10/06/2026
The Heart to Live in Authentic Truth
Every one of us carries a gift. Our purpose is to find it, love it, and place it in service of the people around us. As Miami Art Week draws near, this is the heart behind everything AfriKin builds, and your invitation to build it with us.
There is a quiet question that rises in every life once the noise falls away. What am I here for? I have carried that question across nearly sixty countries, onto festival stages and into rooms full of strangers who became family. Every time I sit with it long enough, the answer comes back the same. We are here to love. We are here to do right. We are here to leave every person we meet a little lighter than we found them.
To love God and live right. That is the Divine purpose of a life, simple enough to hold in one breath and deep enough to fill every year we are given. Living in authentic truth begins right there. It asks us to be honest about who we are, honest about what we have been given, and faithful with it.
This week I want to sit with you inside that truth for a while. Then I want to tell you what we are building for Miami Art Week, because the two are the same story.
AfriKin is the Miami institution that paid African and diaspora artists $97,800 directly last year and moved 8,955 people through its doors, not another Art Week booth.
Find the Thing That Brings You Joy
Every one of us has been given something. For some it is a voice that fills a room. For some it is a pair of hands that can turn flour and fire into a meal that brings a family home. For some it is the patience to teach, the courage to lead, or the eye that finds beauty in a corner everyone else walks past.
You already know yours. It is the thing you would do with no one watching and no one paying. The thing that makes the hours disappear. The thing that leaves you more alive when you finish than when you began.
Find it. Name it. Honor it.
Then ask the question that turns a gift into a purpose. How can this make life better for the people around me, for my community, and for the world beyond my own front door?
A Responsibility to Make Others Smile
I believe with my whole heart that we carry a responsibility in this life. We are responsible for the smile we place on another person's face. We are responsible for doing right when right is hard and when no one will ever know we did it. We are responsible for our neighbors, for our community, and for the generations who will one day inherit whatever we leave behind.
Use your gift to improve a life. Use it to save a life, if that is where it leads you. A song can carry someone through the longest night of their year. A shared meal can remind a stranger that they belong. A painting can tell a child that their face, their history, and their people are worthy of a gallery wall. I have seen each of these things happen in our community, and every time it humbles me.
THE DIVINE PURPOSE
Love God. Live right. Find what brings you joy and give it freely to the people around you, to your community, and to the world beyond. That is a life lived in authentic truth.
What We Build Is Meant to Be Carried Forward
This is the heart of AfriKin. Everything we do is selflessly devoted to one calling, improving our community through our culture and our heritage. We present art, fashion, food, performance, knowledge, and more, gathered from the community at large and returned to the community at large. The painter from Cameroon and the designer from the diaspora. The elder with the story and the child with the sketchbook. The chef, the drummer, the scholar, the dancer. Every one of them carries a gift, and our purpose is to build a home where those gifts can meet.
We build so that what we have built is passed on. We build so the next generation receives it whole, ready to carry it forward and ready to write their own chapter into it. Twelve consecutive years of AfriKin Art Fair during Miami Art Week. Maison AfriKin rooted in Downtown North Miami since 2022. A family of artists, partners, volunteers, and neighbors that grows larger every season. All of it is held in trust for the ones who come next.
Purpose Beyond Yourself
When you find a purpose beyond yourself, that is when you truly begin to live. That is when you feel alive.
I know that feeling well. It lives in the hour before the doors open, when the lights are being hung, the floors are being swept, and every volunteer is moving with the same quiet urgency. It lives in the moment a first-time visitor stops in front of a painting and goes completely still. It lives in the thank-you notes, in the photographs, and in the children who return the following year a little taller and a little more certain of who they are.
With AfriKin, this has been a deep-rooted purpose in everything we have built. It is the reason I rise early and the reason I lay my head down grateful.
