DJ who traded turntables for a camera in 2020 debuts exhibit mixing both passions
In May of 2020, Rahsaan Alexander was concerned.
The onset of COVID-19 had paused his life. With Miami’s nightlife industry shutdown, Alexander, a popular DJ in the Miami area, needed a new way to let his creative juices flow. So he turned to a pastime he abandoned two decades ago: photography.
What he captured over the next seven months became “To Miami, with Love: Art and Protest of Pandemic Life,” an exhibition now open at Overtown’s Historic Ward Rooming House that features excerpts from the eponymous book he self-published in December. The show, curated by Hampton Art Lovers and running through May 9, combines scenes from the COVID-19 pandemic with that of the Black Lives Matter protests following the killing of George Floyd.
“I wanted to just capture what was going on in my city during this historic, tragic time,” Alexander said.
The exhibit offers Alexander, or “Fly Guy” as he’s known in music circles, a chance to merge his newfound talent with his love of music. On Friday nights, he’ll be at the Ward, spinning songs themed to one of his pictures. On Tuesday nights, he’ll be at Red Rooster Overtown, playing Black classics from Barry White to Buju Banton.
“Creatively, it’s fun to have new, fresh expressions of music,” said Derek Fleming, the managing partner of Red Rooster. “He brings a different kind of music that people really enjoy.”
Like many, the pandemic presented Alexander with a host of challenges. He was almost evicted from his apartment twice. He was without a steady paycheck. And he no longer had his primary outlet for creative expression.
“You don’t understand how many nights I almost came to tears,” Alexander said.
Sure, he was doing virtual DJ events on his social media. But it just wasn’t the same.
“Music is therapy, at least for me and I know a lot of my DJ homies, that’s our therapy — playing and entertaining people,” he said.
For relief, he picked up his camera and began paintiing the story of the tumultuous year that was 2020, filled with a global pandemic and a long overdue racial reckoning. The images — some in color, others in black-and-white — take viewers across Dade County: to Coral Gables where, as Alexander recalls, a woman recounted how police sexually assaulted her; to Downtown, where a man donning an orange skullcap attempted to ease tensions at yet another protest; to Miami Beach, where CAMEO Nightclub still displayed advertisements for Super Bowl events months after the big game.
Both black-and-white and colored images were included to convey mood, Alexander said.
The permanent aspect of Alexander’s work, represented by the “To Miami, with Love” book, was what ultimately sold Chris Norwood, one of the founders of the Hampton Art Lovers. He and Alexander had known in each other for more than a decade, but it was the timing of the exhibit — about a year after COVID-19 shut down Miami — that made this such a good match.
Alexander “captured a moment,” Norwood said.
For Alexander, who first debuted a version of this exhibit at the Conrad Hotel in Brickell, showcasing his work at the Ward Rooming House just made sense.
“It’s now combining all the components of our culture... in historic Overtown, in a historic venue that was built by us.”
IF YOU GO:
Where: Historic Ward Rooming House, 249 NW 9th St, Miami
Dates: April 9- May 9
Hours: 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, Dedication Fridays featuring sounds provided by Rahsaan “Fly Guy” Alexander 6 p.m.-9 p.m.
Tickets: RSVP at hamptonartlovers.eventbrite.com for both
For more information visit hamptonartlovers.com or call 786-529-8624
