Rosa Naday Garmendia is a multidisciplinary artist and museum educator working at the intersection of contemporary art, printmaking, and social practice. Grounded in letterpress and relief printing processes, she uses print as a tool for collective expression—amplifying marginalized voices, fostering dialogue, and bringing urgent social issues into public space through participatory, community-driven projects.
Born in La Habana, Cuba, and based between Havana and Miami, Garmendia’s practice is shaped by the cultural, political, and ecological landscapes of both cities and the broader Caribbean. She speaks English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole, she engages diverse communities through accessible, hands-on approaches that position art as a shared, lived experience. Her work is further informed by her interests in natural and social sciences, history, and community organizing, which shape both the content and methodology of her practice.
With a perspective rooted in the Global South, her work has maintained a sustained presence across the Caribbean through exhibitions, residencies, and cultural exchanges. Garmendia has presented her work in key Caribbean institutions, including Centro Wifredo Lam and Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales - CDAV, (Havana), Galería Universal (Santiago de Cuba), The CAG(E), (Kingston, Jamaica), L’Artocarpe Contemporary Art Space (Guadeloupe), and Readytex Art Gallery (Suriname), as well as through her participation in the 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th Havana Biennials.
In the United States, her work has been exhibited at Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, African Heritage Cultural Arts Center, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Corcoran Gallery of Art, and Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts and Culture, as well as public libraries in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Chicago, and Vermont.
Since 2012, she has worked as a cultural ambassador with Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator, taking part in exhibitions, residencies, and community projects throughout the Caribbean. This ongoing engagement positions the Caribbean not only as a site of origin, but as an active and evolving space of dialogue, collaboration, and cultural production within her practice.
Garmendia is the recipient of numerous awards, including The Ellies Creator Award (2025, 2018), the Miami Individual Artist (MIA) Award (2022, 2023, 2024), multiple Artist Access Grants (2012–2025), the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant (2019, 2022), and the Wavemaker Grant (2020). Artist residencies include Kala Art Institute, the Oolite Arts Home + Away Residency at MASS MoCA, Vermont Studio Center, In Cahoots Residency, the Equal Justice Thematic International Residency, Casa de Ceramica residency in Santiago de Cuba and Residencia Punto Naranja as part of the 15th Havana Biennial.
Rosa Naday Garmendia Reyes es una artista multidisciplinaria y artista docente cuya obra se mueve entre el arte contemporáneo, el grabado y la práctica social. Desde los procesos de tipografía e impresión en relieve, utiliza la gráfica como herramienta de expresión colectiva: amplificando voces marginadas, promoviendo el diálogo y llevando temas sociales urgentes al espacio público mediante proyectos participativos nacidos desde la comunidad.
Nacida en La Habana y radicada entre La Habana y Miami, la obra de Garmendia está marcada por los paisajes culturales, políticos y ecológicos de ambas ciudades, así como del Caribe en sentido amplio. Habla inglés, español y criollo haitiano, y trabaja con comunidades diversas desde enfoques accesibles y participativos que entienden el arte como una experiencia compartida y vivencial. Su obra también se nutre de su interés por las ciencias naturales y sociales, la historia y el trabajo comunitario, elementos que atraviesan tanto el contenido como la metodología de su práctica artistica.
Con una mirada enraizada en el Sur Global, su trabajo ha mantenido una presencia constante en el Caribe a través de exposiciones, residencias e intercambios culturales. Garmendia ha presentado su obra en instituciones clave de la región, entre ellas Centro Wifredo Lam, Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales (CDAV), (La Habana), Galería Universal, (Santiago de Cuba), The CAG(E), (Kingston, Jamaica) L’Artocarpe Contemporary Art Space, (Guadeloupe), y Readytex Art Gallery en Paramaribo, Surinam, además de su participación en la 12ª, 13ª, 14ª y 15ª Bienal de La Habana.
En Estados Unidos, su obra ha sido exhibida en Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, African Heritage Cultural Arts Center, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Corcoran Gallery of Art y Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts and Culture, así como en bibliotecas públicas de Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Chicago y Vermont.
