Download Prologue: The Big Picture, the first report of our findings highlighting six key areas of interest with digestible nuggets of data and simple easy-to-read charts. The two-page report, is a quick highlight of some initial findings from our recent survey taken by 443 Miami-Dade County artists in a broad spectrum of disciplines, representing a range of
identities, including race, gender, age, and ability.
–
Contextual Information
Miami’s Racial and Ethnic Context
Miami’s1 racial and ethnic landscape represents one of America’s most complex multicultural populations, shaped by waves of Caribbean and Latin American immigration that have resulted in a metropolis where 68.7% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino/a/x.2 Miami operates as a predominantly Latino cultural environment, marked by Spanish language dominance and Caribbean cultural norms. As a major port city and international hub for tourism and business, Miami experiences continuous movement of immigrants and temporary residents. The city’s modern demographic foundation was shaped by many distinct immigrant and migrant groups, including Bahamian skilled laborers in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, Cubans following the 1959 revolution, Haitians in the 1970s and 1980s, and Jews post-WWII. These groups and many others brought with them distinct cultural, economic, and political experiences.
This demographic complexity creates an environment with unique dynamics around privilege, belonging, and cultural adaptation that don’t exist in most other American cities. Individual Miamians are likely to find themselves navigating layered identities that may shift depending on context. As a result, conventional racial and ethnic categories often fail to capture the lived experiences of residents.
Many find simple categorization inadequate, and instead embrace complex identities that blend race, nationality, and culture in ways that do not fit neatly within longstanding American racial frameworks.
For many Miamians, national origin carries at least as much weight as racial categories. Distinctions of national origin can influence social circles, political affiliations, and economic opportunities more than shared racial identity. This is particularly common among the many Miamians who are multiethnic and/or multiracial. This contributes to a lived experience in which residents frequently code-switch not just linguistically but culturally, while simultaneously navigating the ways their identities are perceived and sometimes misunderstood in broader American contexts where inflexible racial and ethnic categories predominate.
Non-Hispanic and Non-Latino Experiences
For the approximately 31% of Miami-Dade residents who are not Hispanic or Latino, racial and ethnic identity is often experienced through the lens of being a minority in a predominantly Latino cultural environment. This demographic reversal is highly unusual within the context of the United States, where Latinos typically represent a minority population navigating predominantly white3 or Black-white binary spaces. Miami’s communities of long-established non-Hispanic residents may find themselves perceived as cultural outsiders despite generational ties to South Florida.
Black Identity and Experience
Black residents (%), whether of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity or not, may find their experiences particularly complex as they navigate spaces where their racial identity intersects with questions of national origin, language, and cultural affinity in ways that are more nuanced than the Black-white racial dynamics that predominate elsewhere in the U.S.
Black identity and experience in Miami-Dade represents one of the most complex intersections of race, ethnicity, nationality, and immigration status in America. Traditional frameworks struggle to accommodate Miami’s vast array of Caribbean, Latino, and African identities that don’t align with categories conventionally used within the United States. African American, Afro-Cuban, Haitian, Jamaican, Trinidadian, Afro-Brazilian, and non-diaspora African are among the many identities that together create a demographic reality where shared racial identity doesn’t necessarily translate to shared cultural experience, language, or social positioning, despite all potentially being categorized together in census data and susceptible to similar anti-Black racism.
White Non-Hispanic Experiences
Non-Hispanic white residents (14.5%)4 may experience language barriers and cultural alienation or exclusion in day-to-day life, while remaining racially over-represented in positions of institutional and economic power. White ethnic & national identities in Miami include some Jewish communities,5 which overlap with former Soviet Union populations, and other European-descended populations whose experiences vary considerably based on class, generation of immigration or migration, and geographic location within the county.
Other Racial and Ethnic Groups
For Miamians who are not white, Black, or Hispanic/Latino–and for those whose racial and ethnic identities are mixed or otherwise complicated, the experience of identity often involves navigating multiple invisibilities within the dominant Latino-Anglo-Black framework.
This includes the Miccosukee and Seminole tribes, who maintain sovereign status and distinct cultural identities within South Florida, yet often find themselves overlooked in discussions of Miami’s diversity despite their deep historical roots in the region. Additionally, a small percentage of Miami residents are of Indigenous Central- and South American descent; their identities and experiences may not align with typical U.S. racial and ethnic constructs.
Asian Americans represent only about 1.6% of Miami’s population, including Chinese, Japanese, and Korean communities, making them a small but diverse minority within an already complex racial landscape.
