The Seats
Restore Miami Marine Stadium is an informal, not for profit advocacy group devoted to the restoration of Miami Marine Stadium. We have been working since January 2008 to bring the Stadium back to life as one of the greatest open air entertainment venues in the world.
In 2016, several hundred original seats were removed from Miami Marine Stadium to promote Heineken USA’s successful “Save Your Seat” crowdfunding campaign. After the campaign, the leftover seats were distributed to local artists who were interested in using found objects to create artwork that celebrates the stadium. The goal? Generate awareness of Miami Marine Stadium, its cultural significance to South Florida, and its ongoing restoration.
Miami Marine Stadium has a long history as artistic muse, and since closing in 1992, it has been a beacon for street artists from Miami and around the World. Today, there are as many as 200 layers of paint on the stadium’s walls as murals have been painted and then gradually replaced by new art.
We started this project in the fall of 2017 by reaching out to various art organizations in Miami to find artists who were interested in obtaining a seat. Partipating organizations included Fountainhead Studios, the Bakehouse, Art Center South Florida, Yo Miami, the Young Artist Initiative, and the Miami Dade School Distric Visual Arts Program. In return for receiving a seat, each artist was required to furnish at least one high resolution of the finished artwork and a statement describing the work. Artists were thold that they could use the seat in any way they wanted-paint it, take it apart, use pieces of it, or incorporate it into other artwork.
The only requirement was that the finished product should reflect the Miami Marine Stadium.
You see the results of our artists on this page. What is particularly notable is how a 55 year old seat inspires so many different design and philosophical responses… artists focused on the environment, history, memory, architecture, abstract construction. We are thrilled with the work done by our artists and there is potential for a new chapter. The Marine Stadium has approximately 3,500 seats remaining. When the time comes for demolition, these seats may become available, inspiring more art.