Miami’s Little River neighborhood is gaining a new cultural destination as sisters Dina and Rhonda Mitrani prepare to open Mitrani Art, a multidisciplinary space dedicated to photography, film and video.
Opening November 30, Mitrani Art represents both a new beginning and the continuation of a story that has been part of Miami’s arts community for more than two decades.
The sisters first established Mitrani Warehouse in 2002 inside their family’s longtime clothing factory in Wynwood. What began with artist studios gradually developed into a broader creative destination as the neighborhood itself became one of Miami’s most recognizable arts districts.
Dina Mitrani eventually established the Dina Mitrani Gallery, focusing on contemporary photography, while filmmaker Rhonda Mitrani created The Screening Room, a dedicated platform for filmmakers and video artists.
But Wynwood was changing.
As development accelerated and costs increased, artists and galleries increasingly moved away from the neighborhood. The family property carried deep personal history for the sisters, but Mitrani Warehouse ultimately closed in 2017.
The search for what would come next began almost immediately.
A Seven-Year Journey to Little River
In 2019, Dina and Rhonda purchased a former mechanic shop in Miami’s Little River neighborhood. Its high ceilings and larger footprint created an opportunity to rethink the Mitrani concept for a new generation.
Miami architecture practice R+R Studios, led by Roberto Behar and Rosario Marquardt, was brought in to transform the property. The relationship was particularly fitting: Behar and Marquardt had previously maintained studios at the original Mitrani Warehouse.
Pandemic disruptions, permitting and other challenges stretched the project across several years. Now, the new venue is finally preparing to welcome the public.
The converted building includes multi-use exhibition galleries, a screening room and a photography library. A new extension adds creative studios arranged around an enclosed outdoor courtyard designed for cultural programming and events.
The space will also become the permanent home of both the Dina Mitrani Gallery and The Screening Room after years of operating through pop-ups around Miami.
Building an Art Community, Not Just an Exhibition Space
Mitrani Art is being structured as a nonprofit organization focused on photography, moving image and visual storytelling.
Its programming is expected to include exhibitions, screenings, artist talks, lectures, workshops and educational initiatives alongside studio space for working artists.
That community component may prove particularly important.
The original Mitrani Warehouse was not simply a gallery. It became a gathering point where artists could work, exhibit, experiment and interact with audiences. The Little River location is designed to recreate that ecosystem while responding to a Miami art landscape that has changed dramatically since the sisters first opened their doors in Wynwood.
Four studio spaces at the new property can accommodate up to two artists each. The founders have said they intend to keep studio rents toward the lower end of neighborhood market rates and hope future grant support can help preserve affordability.
Opening With “ReExposures”
Mitrani Art will debut with “ReExposures: The Magic Within,” a group exhibition centered on lens-based practices.
Among the featured works is Miami artist Antonia Wright’s Suddenly We Jumped, a video documenting a 2013 performance in which Wright physically jumped through and shattered a pane of glass — transforming the familiar metaphor of breaking a glass ceiling into a literal act.
The exhibition offers an early indication of the type of work Mitrani Art hopes to champion: photography and moving-image practices that extend beyond traditional presentation and use the camera as a vehicle for experimentation, storytelling and social commentary.
For Miami, the opening also represents something larger.
Nearly a decade after leaving Wynwood, the Mitrani sisters are returning with a permanent home shaped by the lessons of the neighborhood they helped build.
Only now, the address is Little River.