HistoryMiami Museum will open a new exhibition titled “SANCTUARY: Our Sacred Place” on August 22, 2024. The exhibition features more than 100 photographs by Woosler Delisfort, a photographer from Little Haiti. His work explores the spiritual origins and connections of Miami’s Indigenous, African, and Caribbean communities through images taken in temples, churches, and mosques.
Delisfort is the first recipient of the HistoryMiami Museum photography fellowship for Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), and Latinx artists. He explained his motivation for the exhibit: “I felt the way religion in the Black community is commonly portrayed is inaccurate – Sanctuary: Our Sacred Place is my way of broadening the perspective. This is an essay about my spiritual journey and the ways in which communities create and preserve spaces to offer self-affirmation, unity, and transcendence.”
The exhibition was co-curated by Ireọlá Ọláifá and Marie Vickles. Vickles commented on its impact: “It is an honor to support Woosler’s vision as curator of this exhibit. Through his images, audiences will feel a personal connection intended to remind them of their own stories or introduce them to new ones. The experience of SANCTUARY eloquently shares the living and connected histories of Miami’s Indigenous, African, and Caribbean communities and hits home the importance of our local arts connection to South Florida’s past and present.”
Opening night includes an indigenous ceremony by Ameyal Mexican Cultural Academy and performances by Hued Songs. Attendance requires advance registration.
The project stems from Delisfort’s fellowship at HistoryMiami Museum’s Center for Photography. The center aims to support emerging documentary photographers who focus on local stories relevant to BIPOC and Latinx members of Miami’s community. The Jorge M. Perez Family Foundation at The Miami Foundation provided funding that allows HistoryMiami Museum to continue supporting local photographers.
Christopher Barfield, Director of Exhibitions at HistoryMiami Museum said: “Woosler captures the essence of Miami’s religious communities with clarity and conviction. His introspective voyage through these sacred places shows us how spirituality transcends boundaries and how Miami’s many spiritual communities claim and commune with their world. We are excited to share his work and to see the impact of his experience with the youth who worked alongside him.”
During his fellowship, Delisfort mentored middle- and high-school students in a Youth Photography Fellowship focused on documenting daily life in their own communities; selected student projects are featured online through HistoryMiami Museum.
The museum’s Center for Photography collects images that tell stories about Miami’s diverse population using documentary photography as its main approach.
HistoryMiami Museum has been operating for 84 years as a Smithsonian Affiliate located downtown. It houses over two million historical images along with artifacts such as a 1920s trolley car.
More information can be found at www.historymiami.org.
