Years of volunteering at MoCA have taught me plenty

By no means do I consider myself an expert on art but it's truly amazing what 15 years volunteering at the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami has taught me.I showed up on a whim one day, ready to volunteer in whatever capacity they needed. I was thirsting for a cultural outlet, having recently left my job at Miami Today where all I wrote about was cultural events. I was hoping MoCA would fill that void and it turns out it did that, and more.The exhibitions and programming I experience while volunteering there are nothing short of amazing. The spectacular dripping bell installation by the very shy and incredibly talented artist Tunga was one of the first openings I worked. Since then I've attended a lecture by artist Frank Stella; discovered Architecture For Humanity, an organization doing phenomenal projects in our community and abroad; been touched by the black and white photo exhibition of Haitian children by Bruce Weber while discovering the Friends of the Orphans organization where I now also volunteer; seen Yoko Ono at the opening where her stark white installation was on display; watched Merce Cunningham's incredible dance troupe and seeing the master himself; worked the wacky Monster Mash back in the 1990s where I got to see Halloween through the eyes of the most creative artists around; discovered avant garde cinema and was forever changed by it; seen the incredible plays by Miami's own master puppeteer (and resident genius) Pablo Cano and an Oscar-winning documentary produced by Lin Arison that brought me to tears; and yes, I'm gonna name drop here, seeing fashion designers Donna Karan and Calvin Klein and artist/director Julian Schabel at the Vanity Fair Art Basel opening.The list could be longer and there's certainly more I want to mention but that's just going to have to wait for another post.Most of all though I love what MoCA does for my neighborhood of North Miami. It creates a vitality in our downtown like only a world-class museum can and being involved with them makes me immensely proud. It also has strengthened my relationship with my son, who has attended countless events at MoCA with me and I know is becoming a better artist everyday because of it.