THIS IS KIKI VALDES

Q + A with organizer Kiki Valdes
Conducted by: M.A. Macias

WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE THE TITLE FOR THE SHOW "THE OUTSIDERS"?

KV: I think most artists in general at some point or another in their careers can feel like outsiders. If you achieve a certain amount of success you can feel alienated at times from your peers. You can also feel like an outsider from the art world in general if you don't like to be social all of the time. The warehouse where we are doing this show is called Ironside. It's a property close to some train tracks. The street kids always throw rocks from the train tracks at us. I just felt it connected so much of how people feel lately.

HOW DID YOU PICK THE ARTISTS INVOLVED?

KV: Everyone in the show is my friend. I've been following everyones work for years. Dianne Radler is no longer with us but I am so happy to show her work for this. She took photos of so many iconic people in Miami and New York during the 1980's. People that were considered outsiders at one point, but now are really legends of our time. I respect everyone involved. Everyone brings something different. It sounds cliche but it's true and I think that's the only way I find this fun to do.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE ART WORLD IN GENERAL, IS THIS SHOW A REBELLION AGAINST IT?

KV: I don't know. I just want to do a show and open doors for my friends. We all want to show what we are doing and I think sometimes we have to do it ourselves. Everyone is really great and I think this show will help people notice that more. This show is about doing it ourselves. None of us are represented. We can make work and do shows and have fun. It was really important for me to do this show in Miami a month after Art Basel. This is how we live. We don't live for Dec.

YOU LIVE IN NEW YORK STILL? ARE YOU ARE LIVING IN MIAMI NOW?

KV: I don't live in Miami year round anymore. I am doing New York and Miami. I think it's something I needed to do. I want to keep doing shows like this one in Miami and New York. We will see how that goes. It's a lot of fun to do. I call it cultural diplomacy. I like to interact with artists. It makes you learn more about art and about what you look for. It helps me grow as an artist too. I like learning the whole process of how to pick art and when everyone is happy with the outcome. It makes me happy too.

THE

OUTSIDERS

JOHNNY ROBLES
ERIC TORRIENTE
KIKI VALDES

GEORGE SANCHEZ-CALDERON 
KRISTY LEIBOWITZ
DAVID MARSH
NICOLE SODEN
EDWARD CROWELL
DAVID CABRERA
DIANNE RADLER
ROLLIN STIRMAN

Ironside Warehouse: 7630 NE 4th Court
Miami, FL 33138-5032/ Learn more: TheOutsidersExhibition.com

The Outsiders (Group Show) opens Saturday, Jan. 7th 2012

Works by:

'THE OUTSIDERS'

Group Show at Ironside Warehouse

Opening: Saturday, January 7th 2012
Show runs for one week only

“A group show in a warehouse by some train tracks.”

Celebrating the bravery of the creative outsider. The individual artist can face an aspect of social and economical barriers of the art world that is obscurely outside of the art making process. 

This show is about exhibiting the work of artists from the outside, figuratively or by dialogue and context. This grouping brings together a variety of artists from Miami and New York.

Curator: 

KIKI VALDES 

FOR PRESS INQUIRIES

Aleksandra Marcotte (Marcsmen Company) 

305.562.4260 - aleksandramarcotte@gmail.com 

Series in Process.

SOCIAL MEDIA WEEK - BOGOTA, COLOMBIA

RECAP

KIKI VALDES WAS INVITED TO SPEAK AND MAKE AN

ORIGINAL PAINTING DURING SMWBOG

While I was there I got to talk to a bunch of young Colombians about using social media to bridge the gap between art and communication online. It was a lot of fun. I also had a chance to create an action painting at one of Bogota's amazing Juan Valdez Coffee locations. They were awesome and gave me so much love and so much...coffee! It was really cool how they invited me as an artist to share my experience. I got to talk about our blogging platform too (ownzee.com) which made me excited because I have never spoken publicly about our new venture. See you soon Bogota!

KIKI VALDES 

I am honored that the organizors of Social Media Week Bogota have invited me to their beautiful city and country to let me share my take on being an artist in this social media age and how to self publish artworks online through platforms like Ownzee. Below is what i will be discussing and i will make sure to post pictures and commentary next week. Below is insight on what I will be discussing and more about the other great speakers. Thanks! 

Self Publishing in Arts: Kiki Valdes

Friday, September 23 at 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá

Kiki Valdes is a contemporary artist and the founder of Ownzee, a digital magazine maker that allows artists, designers, photographers, or anyone to easily promote their work online. Kiki has found in the web the most valuable channel to showcase his work and do business. Kiki will be speaking about the importance of digital technologies and social media as an effective promotion tool.

For Social Media Week Bogotá, the Z-team has put together a really impressive line-up of speakers, both from within Colombia and international. We thought we’d take a moment to highlight some of the international speakers who will be traveling to Bogotá (most of them for the first time) to speak at Social Media Week.

Meg Dalton (@megdalts), of SeeClickFix, will participate on a panel entitled Urban Initiatives and Social Media. This panel will reflect upon how social networks have empowered the ordinary citizen. She will also lead a workshop, focused on See Click Fix and how the tool can be used.

Christian Ligorsky (@Kbzon) of Social Media Latam, will share The </R>evolution of Communications, which will show us how the rise of social network platforms have affected the way we communicate, and how the same networks can help companies have stronger relationships with their consumers.

Jonathan Richman (@jonmrich) will share Your Computer Is The Next Wonderdrug, originally presented at South by Southwest 2011, to critical acclaim.

Peter Shankman (@petershankman) will be presenting Monday’s keynote, Social Media Doesn’t Exist, explaining how social media must be integrated with traditional media to be truly successful.

Kiki Valdes (@KikiValdes) will present Self publishing in Art, showcasing how artists can use social networks as an effective tool for promotion.

Brian Wong (@brian_wong) of kiip will address the young entrepreneur in 8 Tips for the Young Entrepreneur, with a focus on what he himself learned as a young and successful entrepreneur in the social gaming space.

Some sponsors of Social Media Week:

Learn more about Social Media Week (Bogota) 

People ask me all the time what's the difference between Ownzee (which I co-created) and other blogging platform sites out there. So, to not mix up the bullshit I decided to give a pretty clear example.

This is you using Ownzee.

This is you using the other blog sites.

- Kiki Valdes

WE CARE ABOUT HOW YOU LOOK. GROOM YOUR BLOG.

Kiki Valdes/Palo! at S.O.B.'s Recap:

Live action painting with the sounds of PALO!

KIKI VALDES

FRIDAY

AUGUST 12

2011

S.O.B.s

For more info: Palo! vs. Kiki Valdes

KIKI VALDES

"Sin Gin" 2011

Kiki Valdes - "The Cloud" 2007. Oil on canvas/  I recently gave this as a gift to fellas at Primary Fight/Gallery.

kiki valdes