The Joy of Building Toward Miami Art Week
So you can understand the joy we feel right now. As we prepare to head into Miami Art Week, our whole family is at work building another experience for our community at large to enjoy. The art is arriving. The designers are cutting and draping. The performers are rehearsing. The food is being planned with the same care as the work on the walls. Every hand has a role, and every heart is in it.
Art, fashion, food, and performance, brought together under one roof in Downtown North Miami, so that we may bring something truly unique to Art Week. And as always, we look forward to hearing from you. Your feedback is how we grow. Tell us what moved you, what you want more of, and what you dream of seeing next. We are listening, and we build with you in mind.
Your Miami Art Week With AfriKin
Here is the week we have prepared for you. Every evening and every morning of it was made to be shared. Choose one, choose them all, and bring the people you love.
AfriKin All-White Vernissage, the official opening of AfriKin Art Fair 2026, Sunday, November 29, 2026 at Maison AfriKin, North Miami
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2026 • OPENING NIGHT
AfriKin All-White Vernissage
The night Miami Art Week opens its heart. Dressed in white with a splash of AfriKin chic, we gather at Maison AfriKin to unveil GRIOT: Urgent Storytelling for Our Times for the very first time. Collectors, artists, cultural leaders, and our whole community stand together in the first light of the fair. Fine art, culture, fashion, and community, all in one evening. Come and be present for the beginning.
Sunday, November 29, 2026 • 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Maison AfriKin, 1600 NE 126th Street, Downtown North Miami
Dress Code: All White • VIP Preview and VVIP Front Row Seating
Ticket prices rise November 1
Get VIP Tickets →
GRIOT: Urgent Storytelling for Our Times, AfriKin Art Fair 2026, curated by Dr. Joseph L. Underwood, November 29 to December 6 during Miami Art Week
NOVEMBER 29 TO DECEMBER 6, 2026 • MIAMI ART WEEK
AfriKin Art Fair 2026: GRIOT
For twelve consecutive years, AfriKin Art Fair has carried the voices of Africa and its diaspora into Miami Art Week. This year we honor the griot, the keeper of memory, the one who holds the names so a people never forget who they are. Curated by Dr. Joseph L. Underwood, GRIOT: Urgent Storytelling for Our Times gathers artists from more than 35 countries who carry that lineage forward through painting, sculpture, photography, and textile. Past, present, and future, speaking in one room.
On public view November 30 to December 6, following the November 29 Vernissage
Closing at 6:00 PM on Sunday, December 6, ahead of the REGENESIS runway
Maison AfriKin, 1600 NE 126th Street, Downtown North Miami
Explore the Fair →
Rhythm and Soul Mosaic Workshop, a beginner friendly workshop with artist JoKeeta, Tuesday, December 1, 2026, 1 PM to 3 PM at Maison AfriKin
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2026 • 1:00 PM TO 3:00 PM
Rhythm and Soul: Mosaic Workshop with JoKeeta
Some of the most beautiful things are made one small piece at a time. Mosaic and stained glass artist JoKeeta invites you into a gentle, beginner friendly afternoon of color and craft. Every tile arrives pre-cut and every material is provided, so your hands are free to follow your heart. JoKeeta gathers artifacts on her mission trips abroad and builds them into her work, giving back with every creation. Come and make something beside her, and carry home a finished piece of your own.
Tuesday, December 1, 2026 • 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Maison AfriKin, 1600 NE 126th Street, Downtown North Miami
Six to twelve participants • All materials provided • Seating is limited
RSVP Now →
CHANGÁ: Griot Moves, breakfast, screening and conversation with Prof. Dr. Francio Guadeloupe and Professor Patricia Saunders, December 3, 2026 at Maison AfriKin
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2026 • 10:00 AM TO 1:00 PM
CHANGÁ: Griot Moves
A morning of coffee, film, and conversation around a game our families know by heart. Changá, the documentary co-directed by Prof. Dr. Francio Guadeloupe, follows the Caribbean game of dominoes through the lives of Dutch Caribbean artists in the Netherlands, moving from hip hop to dancehall to punk rock and drum and bass. After the screening, Prof. Dr. Guadeloupe sits in conversation with Professor Patricia J. Saunders of the University of Miami, President of the Caribbean Studies Association. Then the tables open, the dominoes are shuffled, and every guest is invited to play.
