susan caraballo
creative instigator
cultural worker turned curator
creator blurring artistic disciplines
susan caraballo
creator
My integrated practice lies at the intersection of collective artmaking, curating, and directing. Working within the expanded field of contemporary visual art, my work spans installation, performance, creative writing, and social practice, while centering on environmental and socio-political issues. Commissioned by Live Arts Miami and the Deering Estate, “Prelude to 2100,” was an immersive arts experience in collaboration with 30 artists. I have also completed artist residencies at the Koubek Center, AIRIE, and Miralda’s FoodCultura. Since 2024, I have primarily focused on "The Things Lab," an ongoing socially-engaged art project developed in collaboration with artist Kerry Phillips.For a complete bio, visit here.
susan caraballo
curator
As a curator, I have presented work across different disciplines. My primary interest lies in time-based work—from performances to video art to participatory projects. Between 2012 and 2016, I served as Artistic Director of ArtCenter/South Florida (now Oolite Arts) and have curated exhibitions at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Centro de Desarrollo de Artes Visuales in Havana, and other venues. I am an active member of the IKT International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art and organized their 2019 symposium "ARTiculating Sustainability: Resilience in the Climate Crisis?" at the Pérez Art Museum Miami.For a complete bio, visit here.
susan caraballo
cultural worker
For over 25 years, I have served as an arts manager, producer, educator, writer/editor, and nonprofit consultant. I have held leadership roles at ArtCenter/South Florida (now Oolite Arts), Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, CIFO (Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation), Artemis & PS 742, among other organizations. She has also served on grant panels and committees for numerous agencies in Florida, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Ohio. I currently serve on the Executive Committee of the Harpo Foundation started by artist Edward Levine.For a complete bio, visit here.
susan caraballo
works-in-progress
Snowflakes May Never Form (Working Title) is the seed of an immersive arts experience that began during my residency at Koubek Center and during a playwriting workshop with Thinking Cap Theatre. It was presented as a staged reading by Thinking Cap Theatre on June 24, 2023 at Mad Arts in Dania Beach.
susan caraballo
The Things Lab/ Hialeah (2026)
The Things Lab is a socially-engaged art project created by Susan Caraballo & Kerry Phillips. The second iteration of our ever-changing immersive art installation is located at Artisan's Playhouse in Hialeah.The Things Lab is a mash-up of a thrift store and a creative reuse center. We do not set any prices on things and visitors can be customers and determine the price of the items they want to take home. We invite them to pay what they value items to be worth within their budget.Learn more about The Things Lab by visiting us in-person at 2456 West 8 Ct in Hialeah. Check us out at thethingslab.org.
susan caraballo
The Things Lab/ Little River (2024)
The Things Lab is a socially-engaged art project created by Susan Caraballo & Kerry Phillips. The first iteration of our ever-changing immersive art installation was open from January - December 2024 with the support of OM Properties.The Things Lab is a mash-up of a thrift store and a creative reuse center. We do not set any prices on things and visitors can be customers and determine the price of the items they want to take home. We invite them to pay what they value items to be worth within their budget.Learn more about The Things Lab by visiting us in-person at our new location at 2456 West 8 Ct in Hialeah. Check us out at thethingslab.org.Photos by Francesco Casale
susan caraballo
Prelude to 2100 (2022)
Prelude to 2100 was an immersive arts experience conceived and curated by Susan Caraballo in collaboration with 30 multidisciplinary artists set in 2050 Miami. Prelude was co-comissioned during Susan's simultaneous artist residencies at the Deering Estate and Live Arts Miami. It premiered February 2-6, 2022 at the Deering Estate.Funding was provided in part by the Knight Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, and Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs.
The Story
Set in 2050, Miami’s famed museum-park, the Deering Estate, has been converted into a residential cohousing complex, the Co-op at Chicken Key made up of tenants who have been displaced or retreated from different parts of the world due to climate change. When rooms become available, they decide to host their first OPEN HOUSE while re-opening partially as an art space after recent repairs from a hurricane. The public is invited to visit the property and learn about their way of life. The personal lives and conflicts of the residents, and other strange phenomena, get in the way, and visitors must navigate scenes that explore notions of community, climate change empowerment, loss and love.Collaborating Artists
Susan Caraballo, Juan C. Sánchez, Jennifer De Castroverde, AMLgMATD/Laz Ojalde & Natalie Zlamalova, Dimitry Saïd Chamy, Cara Despain, Alicia Eggert, Michelle Grant Murray/Olujimi Dance, Jits Microfarm/Ezekiel Binns & Isaiah Littlejohn, Claudio Marcotulli, Gustavo Matamoros, Kerry Phillips, Sandra Portal-Andreu, Carrie Sieh, Laurencia Strauss, Suiting Up for the Future/Kim Yantis & Lucinda Linderman, The Department of Reflection/misael soto, The Queer Theory Library. and Fereshteh ToosiEnsemble
Shirley Bryant, Rio Chavarro, Amoye Dixon, Michael “Mo” Font, Dayron Leon. Dayana Morales, Alena Romanov, Navene Shata, Dito Sudito, Sergio Tamayo, Laurie Tanner, Tim WallingtonFor more information, visit liveartsmiami.org/prelude-to-2100/.
