When Art Fairs Become Mirrors: My Week at SCOPE Miami
A personal reflection on the SCOPE Miami Art Fair explores BIPOC representation in contemporary art featuring insights from a sculptor a textile artist and a painter.
Hey, there Friend!
The remnants of my first SCOPE art fair experience still cling to me like sea spray. A shift has happened in me this week that is subtle but seismic.
I’m processing what it means to see my work hanging in a space I once only dreamed of entering. I’m also wrestling with two ideas: what it means to witness work that speaks truth to power and what it is to create work to be sold. Both exist simultaneously and both matter.
My work was part of VSCO’s “The Modern Contrast of the American Identity” gallery, a collection that explores identity and belonging in America. Standing there, surrounded by this duality I felt both small and infinite – like watching waves crash against the shore, knowing you're witnessing something as old as time and entirely new.
Art That Makes Time Stand Still
At SCOPE, I was drawn to BIPOC artists like a compass finding true north. Even with our podcast guest list filled through July 2025, I can’t help but imagine future conversations about navigating the gallery world in Season 5.
I even ran into the wonderful Tobi Shinobi of episode 56, who exhibited a mural at SCOPE. Chatting with Tobi IRL reminded me how fulfilling it is to create community.
Now, let me introduce you to three artists whose work made time fold in on itself:
Ejiro Fenegal: Carving Dreams from Marble
Picture busts so alive they seem to breathe, shaped into busts of African women that command not just attention, but revelation. My mouth fell open when I learned that Ejiro’s busts were sculpted in marble! The detail in each piece is a hallmark of her talent.
You see, Nigerian sculptor Ejiro Fenegal doesn’t just create sculptures; she births monuments to determination. “A dream does not become reality through magic,” she reminds us, and looking at her larger-than-life pieces, you understand that some dreams require more sweat than sleep.
Sharon Kerry-Harlen: Weaving Time Into Quilts
You might not know something about me – I sew and quilt to find peace from within. Working on a quilt is like running an ultramarathon. You start with a vision, you prep the textile, and then you’re off to cutting hundreds and sometimes thousands of patches of fabric that create a narrative.
Quilting requires tenacity and patience. In Sharon Kerry-Harlen’s hands, her quilts dance between tradition and modern life. In staring at her work, I sensed a rhythm that feels both chaotic and ordered, not unlike city traffic viewed from above.
Sharon says, “As an artist, I have a sense of obligation to leave a mark behind—to let future generations know what is happening and how it’s happening. It’s important to preserve information from a variety of sources, not just those in power.”
Alanis Forde: Making Masks Meaningful
Some art carries the weight of its moment, and Alanis Forde’s pandemic-born portraits bring us back to the past. Using her phone’s self-timer and what she calls “proxified” masks, Alanis created paintings that speak to when we all become slightly unrecognizable, even to ourselves. Her work merges self-portraits with seascapes, reminding us that identity, like the ocean, is never truly still.
When Conversation Becomes Medicine
Speaking of transformative moments, let’s talk about this week’s podcast guest Sherrod Faulks. You know those conversations that feel like aloe vera on a burn? That’s what chatting with ceramicist Sherrod Faulks felt like for Episode 98.
Sherrod walked us through building his ceramic brand Deep Black, from dreaming it up to seeing his pieces grace the tables of luxury restaurants. Here’s the wild part – editing the episode was even more soul-filling than recording it. When was the last time you had a conversation that left you feeling more full than empty?
The Art of Looking Forward
As I finish the last draft of this essay, I’m on the plane heading home full of buzzing energy. A seed inside me germinated. Ejiro Fenegal, Sharon Kerry-Harlen, and Alanis Forde remind us that creating isn’t just about making beautiful things – it’s about claiming space for new conversations, new understandings, and changing the very institutions we enter.
I continue to think about the ongoing negotiation between margin and center in the art world. That said, through the podcast and my general curiosity, I continue to celebrate the achievements of BIPOC artists. I leave you with questions that roll in my head.
How do art fairs like SCOPE simultaneously challenge and reinforce existing power structures in the art world? What does it mean when spaces of privilege begin to showcase work about exclusion and identity? I reckon it’ll take me quite a while to understand my thoughts on these questions.
What has recently stopped you in your tracks? What conversations have made you reconsider the spaces you occupy? Drop me a line – I’d love to know what's making your world expand, and how you're making that expanded world your own.
Stay Creative,
Martine x
P.S. Next week we’ll return to our strategy series, but now with eyes that have seen new horizons and a heart full of fresh possibilities.
Very nice pieces