ABOUT
" I have no personal memories of what, if anything of my life until I was about 7 years old. Born in Havana, Cuba, I was displaced at a young age by my parent’s decision to immigrate to the United States, a traumatic experience that shaped my life and artistic perspective. At the heart of my work is a continuous exercise in the search for my humanity due to the ramifications of assimilation, which includes repudiation or denial of one’s native culture and identity. I was raised in Miami as a multi-ethnic Cuban woman, an immigrant in a city of extremes, evident inequities in income, education and jobs. In many ways, my work is rooted in the history of the United States, in terms of what is left out in the stories that are told. “
Rosa Naday Garmendia is an artist and educator at the intersection of contemporary art and activism. With roots in both Miami and Havana, Cuba, where she was born, she embraces a dual artistic identity. Her passion for art sparked at an early age, serving as an escape. She pursued further education at institutions including the University of South Florida, Parsons School of Design, University of Miami, and the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale.
Her work delves into identity, race, and social justice, harnessing the transformative power of art. With a multidisciplinary approach, she skillfully employs diverse mediums such as installation, sculpture, public art, printmaking, digital art, painting, drawing, collage, and mural painting. Balancing concept and message, her art encompasses various aesthetic strategies. Committed to creativity, activism, and social change, Rosa Naday practices a form of social practice. Through her work, she raises awareness, fosters solidarity, and collaborates with individuals, communities, and institutions, using art as a catalyst for meaningful societal transformation.
Rosa Naday has exhibited in prestigious national and international institutions including Corcoran School of Art and Design, Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts & Culture, the 12th, 13th and 14th Biennale de La Habana, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, (UMOCA), Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, African Heritage Cultural Arts Center in Miami and Art and cultural Center/Hollywood among others. She has traveled as an artist and cultural ambassador in international cultural exchanges, artist residencies, and exhibition programs in Suriname, Antigua, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Belize, and Cuba with Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator. This experience has allowed her to connect to a broad community of artist that share creative ideals, fuel the creative process, and support each other while promoting a healthy and equitable world.
Rosa Naday is the recipient of the MIA Stipend Award (2022), Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant (2022 and 2019), Artist Access Grant (2021, 2019, and 2012), Wavemaker Grant (2020), Direct Support to Artist Grant, Oolite Arts (2019), The Ellies Creator Award (2018), South Florida Cultural Consortium (2018), and Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator Catalyst Grant (2018).
Residencies include Oolite Arts Home and Away Residency program, Equal Justice Thematic International Residency, Vermont Studio Center artist Residency, ProjectArt, and Art Center South Florida.
Since 2004, Rosa Naday has maintained a studio practice at various esteemed institutions such as the Bakehouse Art Center, ArtCenter/SouthFlorida (Oolite Arts), Laundromat Art Space, and currently at DVCAI 164 Studios. Alongside her studio work, she has held the role of museum educator and thought leader at the Perez Art Museum Miami since 2008. Fluent in English, Spanish, and Haitian Kreyol, Rosa Naday embraces the power of artistic discourse to challenge socially constructed boundaries of geography and ethnicity. Her artistic practice envisions alternative futures for humanity, firmly rooted in a sense of a global community that transcends conventional narratives of race, nationality and language.
Let’s Work Together
Get in touch so we can start working together.