Thursday, December 3, 2026 • Doors and light breakfast at 10:00 AM
Maison AfriKin, 1600 NE 126th Street, Downtown North Miami
Seating is limited
Reserve Your Seat →
African Fashion Week Miami presents REGENESIS: The African Winter, December 6 at Maison AfriKin, Downtown North Miami
DECEMBER 5 TO 6, 2026 • POP-UP DECEMBER 5 • RUNWAY DECEMBER 6
African Fashion Week Miami: REGENESIS, The African Winter
Snow in Miami. Cashmere in the tropics. Sculptural coats in glacial silver, metallics and leather, ancestral technique carried into silhouettes made for a world still on its way to us. Designers from continental Africa and its diaspora bring their winter collections to Maison AfriKin, first to the pop-up on Saturday and then to the runway on Sunday night. Model casting calls will be announced next week, so stay close. Roots transform tomorrow. Africa lives forward.
Pop-Up: Saturday, December 5, 2026 • 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM
Runway: Sunday, December 6, 2026 • 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Maison AfriKin, 1600 NE 126th Street, Downtown North Miami
General Admission and Front Row VIP • Ticket prices rise November 1
Get Runway Tickets →
Vernissage and REGENESIS ticket prices rise November 1. Secure your seats at today's price. Get Tickets →
Culture Creates Commerce
At the center of everything AfriKin builds lives one belief. Culture creates commerce, commerce strengthens community, and community safeguards culture. It is a circle, and every one of you stands inside it.
Last year that circle turned in real dollars and real lives. Our combined marketplace reached $188,000, and $97,800 went directly into the hands of African and diaspora artists, the painters, sculptors, designers, and makers who trusted us with their work. 8,955 people walked through the doors of Maison AfriKin to see that work, to buy it, and to carry it home. Every time you collect a piece, take your seat at the runway, or join us for a morning of film and conversation, you keep that circle turning. The artist is paid. The community gathers. The culture lives on.
Why This Work Needs You
Everything you have read here is built by a community and carried by a community. Every dollar that reached an artist last year and every visitor who crossed our threshold began with someone who believed in this work early and gave from the heart.
This season asks even more of us, and I will always be honest with you about what it takes. The artists counting on payment this December, the designers preparing their collections for the runway, and the scholars traveling to sit at our table all depend on support that lands before Art Week begins. Your gift is how a purpose becomes a place.
Give From the Heart
AfriKin is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and every season we build grows from your generosity. May you find it in your heart to give and to stand with our community, so that we may continue this work for you, for your family, and for the generations who will enjoy it after us.
Donate Now →
Upcoming AfriKin Events
AfriKin All-White Vernissage • Official Opening of AfriKin Art Fair
Sunday, November 29, 2026 • 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM • Maison AfriKin, Downtown North Miami
Get VIP Tickets →
AfriKin Art Fair 2026 • GRIOT: Urgent Storytelling for Our Times
November 29 – December 6, 2026 • Miami Art Week • Maison AfriKin, Downtown North Miami
Explore the Fair →
Rhythm and Soul • Mosaic Workshop with JoKeeta
Tuesday, December 1, 2026 • 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM • Maison AfriKin, Downtown North Miami
RSVP Now →
CHANGÁ: Griot Moves • Breakfast, Screening & Conversation
Thursday, December 3, 2026 • 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM • Maison AfriKin, Downtown North Miami
Reserve Your Seat →
African Fashion Week Miami • REGENESIS: The African Winter
Pop-Up: Saturday, December 5, 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM • Runway: Sunday, December 6, 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM • Maison AfriKin, Downtown North Miami
Get Runway Tickets →
Art, Jazz & Ch*****ne • Women's History Month
Sunday, March 14, 2027 • Maison AfriKin, Downtown North Miami
Learn More →
AfriKin Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, EIN 85-2592611, and every sponsorship and every gift is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. AfriKin's capital campaign funds the institution that makes every evening possible, a permanent home where this knowledge is kept safe and carried forward for generations to come. We are raising $300,000 to turn a decade of proven cultural relevance, exhibitions, press, and civic recognition into secured infrastructure, a funded season, and the staffing to operate as a lasting institution. $97,800 to artists and 8,955 admissions last year alone are the proof of what your support already builds. Fund the next season and watch those numbers grow.
