BELLE GLADE — A unique public art installation from Sofia Valiente’s award winning project "Foreverglades" will be acquired by the Lawrence E. Will Museum in Belle Glade.

Donated to the City of Belle Glade by the artist, the exhibit will immortalize the rich stories of the people and history featured in Valiente’s photographic work.

Roseada is the name of the last 1920’s steamboat to operate on Lake Okeechobee, and on which the steamboat replica was based.

“Six and a half years after moving into an old remodeled rooming house apartment in downtown Belle Glade, my epic journey comes to its end in the very first place it all began. Belle Glade is a hidden gem. The town’s history is the heritage of the Northern Everglades and its story connects all of us in South Florida. How we went from a swamp to making the land livable for everyone and the stories of the individuals that came here bravely, and on their own accord, to pave their own paths. Whether you were a farmer or a farm worker, everyone arrived for the same purpose: to make a better life for themselves. This is the spirit of America’s pioneer origins. The Roseada steamboat is a personification of the perseverance and strength of the pioneers and, as an artist, my work now comes to its full fruition. I’ve brought the stories of the Glades to its sister community, West Palm Beach and now I will be gifting this experience to the community of the Glades and it’s visitors” explained Valiente.

Opening Day for Roseada is Friday, Aug. 6, from 10 a.m. to noon at the steamboat site at the north end of the Lawrence E. Will Museum, 530 S. Main St. in Belle Glade. Visiting hours are Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The exhibition is free, originally funded in part by the Knight Foundation, the Florida Department of State Division of Cultural Affairs, and the West Palm Beach Arts & Entertainment District. The acquisition to the Lawrence E. Will Museum and donation and installation to the City of Belle Glade was sponsored and made possible by U.S. Sugar and Florida Crystals Corporation.

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About Sofia Valiente:

Sofia Valiente is an award-winning photographer and interdisciplinary artist with two published books “Miracle Village” (2014) and “Foreverglades” (2019). In 2015, she received the World Press Photo award for Miracle Village (1st prize, portraits, stories). Sofia’s work has been published in Time, The Guardian, Smithsonian, Vice, American Photo Magazine, and many other media outlets. Her projects have been exhibited internationally with solo shows in NYC, London, Paris and Munich and in numerous other group shows in museums and photography festivals around the world. To learn more about Sofia’s work, you can visit her website at
www.sofiavaliente.com or follow her on Instagram at @valiente_sofia