Desde 2012 junto a Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator, participa en exposiciones, residencias y proyectos comunitarios por en el Caribe. Ese vínculo sostenido posiciona al Caribe no solo como lugar de origen, sino también como un espacio vivo y en transformación constante de diálogo, colaboración y producción cultural dentro de su práctica artistica.
Garmendia ha recibido numerosos reconocimientos, entre ellos The Ellies Creator Award, (2025, 2018), el Miami Individual Artist (MIA) Award, (2022, 2023, 2024), múltiples Artist Access Grants (2012–2025), la Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant (2019, 2022) y el Wavemaker Grant (2020). Entre sus residencias artísticas se encuentran Kala Art Institute, la residencia Home + Away de Oolite Arts en MASS MoCA, Vermont Studio Center, In Cahoots Residency, Equal Justice Thematic International Residency, Casa de Cerámica en Santiago de Cuba y Residencia Punto Naranja como parte de la 15ª Bienal de La Habana.
RESUME/CV
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS/PROJECTS
2025 - 2026
Miami Street Press “Love Lives Here”, Community Gatherings
2025
Salvar el planeta. ¿Cómo? Community Arts Project, Festival del Caribe, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
Forbidden Pages…In Flight, Miami Beach Regional Library, curator Oscar Fuentes, Rosa Naday Garmendia
Salvar el planeta. ¿Cómo?Community Art Project, 15th Havana Biennial, Havana, Cuba, Biennial Curatorial Team
2024
Salvar el planeta. ¿Cómo?Community Art Project, 15th Havana Biennial, Havana, Cuba, Biennial Curatorial Team
Forbidden Pages, Art @ the Library, Hispanic Branch, Miami, FL, curated by Oscar Fuentes and Rosa Naday Garmendia
2023-24
Forbidden Pages, Walgreens Windows Exhibition Space, Oolite Arts, Miami Beach, FL
2022
Rituals of Commemoration, public sculpture, 14th Havana Biennial, Havana, Cuba
2021
Rituals of Commemoration, temporary public art installation,Miami Art Week
2020
Not so Far Away, No tan lejos, Art and Culture Center of Hollywood, Hollywood, FL
2019
Regreso al futuro: las mareas del tiempo, 13th Havana Biennial, Havana, Cuba
2016
Destination Fridays, Cuba, African Heritage Research Library, FT. Lauderdale, FL
Traveling to Cuba, postcard project, O Cinema, Wynnwood, FL
2015
Traveling to Cuba, postcard project, Art @ the Library-Hispanic Library, Miami, FL
Traveling to Cuba, postcard project, Art @ the Library-West-Regional Library, Miami, FL
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025
Salon Internacional del Caribe, Galeria Oriente, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
Expansión 15 / Bienal de La Habana, Centro de Arte Contemporáneo Wifredo Lam, (The Wifredo Lam Center of Contemporary Art), Havana, Cuba
Florida Printmakers Society’s 2025 Biennial, Miami Dade College Kendal Campus Art Gallery
2024
Forbidden Pages, Free the Books: a Print Exhibition, Evanston Public Library, Evanston IL.
