Flooding, winds devastate Miami Art Works and neighboring businesses

To Phoenicians accustomed to weeks and sometimes months without precipitation, even getting a thimbleful of rain makes us a little giddy.

Monsoons, or nonsoons as I like to call them, are generally a nightly appearance of storm clouds, wind whipping up a dust devil or two and little to no rain. So getting a flood warning on your cell phone means paying more attention to the weather than we are budgeted for.

For people living in a flood zone, like the artists community of Miami, AZ, it’s an all-hands-on-deck calamity that no one can predict the outcome of.  Miami Art Works, the two adjoined buildings that house the Lyric Soda Fountain Shop and Thee 23 Skidoo bar, owned by Joanna TwentyThree and her late husband Michael TwentyThree, took on significant damage that could suspend business as usual indefinitely.

Anyone who has participated in the arts in downtown Phoenix owes a debt of thanks for giving them a place to hone their craft at Thought Crime and The Firehouse gallery, the two Phoenix arts hubs that Michael and Joanna TwentyThree curated in Phoenix from the late ’90s onward until each establishment closed its doors due to encroaching gentrification. That’s what makes the ruination of this still evolving oasis for artists in Miami, Phoenix, Globe, Tucson and beyond, all the more gut-wrenching.

A Thursday Facebook post of Lob Instagon, a board member of the Miami Arts Commission and resident at Miami Art Works, belies the devastation that lay ahead on Friday:

“A monsoon with Hurricane power wind today tore a portion of the roof off of the Lyric and 23 Skidoo building. .. tomorrow’s show with Joe Baker is canceled, and The Lyric Soda Fountain is closed this week as we deal with damage. thank you for your understanding. 

it was probably the most intense rain and hail i have ever experienced in my life..”

Looking back now, Instagon says, “There was no real warning except for usual weather reports on Thursday when the hurricane/tornado winds, rain and hail happened. We were all really taken by surprise by its severity. The storm on Friday, we knew was coming, but were not prepared for the wash to overflow that hard and that fast.”

Friday’s second round of rain and flooding proved even more fatal, as the back door of The Miami Art Works was breached, blowing open and allowing water and mud to rage throughout the building like a rapid river. This is the building that housed the art collection and archives of Michael and Joanna TwentyThree, and the water caused damage to artwork dating back to Thought Crime and The Firehouse Gallery, as well as artwork accrued over the last ten years since they moved operations to Miami. And to put it in more stark terms, on Friday, Joanna Twenty Three posted, “A flood tore through my building and took my cat.” Sadly, the cat, Herman, was later found dead.

What has made Miami especially vulnerable to this latest spate of severe weather is the damage incurred from fires from four years ago, which took away all of the ability for the hills, foliage and trees to absorb the rain. With nothing to hold the rain back, and the ground is scorched, the rains just accumulated and cascaded downhill.  

By Friday, Joanna TwentyThree’s sister-in-law, Kelly Ann, had organized a GoFundMe campaign to repair the roof, address the water damage suffered throughout both buildings and restore the soda fountain & art spaces. 

As Kelly Ann writes, “Joanna (23) has poured her heart into keeping these spaces alive for art, creativity, and community. Now she needs our help.” 

The website for Thee 23 Skidoo still has its annual Monster Party with Gracklz on the schedule for Oct 18. “We do not know yet if it can happen,” says Instagon. “We hope so.”

You can support the fundraiser for Joanna Lee TwentyThree for emergency help with the roof and damage repairs. Upon publishing, the campaign was still short of its 23K goal.