susan caraballo
The Co-op at Chicken Key
The Co-Op at Chicken Key is a fictional eco-conscious cohousing complex imagined in a future Miami circa 2050 where individuals have come together in community to thrive. It is on the property where The Deering Estate museum-park is situated and operated by Miami-Dade County and owned by the State of Florida. In addition to being the historic home of Charles Deering, this land also served as the home to many indigenous communities including the Tequestas and Paleo-Indians.The Co-op at Chicken Key is the setting for Prelude to 2100. The website for The Co-op at Chicken Key was conceived by Susan Caraballo and developed by the artist-designer team, AMLgMATD.Visit thecoopatchickenkey.com to learn more.
susan caraballo
ARTiculating Climate: Resilience in the Climate Crisis? (2019)
susan caraballo
FEAST Miami (2014-2017)
susan caraballo
Artemis & PS 742 (2000-2006)
susan caraballo
The Future Isn't What It Used To Be (2016-2017)
susan caraballo
La suspensión del deseo (2016)
susan caraballo
MIA-BER: You Have Left the American Sector (2015)
susan caraballo
Nothing Goes To Waste: Gusatvo Oviedo (2014)
susan caraballo
arts managing / producing
susan caraballo
teaching
susan caraballo
writing / editing
susan caraballo
arts nonprofit consulting
susan caraballo
biography
Susan Caraballo is a Miami-based interdisciplinary creator, curator, and cultural worker with over 25 years of experience in the visual and performing arts. Her integrated practice lies at the intersection of collective artmaking, curating, and directing — a hybrid approach that intentionally blurs the lines between artist, curator, and producer. She often serves as the "vision keeper" and "creative instigator," assembling and collaging existing artworks by others in direct dialogue with original content and concepts she develops, creating immersive, interactive and/or participatory experiences for audiences.As a creator, Susan's work is grounded in performance, immersive experiences, creative writing, and social practice. Since 2015, her projects have centered on environmental and socio-political issues, frequently embracing a solarpunk sensibility that imagines hopeful futures shaped through collective creativity and care. She has been commissioned by Live Arts Miami and the Deering Estate, where she held simultaneous artist residencies (2020–2022) that culminated in "Prelude to 2100," an immersive arts experience addressing climate change developed in collaboration with over 30 artists. She has also completed artist residencies at Koubek Center, AIRIE, and Miralda’s FoodCultura Museum. Since 2024, Susan has primarily focused on "The Things Lab," an ongoing socially-engaged art project in collaboration with artist Kerry Phillips that explores creative reuse, collective participation, and the social life of objects through an ever-changing art installation, workshops, exchanges, and participatory encounters.As a curator, Susan's primary interest lies in time-based worktime-based work—from performances to video art to participatory projects. She has been involved in hundreds of presentations ranging from durational performances in gallery spaces to large-scale dance productions on proscenium stages, and from solo exhibitions to group shows. She served as Artistic Director of ArtCenter/South Florida (now Oolite Arts) from 2012 to 2016, where she curated exhibitions including "The Future Isn't What It Used To Be" (2016), which subsequently traveled to the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (2017). She is an active member of the IKT International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art and organized their 2019 symposium "ARTiculating Sustainability: Resilience in the Climate Crisis?" at the Pérez Art Museum Miami as part of the annual IKT Congress.Susan's background as a curator and producer facilitates creating large-scale projects. She is a three-time Artist Access recipient and a three-time MIA Stipend recipient from the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. She has received two Knight Arts Challenge grants — FEAST Miami (2013), co-created with chef Loren Pulitzer, and #ARTiculatingClimate (2019), an initiative using art to address the climate crisis — as well as a Wavemaker Grant supported through the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Arts (2016–2017).Susan holds an MA in Arts Management from American University. She currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Harpo Foundation, which funds US-based visual artists.
artist statement
My artistic practice works within the expanded field of contemporary visual art—encompassing installation, performance, social practice, and creative writing—informed by my experience as a curator and producer. Collaboration is central to my process. In larger-scale projects such as "Prelude to 2100," I often serve as the "vision keeper" and "creative instigator," assembling and collaging existing artworks by others in direct dialogue with original content and concepts that I develop. In these contexts, the lines between artist, curator, and producer intentionally blur. I am drawn to collaborating and devising with artists whose practices resonate with mine to create immersive, participatory worlds.From flash fiction to immersive installations and socially engaged projects, I consistently weave elements of the magical and the surreal into my storytelling. My current work includes "The Things Lab," an ongoing socially engaged art project developed in collaboration with artist Kerry Phillips that explores creative reuse, collective participation, and the social life of objects. Through an ever-changing installation, workshops, exchanges, and participatory encounters, the project transforms everyday materials into catalysts for imagination, dialogue, and community connection.Across these varied forms, I create aesthetic experiences within conceptual frameworks designed to elicit empathy and invite audiences not only to observe but to participate—and at times to become collaborators themselves. Rooted in a desire to address the ecological crisis and advance social justice, my work often embraces a solarpunk sensibility, imagining hopeful futures shaped through collective creativity and care.
