Angelique Ducounge/Contributing Writer
To celebrate a 20-year partnership, the Wolfsonian-FIU wants visitors to tune in and drop in.
RadioFest, a full-day festival celebrating the history, technology, and future of radio, will come to the Wolfsonian on March 11. The collaboration between WLRN and The New Tropic will feature workshops, live talks, panel discussions and live performances.
Meg Floryan, the museum’s communications manager, explained the connection between both institutions. Floryan said that the FIU community is an integral part of The Wolfsonian, just as the Wolfsonian is a part of FIU culture.
“We’ve collaborated with FIU professors on installations, programs, and symposia, and work very closely with students on both Wolfsonian projects as well as their own studies, theses, and internships,” said Floryan. “We go hand in hand.”
Heather Cook, creator and programmer, notes that in addition to the educational components, RadioFest will be an immersive and interactive experience for FIU students to enjoy.
“You’ll be able to make your own radio speakers with Moonlighter Maker Space. You can record your interviews with WLRN. You can go to the radio plays at night,” said Cook. “So I think it’s perfect for an FIU student who wants to balance learning things and piquing their curiosity about history, but also just having a really fun day out here at Miami Beach interacting with their friends and with these different activities.”
Floryan says that the event is two-fold, creating an atmosphere of fun and inspiration while also providing an educational experience that serves as an avenue into learning more about The Wolfsonian’s collection.
“There’s a little something for everyone in RadioFest. Interactive activities for the younger folks, nostalgia for the older crowd, live performances for theater geeks, a talk on internet radio for the tech-inclined,” said Floryan. “It’s a full-fledged, one-day festival—which is a rare thing at The Wolfsonian.”
The event will feature nighttime radio plays; four 15-minute plays based on South Florida news stories dramatized in, Cook said, a “cool, old-fashioned way.”
For the event’s “Cafecito and Conversation” segment, the museum’s Bridge Tender House will be transformed into a pop-up live recording booth right in the streets of Miami Beach. Participants will be invited into the booth for some coffee and to ask their opinion on their favorite and least favorite things about living in Miami.
“So, we’re sure to get some interesting answers,” Cook said.
Participants will also be asked to describe a sound or noise that impacted their lives later on in the proceedings. At 2 p.m. the doors to the recording booth will close and a WLRN member will go on to edit these interviews and create short radio stories out of them.
Throughout the process participants will be able to peer in through the booth’s windows and witness the behind-the-scenes work by a professional. Cook notes that this is one of many areas that might attract the interest of FIU students, particularly broadcast, communications and media majors.
“For students, especially those in communications, I would also suggest coming to the panel discussions on internet radio because that just might be something that students studying marketing, or communication or media might be interested in learning more about,” said Cook.
RadioFest will be a mix of local South Floridian culture while highlighting the global importance and history of radio.
“In usual Wolfsonian style, it’s going to be a little bit quirky, a little bit off-beat, and very much about getting Miamians to see an everyday object and well-known medium in a new way.” said Floryan.
Museum admission will be free for the day while tickets to the radio plays will be $10 for nonmembers and $5 for Wolfsonian members; one ticket buys entry to all 4 performances.
The festival will be on all day March 11, from 10 a.m to 9 p.m.
Photo is Harvey Mattel’s collection of radios, as part of the Wolfsonian’s exhibition on the history of radio.
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