Rising from below: The Underline

Building communities

The inspiration for The Underline, Miami-Dade County’s most ambitious and transformative public space, and public art initiative came from a bike accident. In 2014, Meg Thomson Daly broke both of her arms. Unable to drive, she took the Metrorail to her physical therapy sessions. Walking below the elevated train tracks, she was comfortable in the shade despite the July heat.

Inspired by her family’s legacy of philanthropy and leadership, Meg created Friends of The Underline, a 501C3 non-profit which partnered with Miami-Dade County to build The Underline, a 10-mile linear park, multi-modal, world-class, urban trail and canvas for artistic expression. The Underline will be open to all and serve with amenities, art, and programming that connect people to the place—and each other.

To date, the project has secured over $90 million in construction commitments from public and private sources; construction began on the first phase in the downtown Brickell community in November. The master plan and “Brickell Backyard” were designed by James Corner Field Operations, the award-winning landscape design and urban planners of the High Line in New York City. The Underline’s first artistic expression was a series of four temporary pieces installed pre-construction and funded by ArtPlace America, including Nic Lobo’s “Brutal Workout”.

The art master plan features a combination of local, national and international emerging and established artists to engage and inspire residents and visitors alike.

Ximena Caminos has been invited to be the Artistic Visionary Planner for The Underline, a developing urban project that seeks to transform the underutilized land below Miami’s Metrorail network into a park with trails, workout stations, and art installations spread out across over linear 10-miles, from Brickell to Dadeland.

Through an elaborate cultural approach and a thorough public art master plan, the curator, in collaboration with Art in Public Places of the Miami Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs has engaged local and foreign artists to contribute to a program that engages the community and brings life to an otherwise misused stage.

Meg Daly

President/CEO, Friends of The Underline 501C3 non-profit