2023
Mitad de dos, curated by Meira Marrero,Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, Havana, Cuba
Banned! An Interactive Lucy Street Project, Lowe Art Museum Project Room, Coral Gables, FL
Cultural Currents III - Miami Meets Paramaribo, curated by Rosie Gordon-Wallace, ReadyTex Gallery, Paramaribo, Suriname
The BluPrnt, curated by Robert Chambers, Bridge Red Studios, North Miami, FL
2022
Art at a Time Like This, 8x5: Miami Art Week, curated by Barbara Pollack and Anne Verhallen
The BluPrnt, Bridge Red Studios, curated by Robert Chambers, North Miami, FL
Miami is Not Cuba, Su·i·ge·ne·ris, ArtServe, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
2021
This is Miami · Esto es Miami · Se Miami · C’est Miami · Dit is Miami, curated by Rosie Gordon-Wallace, Wall'N Mural Collective, History Miami Museum
Rituals of Commemoration, Inter/Sectionality: Diaspora Art from the Creole City, curated by Rosie Gordon-Wallace, Moore 200, Miami Design District, Miami, FL
2020
Rituals of Commemoration, Inter/Sectionality: Diaspora Art from the Creole City, curated by Rosie Gordon-Wallace, Harvey B Gantt Center for African American Arts & Culture, Charlotte, North Carolina
Not So Far Away Dominoes, MATERIALIZE, Oolite Arts, Miami Beach, FL
2019
Rituals of Commemoration, Inter/Sectionality: Diaspora Art from the Creole City, the Corcoran School of Art and Design
La Ceiba Celebra, Community Arts Project, Havana, Cuba
Warning this May Trigger Debate, To the Letter, @Laundromat Art Space, Miami, FL
Warning this May Trigger Debate, Ripped from the Headlines, FATVILLAGE Projects, Ft Lauderdale, FL
2018
Warning this May Trigger Debate, Se parte de mi Historia, Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, Havana, Cuba
Liberty Flags, (Protest signs) The Eros Effect, Bridge Red Studios, North Miami, FL
Liberty Flags, Voyaging towards the Future, Living Sculpture III, THE CAG(E), Kingston, Jamaica
Liberty Flags, (Protest signs), 2018 Florida Biennial, Art and Culture Center/Hollywood, Hollywood, FL
Rituals of Commemoration, New Art, South Florida Cultural Consortium Fellowship Exhibition, FAU Gallery, Boca Raton, FL
Liberty Flags, Museum of Contemporary Art, MOCA, North Miami, FL
Rituals of Commemoration, It went like this: the skyline was beautiful on fire, College Hall Gallery, Vermont Studio Center
2017
Past, Present, Re-imagine the Future, Villa Paula, Former Cuban Consulate, Miami, FL
Rituals of Commemoration: Reclaiming through action, Bas Fisher Invitational, Miami, FL
Rituals of Commemoration, Women with their Work, Space One Eleven, Birmingham Ala.
Traveling to Cuba, postcard project, Crossing Borders, Myers gallery, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Liberty Flags, (Protest signs), Global Perspectives, 400 South Point, Art Basel Miami Beach
Rituals of Commemoration, The Future isn’t what it Used to be, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, UMOCA, SLC, Utah
2016
Warning this May Trigger Debate, One Nation under a Groove, Broward College South Art Gallery, Pembroke Pines, FL
Rituals of Commemoration, Eleven Voices, Charles Deering Estates, Miami, FL
Rituals of Commemoration, Intersectionality, Museum of Contemporary Art, MOCA, North Miami, FL
Rituals of Commemoration, Walk a Mile in my Shoes, African Heritage Cultural Arts Center, Miami, FL
Rituals of Commemoration, The Future isn’t what it Used to be, 924 Project Space, Miami Beach, FL
Traveling to Cuba, postcard project, Cerrando el Circulo/Full Circle, Galeria Universal, Stgo. de Cuba, Cuba
Traveling to Cuba, postcard project, O Cinema, curated by Susan Caraballo, Miami, FL
2015
Traveling to Cuba, postcard project, 12th Havana Biennale, Havana, Cuba
Rituals of Commemoration, Alternate Currents | New Art, DVCAI, 18th International Cultural Exchange, L’Artocarpe Contemporary Space, Guadeloupe.
Traveling to Cuba, postcard project, Finalist Feast Miami Project Grants
2014
UNEAC Gallery. Festival del Caribe, Stgo. de Cuba, Cuba
WHAT NEXT? Y Ahora What? Tour, Windows @ Walgreens, site specific installations, MB, FL
One Out of Thousand, Project 924, Miami Beach, FL
2013
VI Bienal Nacional de Fotografía, Centro de las Artes Visuales, Pinar del Rio, Cuba
CARIFESTA XI, Public Mural Art Projects, Suriname
O MIAMI POETRY FESTIVAL, Collaborative Installation, Miami Beach, FL
Miami Bridge, Readytex Art Gallery, Suriname
GRANTS AND AWARDS
2025, 2018 The Ellies Creator Award
2025-2024, 2021, 2019, 2012 Artist Access Grant
2024, 2023, 2022 Miami Individual Artist Award (MIA)
