Miami Pop up archive

MIAMI, florida

Conceived as a not-so-fictional research center for the Miami Art Week edition of Raw Pop Up taking place at the abandoned Burdines Building in Downtown Miami, Miami Pop Up Archive allowed visitors to dig through copies of real archive material from HistoryMiami Museum Research Center to spark interest in Miami’s architectural history and induce nostalgia for the past.

The Burdines Flagship was “the stores of stores” in Florida between 1930 and 1960. In addition to being Florida’s largest department store it was also a site where civil rights history was made in Miami - in 1962 Burdines desegregated its dining facilities.

Spread over 3 cubicles within the office space of the abandoned department store, the installation included 2 “research cubicles” equipped with tables and stools where visitors could spend time looking through the archive material. The third cubicle was empty except for a shelf holding blank postcards where visitors were invited to write their thoughts regarding the future of the building.

The installation addresses the debate of development versus preservation, inviting the visitors to reflect on Miami’s past, present and future as the Burdines Building had been recently abandoned during the time this exhibition took place.

Considering the temporary nature of the installation, all the materials used were reusable or recyclable - except for the zero-VOC interior paint.