18% of Miami’s Jewish population is Sephardi, compared to 6% nationally; Mizrachi 1%; “Other/don’t know” 10%
46% of Jewish households in Miami include at least one adult born outside the U.S.
72% of Miami Jewish adults identify as white, non-Hispanic, compared to 92% nationally. 24% of Miami Jewish adults identify as white, Hispanic and another 4% identify as any other non-white racial identity, including multiracial.6
Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) Americans face particularly complex identity challenges in Miami, as they may navigate experiences of racial prejudice and discrimination despite not being recognized as an ethnic minority group in the United States. MENA residents may find their identities shifting depending on whether they’re perceived as white, Arab, or simply “other,” while lacking the political recognition and community infrastructure that other minority groups have developed.
Challenges for Data Collection and Policy
The complex nature of racial, ethnic, and national identity in Miami creates significant challenges for demographic data collection, as traditional census categories and survey instruments often fail to capture the nuanced ways residents actually experience and express their identities.
Additionally, the political and social implications of demographic categorization in Miami—where Cuban identity has historically carried different privileges than other Latino identities, and where documentation status affects willingness to participate in surveys—mean that collecting accurate data requires understanding not just who people are, but how they strategically choose to present themselves in official contexts. This complexity undermines the effectiveness of policies and programs designed around demographic targeting, as traditional categories may group together communities with vastly different experiences while separating those who share common challenges. Addressing these issues requires more sophisticated and culturally informed approaches to both data collection and analysis.
Survey Methodology Considerations
Because the Miami Artist Census was adapted from the Los Angeles Artist Census, and because we hope to compare our initial results with theirs, our pilot survey asked about race and ethnicity in a simplified, one-question format. However, we will be making adjustments to future surveys that will allow us to address the inadequacy of existing frameworks, as well as develop a more nuanced presentation of the ways in which race and ethnicity are experienced by Miami artists in particular.
- For brevity, we are using “Miami” to refer to the metropolitan area represented by Miami-Dade County. ↩︎
- 2020 U.S. Census. Nationally, 18.9% of the population identifies as Hispanic/Latino.
↩︎ - Non-Hispanic/Latino ↩︎
- www.statisticalatlas.com, retrieved 09/22/2025 ↩︎
- 76% of Miami’s Jewish population is Ashkenazi ↩︎
- https://jewishmiami.org/2024_Community_Study.pdf, retrieved 10/08/2025 ↩︎
Context of Artistic Practice in Terms of Time Spent
The duration of an artist’s practice can be an indicator of professional development, as sustained engagement over years may correlate with the establishment of a coherent artistic voice, and the accumulation of social capital within art world networks. It is important to note, however, that this is not always the case, as some artists are career-changers who bring advantages from previous professions. These may include financial stability, retirement resources, and/or established professional networks that can accelerate entry into the art world.
While the number of hours dedicated to studio practice per week may sometimes reflect the intensity of an artist’s commitment, our survey results suggest that it is more likely indicative of a practical ability to maintain art-making as a central focus. Respondents cited economic factors, such as the need for supplementary employment, and restraints on time and focus, such as caregiving. These topics will be explored further in later chapters.
Together, these metrics illustrate the material realities of artistic careers, distinguishing between those who can sustain full-time practices and those navigating an often-precarious balance between creative work and financial necessity.
Why the Survey Skews Towards Visual Arts
MAC was originally conceptualized to not only serve the community of artists that call this city home, but to collaborate in a comparative study with the LA Artist Census. Our Survey was adapted from a version of the LA Artist Census’ survey, a survey which was focused on visual artists in Los Angeles. In an effort to make comparative analysis easy and consistent, we did not alter many of the questions, and in the few instances we did, it was due to differences that were not applicable (such as questions about LA City legislation).
Future Addendums
Assessing the results of MAC 2023-2024, we found that many of the artists surveyed were performing artists (music, dance, theater, etc), or artists who incorporate the performing arts into their practice. We received feedback from artists about how the questions didn’t speak to these realities, nor take into account the different needs that performing artists have as compared to visual artists. For example, practice and performance spaces vs studios and galleries or exhibition spaces. Our goal with future surveys is to elaborate on these details and to make sure there is inclusion of and space for these differences. Our plan is for this inclusion to focus not only on performing artists (music, dance, theater, etc), but literary artists and social practice artists as well.
SOURCES
[] = RUSSELL COLLECTION: https://russell-collection.com/art-statistics/
[?] = National source
[1] = Miami-Dade Source
[o] Our survey data not listed
[q] All quotes taken from open-response portions of our survey.
Miami Artist Census 