and photographer began the conversation saying, “Artificial Intelligence is here to supercharge. I see it as a collaborator.”

Continuing the AI conversation, a relevant topic in today’s world, Mark Finlayson, Ph.D, associate professor, and research director at Florida International University kept it real saying, “AI gets a lot wrong and has limitations but also some advantages.” He then urged everyone in the room to secure copyrights to protect their work.

The urgency to copyright to protect work was also echoed by fellow panelist Mark Stein, intellectual property attorney with his own practice, Mark Stein Law.

Arts & Technology Panel at MAMP 2025 Conference, from left, Eddy Davis, managing producer Live Arts Miami; Dahlia Dreszer, artist and photographer; Dr. Mark Finlayson, associate professor, and research director at Florida International University; Mark Stein, intellectual property attorney of Mark Stein Law. (Photo by Keith Spurlock Photography)

Finally, Eddy Davis, managing producer with Live Arts Miami spoke about Future Earth, a new residency that explores art, innovation, and climate awareness.

The day concluded with Dreszer leading all attendees in a collective interactive exercise putting AI into practice through a series of word prompts and phrases that in turn became a piece of AI created art, which was displayed on a video screen.

[RELATED: Read more in the Artburst article about Drezer’s clone]

Elaine Rinaldi, artistic director of Orchestra Miami, who was in attendance, walked away with tools and resources for her organization.

“I particularly appreciated the panel about how to work with corporations and the tips provided and the networking was invaluable; I made some important connections,” said Rinaldi. “It was fun, and I left feeling energized and extremely grateful to the organizers for putting this together.”

Learn about the Arts & Business Council of Miami’s resources for artists and organizations, as well as upcoming events on its website and follow them on social media @artsbizmiami.

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