FIU College of Architecture The Arts Names Miami Beach Urban Studios Leadership Advisory Board

MIAMI - July 15, 2014 - PRLog -- John Stuart, AIA, Associate Dean for Cultural and Community Engagement and Executive Director of the FIU College of Architecture + The Arts Miami Beach Urban Studios (http://mbus.fiu.edu/), is proud to announce the members of the inaugural 2014–15 Miami Beach Urban Studios Leadership Advisory Board.

The 13-member board, consisting of prominent leaders in the real estate, visual arts, design, architecture, finance, business, and hospitality sectors, will assist both Stuart and Brian Schriner, Dean of the College of Architecture + The Arts (CARTA), to use the power of architecture and the arts to engage the local Miami Beach and global communities to create, innovate, and inspire solutions to social, economic, and environmental problems.

Members of CARTA’s Miami Beach Urban Studios’ Leadership Advisory Board include: Starr Catering Group, Adelee Cabrera; President of Cymbal Development, Asi Cymbal; Knight Foundation member, Benjamin de la Peña; VP of Faena Group’s Cultural and Community Relations, Pablo de Ritis; President of CMC Real Estate, Vanessa Grout; Design Architecture Senior High Instructor, Eric Hankin; Owner of AKJ Design Concepts, Alfred Karram, Jr; Attorney and Shareholder of Bercow, Radell & Fernandez, Michael Larkin;  Principal of Oppenheim Architecture + Design, Chad Oppenheim; Managing Principal of Menin Hospitality, Jared Galbut; Managing Director of Rokk3r Labs, German Montoya; Director of Beezley Management, Adriano Salucci; and Principal of Touzet Studio, Carlos Prio-Touzet.

“With the advisory board’s enthusiastic support, the Miami Beach Urban Studios will continue to open up new opportunities to utilize innovation and community engagement in order to offer our students a full roster of courses enriched by Miami Beach’s unique artistic, historical, and cultural resources, as well as by the extensive network of noted professionals, artists and performers who serve as visiting critics and mentors,” said Dean Schriner.

The Urban Studios offers undergraduate and graduate students a unique opportunity to study in one of the most vibrant, inventive urban centers in the world, while gaining valuable professional experience through working with innovative public, private, and non-profit arts organizations throughout the city.

Located in the iconic Art Deco 420 Lincoln Road building, the Urban Studios provides expansive gallery, exhibition and classroom spaces for use by all FIU students and interested community groups. The location is an ideal center for the study in arts, design and performance, for museum and gallery visits, and for exposure to the wealth of art organizations located in Miami Beach.