We Carry Our Homes With Us

As life unfolds each day, memories of the past, emotional ties to places and people, and spiritual resonance percolate in seemingly mundane experiences. In many instances, varied elements of daily life like music, textiles, soap, candy, and the earth itself can hold powerful meanings. How do we carry our ideas about home with us? Home for some is certain, for others it remains fluid. In either case, the notions of home stay omnipresent.

The title of the exhibition comes from Marisella Veiga's book, We Carry our Homes with Us: A Cuban American Memoir, published in 2016. Veiga and her family were processed through the Freedom Tower when they arrived in Miami as exiles from Cuba. Soon, they relocated to Minnesota. She recalls, "With this help from the U.S. government and from friends who opened their crowded home to give us shelter, we had a soft landing in Miami, our first, temporary U.S. home." In Veiga's book, home is fluid and memory is palpable. For the artists in the exhibition, personal, historical, and collective memories merged in both abstract and tangible ways as they confront and reflect on historical and contemporary migrations.

This exhibition is supported by the Art Bridges Foundation and Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.

Featured Artists Include:

José Bedia

Yanira Collado

Tomm El-Saieh

Joel Gaitan

Félix González-Torres

Rashid Johnson

María Martínez-Cañas

Suchitra Mattai

Ana Mendieta

Nobukho Nqaba

Image: We Carry Our Homes With Us at the Freedom Tower. Photo by Oriol Tarridas, August 1, 2025.