2022, 2019 Foundation for Contemporary Arts (FCA) Emergency Grant
2020 Wavemaker Grant
2019 Direct Support to Artist Grant, Oolites Arts
2018 South Florida Cultural Consortium Grantee
2017 Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator Catalyst Grant
2016 Artist Fellowship Inc.
MURAL PROJECTS
2021 This is Miami · Esto es Miami · Se Miami · C’est Miami · Dit is Miami, Wall'N Mural Collective, History Miami, Museum, Miami FL
2016 Love Bus Project, Miami FL
2013 Park Benches International Project, New Amsterdam, Suriname
2013 Community Center Mural, Coronie, Suriname
2013 CCS International Mural Project, Paramaribo, Suriname
2012 Inter-Nos, Mural Painting Bienal, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
2007 No Man is an Island, Wynnwood/Edgewater community mural project, Miami, FL
ARTIST RESIDENCY/EDUCATION
2025 KALA ART INSTITUTE
2024 PUNTO NARANJA ARTIST RESIDENCY (15th Havana Biennal)
2024 INCAHOOTS ARTIST RESIDENCY
2024 DVCAI-INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL EXCHANGE-BERMUDA
2023 OOLITE ART HOME & AWAY ARTIST RESIDENCY PROGRAM-MASMOCA
2022 DVCAI-INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL EXCHANGE-BELIZE
2020 DVCAI-INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL EXCHANGE-GUADELOUPE
2019 LA CASA DE LA CERAMICA- ARTIST RESIDENCY
2019 DVCAI-INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL EXCHANGE-BELIZE
2018 PROJECTART MIAMI ARTIST RESIDENCY
2018 VERMONT STUDIO CENTER- ARTIST RESIDENCY
2018 SANTA-FE SOCIAL JUSTICE ARTIST RESIDENCY
2018 DVCAI-INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL EXCHANGE-JAMAICA
2017 DVCAI-INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL EXCHANGE-GUADELOUPE
2016 DVCAI-INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL EXCHANGE-SURINAME
2015 DVCAI-INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL EXCHANGE-GUADELOUPE
2015 THE FIELD.ORG ARTIST RESIDENCY
2010 THE FIELD.ORG ARTIST RESIDENCY
2009 - 2015 ARTCENTER/SOUTHFLORIDA
2014 - 2015 r.a.d. @ CANNONBALL
2014 - 2015 CAMILLUS HOUSE ARTIST IN RESIDENCE
2014 DVCAI-INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL EXCHANGE-ANTIGUA
2013 DVCAI-INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL EXCHANGE-SURINAME
2012 TALLER CULTURAL LUIS DIAZ ODUARDO- MURAL RESIDENCY
2012 DVCAI-INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL EXCHANGE-SURINAME
1985 VERMONT STUDIO CENTER- ARTIST RESIDENCY
1984 PARSONS SCHOOL OF DESIGN ARTIST RESIDENCY PROGRAM
1982 PARSONS SCHOOL OF DESIGN ARTIST RESIDENCY PROGRAM
1989 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA, MFA
1986 UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI, BFA
1981 FT. LAUDERDALE ART INSTITUTE
TALKS/PANELS/WORKSHOPS
2022 International Cultural Exchange Belize, Under the Shade without a Shadow
2021 Exploring Art Podcast-Interview- Florida International University
2021 Museum Audio Project, Spellman College
2021 DVCAI series, Naming Injustice, Tipping Back | Tilting Forward; 25 years Gone Too Soon
2020 Black Street Art + Black lives Matter, The Heritage Project-an Arsht Center Series
2020 Family First Workshop, Textual Fragments, Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Art + Culture https://youtu.be/1aCgZ9Vp5Kk
2020 Facebook Live event, Rosa Naday Garmendia in Conversation with Meaghan Kent
2020 University West Indies, Museum Virtual Panel Discussion: Monuments in the Caribbean - The Artist's perspective
