We had the good fortune of connecting with Andrea Sofia R. Matos and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrea Sofia, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I owe the beginning of my artistic/creative career entirely to my mother. She was the one, who besides all of my ignorance, decided to enroll me in the best specialized high school for the visual arts in Puerto Rico. She gave me an opportunity to begin an artistic career that surrounded me with wonderful peers and thoughtful professors all of which cemented my desire to become an artist, increased my passion for art history, and gave me a comprehensive entry into the contemporary art scene. I was lucky enough to realize early on that I wanted a career in the visual arts and so I went out of my way to search for ways to meet artists, curators, and cultural workers around me and eventually landed a volunteering opportunity at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Puerto Rico. This granted me an opportunity of being recruited by a local arts magazine, festivals, and art fairs. After all these experiences visiting artists’ studios, assisting workers at the museum, installing exhibitions, writing articles about recent shows, and making photo essays about my cultural encounters, I was convinced that I would someday become a leader in the arts. This is still my goal and is definitely still a work in progress but I am grateful now more than ever to that early humanitarian and artistic education I was given because it forged the path I am on now.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My career began in the contemporary art scene in Puerto Rico, but once I moved to Miami to pursue my undergraduate education I quickly became enamored by the incredibly diverse local art scene and how the city was trying to make its mark in the global art scene and its success in doing so. My practice, both curatorial and artistic, focuses on the art and culture of the Caribbean and Latinx communities.

My journey here began at LnS Gallery, a local art gallery run by Luisa Lignarolo and Sergio Cernuda. I was brought in as an intern and was then offered a part-time job as a gallery assistant. My time here was valuable in many ways, especially for the connection I made with local artists, curators, and collectors. Their generosity gave me several opportunities to grow in different skills. By far the most rewarding experience was the ‘Carlos Alfonzo: Witnessing Perpetuity’ exhibition, where I was able to photograph the artwork and research the artist’s life and work. The pandemic was a definite surprise for us all, and after a couple of months of unemployment, I was able to begin an internship at the Margulies Collection of world-renowned art collector Martin Z. Margulies. In my short time there, I am proud of all the work I aided in the launch of the Photography Study Center, a space devoted to the education and research of contemporary and vintage photography. Simultaneously, I got an internship at The Women Photographers International Archive (WOPHA) a digital archive dedicated to promoting and researching, in partnership with other organizations, the plurality of female, trans, queer, and other non-binary voices in photography. One of the biggest challenges of my career has been tasked to work in the overall event planning, coordination, and production of the first-ever WOPHA Congress a two-day symposium with internationally recognized photographers and curators.

Currently, I am working at Locust Projects, Miami’s longest-running alternative art space. This space has given me the chance to learn much about what it is like to run a non-profit organization, one of my proudest moments here has been helping present the Annual Benefit Dinner honoring the Knight Foundation’s generous philanthropic endeavor in Miami and internationally-renowned food and art pioneer Antoni Miralda, his more than 60 years of experimental food and art experiences across the globe, and longstanding ties to Miami. Now, I am excited to embark on this new journey of pursuing my graduate education at New York University this fall.
Parallel to this work, I am also a photographer, which often concentrates on issues of identity, family, self-portraiture, and the duality between being born in Puerto Rico and moving to the USA. My recent photographic series aims to educate the spectator on PCOS, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, documentary-like project that records my journey once I found out about my diagnosis. In another series titled “The Unemployment Project,” I documented the unemployment status of me and my family during the COVID-19 pandemic through rejection letters. Other projects are “Lucia Means Light”, “Forever 21s” and “Casa / Home.” I have also been fortunate enough to photograph various local bands, artists, exhibitions, and events.


If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

Miami is such a culturally rich city, a melting pot of a number of ethnicities that make it so interesting and mesmerizing to anyone who comes to visit. As an art nerd, I feel the need to point out my favorite art spaces and other places most worthy of a visit.

Art Spaces:
– Locust Projects
– Oolite Arts
– Bakehouse Art Complex
– Laundromat Art Space
– Spinello Projects

Private Art Collections:
– The Margulies Collection
– Rubell Museum

– Girls Club Collection

Art Galleries:
– LnS Gallery
– Mindy Solomon Gallery
– Fredrick Snitzer Gallery

As much as I love the visual arts, I adore music and cinema. Here are some spots to indulge in great live music and films.

Live Music:
– Gramps Wynwood
– The Anderson
– Center for Subtropical Affairs
– Las Rosas
– Kill Your Idol

Films:
– Coral Gables Art Cinema
– MDC Tower Theater
– O Cinema
– Cinema Paraiso


The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

I have been so fortunate throughout my career to have been able to work with and for incredible mentors. I will say once I arrived in Miami, my biggest supporters have been Jennifer Basile, Tony Chirinos, and John W. Bailly, three of my university professors all working artists who have gone above and beyond to give me outstanding love, support, and honesty. I have much to thank the extraordinary people at LnS Gallery, The Margulies Collection, Women Photographers International Archive, and Locust Projects for having taught me so much about the art world and for sharing all of their hard-earned wisdom. And one last special shoutout to Enrique Rosell, a dear friend & photographer, who recommended me for this article!

Website: https://www.andreasofiarm.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasofiarmatos/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andreasofiarm/

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutMiami is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.