Forty years ago, Miami artists did something extraordinary: they reclaimed an abandoned Art Deco-era industrial bakery and turned it into a home for creativity.
“Bakehouse at Forty: Past, Present, Future,” on view at the Bakehouse Art Complex through January 1, 2027, celebrates the organization’s fortieth birthday — and the centennial of its iconic building.
In early 1986, Bakehouse opened its doors to the public in the abandoned American Bakeries Company building. The factory itself opened in 1926, designed to feed a booming city; it nourished the community for half a century before falling silent in 1978. In 1985, artists reclaimed the ovens and production lines, transforming them into studios and spaces of creation.
This multi-faceted installation situates Bakehouse within the broader arc of Miami’s social, cultural, and economic development: a century-long timeline, quotes about the bakery and Bakehouse drawn from public sources, and a commissioned audio work by Archival Feedback evoking the sounds of the past one hundred years.
The exhibition is a tribute to the artists, advocates, funders, and community members who have shaped and championed the institution over four decades — and a look ahead to a bold future vision: a transformed live-work-play campus that stands as a national model for culture-centered development, fueled by creativity and rooted in community.
Bakehouse Art Complex is located at 561 Northwest 32nd Street, Miami.
Photo: Bakehouse Art Complex