2020 Live Virtual Local Views at PAMM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmSUUiAsyoE&feature=youtu.be
2020 Miami Beach Urban Studios Live Art Talks, (Live Virtual)
2020 A Tonal Distancing, Conversations of Race & Justice Through Art, DVCAI
2019 Young Artist initiative, visiting artist, Institute of Contemporary Art
2017 Women and the Arts, panel discussion. Memorial ACte, Point-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe
2016 Pamm Teen Arts Council, Artist as Activist
2016 Common Field Miami, Beyond the Fair: Aesthetics and Socially Engaging Art
2016 Museum of Contemporary Art, MOCA, Issues of Contemporary Art and World Culture, Language: An Artists’ Perspective, Miami, FL
2016 Galeria Universal, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
PRESS, PUBLICATIONS, CATALOUGES
2025
Festival del Caribe 2025: Un puente cultural que enlaza a Cuba y Curazao - Televisión Cubana
The Creator Award | The 2025 Ellies
https://youtu.be/k_wY9GfEjAA?si=M99EhfVr_uAKhgcF
2024
Meet Rosa Naday Garmendia - Voyage MIA Magazine | Miami City Guide
Power U, Principals of Unity Vol. 6 -Forbidden Pages Zine
2023
Belize: DVCAI International Cultural Exchange: Belize, hardcover catalogue
2022
Catálogo de la 14 Bienal de La Habana, Futuro y Contemporaneidad p. 204
2021
Cultural and Pedagogical Inquiry, University of Alberta Libraries,
Vol.12, No. 1, 2020: “I know…” Pages 297-304
Rosa Naday Garmendia: Artist Statement and Art Work | Cultural and Pedagogical Inquiry (ualberta.ca)
The Charlotte Observer
Sneak peek into the Harvey B. Gantt Center's Intersectionality exhibition, by Joshua Komer
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/entertainment/arts-culture/article244519422.html
The Art of Ritual and Remembrance, Biscayne Times
2020
InterSectionality: Diaspora Art from the Creole City, hard cover and paperback catalogue
2019
Creating transnational, intercultural arts’ interactions: African diasporic dialogues
https://journals.library.ualberta.ca/cpi/index.php/cpi/article/view/29502/21510
"Art and Culture in. Miami/Caribbean: A Vibrant and Influential Sphere of Engagement," The International Review of African American Art Vol.28.2.
Noticias Arte Cubano; Desde la Esquinqa 2019
2018
ARTISTNATOR
http://artistnator.com/rompiendo-el-silencio/
2017
SLUG MAGAZINE
https://www.slugmag.com/art-fashion/future-isnt-what-it-used-to-be/
2016
SOUTHFLORIDA.COM
ARTLURKER- A contemporary art newsletter/blog
http://www.artlurker.com/2016/08/intersectionality-at-moca-north-miami/
ARTISABOUT.COM
http://artisabout.com/2016/08/02/a-conversation-with-rosa-naday-garmendia/
MIAMI HERALD
http://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/visual-arts/article92622952.html
SMALLFORMAT VOL. V
http://www.artcentersf.org/small-format/
2013
DE WARE TIJD
http://www.dwtonline.com/de-ware-tijd/2013/03/07/uitwisselingsproject-biedt-internationale-kansen-su
2012
Examiner.com
http://www.examiner.com/art-and-gallery-in-miami/mapping-time-and-space-at-artcenter-south-florida
Eclectic Network Magazine
http://eclecticnetwork.tumblr.com/post/16933812570/artcenter-south-florida-presents-mapping-time-and
SOCIAL MEDIA
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nadayart
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosa.n.garmendia
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/@naday63
RELATED PROFESSIONAL WORK
Artist and board member of Diaspora Vibe Cultural Art Incubator 2020 - present
Teaching Artist at Perez Art Museum Miami (Miami Art Museum) 2008 - present