Sponsorship tiers for AfriKin Art Fair 2026 are moving now. Secure your placement before November 29. Reserve Your Tier →
GIVE TO THE CAMPAIGN
Give to the Campaign
From Relevance to Permanence
A one-time or monthly gift toward the $300,000 campaign that turns proven impact, $97,800 paid directly to artists and 8,955 doors opened last year, into a permanent, funded institution. Tax-deductible, EIN 85-2592611.
Donate Now →
PARTNER WITH US
Sponsor AfriKin Art Fair 2026
Presenting through Community sponsorship tiers are open now, with artist payments and fair production depending on this funding closing before November 29. Place your brand inside twelve years of Miami Art Week history and a community that already shows up 8,955 strong.
Become a Sponsor →
With Gratitude to Our Partners
No one builds alone. This season stands on the shoulders of partners who believed in AfriKin and chose to walk beside us. With deep gratitude, we thank the City of North Miami, the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau (GMCVB), Art of Black Miami, Dutch Culture USA, Tito's Handmade Vodka, and CNW Network.
Your support makes room for artists to be paid, for families to gather, and for our culture to be seen and celebrated during Miami Art Week. Thank you for standing with us and for carrying this work forward beside us.
City of North MiamiGreater Miami Convention and Visitors BureauArt of Black MiamiDutch Culture USATito's Handmade VodkaCNW Network
The AfriKin Ecosystem
AfriKin lives across five properties, each one carrying a different part of the same mandate and each one built from the start to point back toward the others.
The Institution: afrikin.org
Programs, exhibitions, press, and the record of everything we build.
The Commerce: afrikin.store
Apparel, coffee, and design that fund the mission and carry it into daily life.
The Founder: alfonsobrooks.com
Sixty countries of institutional research, framed as one person's ongoing case for what culture can build.
The Beginning: rockersmovement.com
Where it started in 1998, building music and art festivals across the world to celebrate Global African culture.
The Broadcast: rockersmovementradio.com
Carrying that same culture forward on air, every day.
While the art arrives and the runway takes shape, tune in to Rockers Movement Radio and let the same spirit fill your home: Roots, Rock, Reggae, and everything between, pulled from the Continent to the Caribbean and back again. It is the sound everything we build is rooted in, playing around the clock.
BEFORE I CLOSE
To everyone who has found their gift and given it away, to every artist, volunteer, partner, and neighbor who has carried this work beside us, thank you. You are the reason AfriKin lives and breathes. Find your joy. Share it freely. Live in your truth. I will see you at Maison AfriKin on November 29, dressed in white and ready to begin.
In diplomacy and sovereignty of culture,
Alfonso D. Brooks
Founder & Chairman, AfriKin Foundation, Inc.
afrikin.org • alfonsobrooks.com • afrikin.store • rockersmovement.com • rockersmovementradio.com
305-760-5515
Asé
We are AfriKin
Originally published at afrikin.org.
AfriKin Foundation, Inc. • Maison AfriKin • 1600 NE 126th Street, Downtown North Miami, Florida • EIN: 85-2592611 • 305-760-5515 • afrikin.org •
