Art Basel Miami 2025: When Dirt Tells the Truth - A Journey Through Time, Art, and Community By Brandon Cauley, 5X Exhibition Artist #TYMED & Founder of #LADYDAYDAO

The Journey Begins (Again)

Art Basel Miami was a amazing time that was remarkable with the start Delta from Bob Hope Airport to Mia or so I believed would start my day off. But let me tell you something about my journey - it's never been straightforward.

Traveling with medication for Pain from a previous broken back and neck because I crashed my new Cadillac about 2 years old at the time because of my inability to sleep somehow I fell asleep. SMH when I woke there was a woman in the room who IDK but nevertheless time goes by and after a few days I remember the lady name... MOM shit well look that was when I understood what is was not understood... I don't know?" in the past then to the present "Repeat that as deja vu but this time Rain in LA caused my car to hydroplane and total with a knot on my head causing confusion.

Life has a way of repeating lessons until you learn them. And now, here I am at an airport again, heading back to Miami, but this time carrying something special - something that would make people stop and think about what we celebrate and what we forget.

The Artwork That Started Conversations

Now I am at a Airport heading back to Art Basel 2025, which took place December 3-7, 2025, at the Miami Beach Convention Center, featuring 283 leading galleries from 43 countries and territories. Miami Art Week Events — Miami Art Week +2

In my hands: a tribute canvas painting, acrylic and watercolor - my first collaboration with Nigerian heritage artist Lateef Kadara from Blackfloss. Together, we created a piece titled "Love is..."

But here's where it gets interesting.

In the middle of the eye, right at the center of our painting, there was dirt. Not just any dirt - dirt from the Dodgers 2025 championship pitcher's mound cbssportsWikipedia, collected on June 13th, 2025 by a young artist named Natalie.

People would stare at that painting and ask, "Why dirt? Why in the eye?"

And that's exactly the question we wanted them to ask.

The Story The Dirt Tells

See, that dirt came from sacred ground. Ground that holds two truths at once.

Chávez Ravine - a shallow canyon in Los Angeles where Dodger Stadium now sits, with water that historically flowed from what is now Griffith Park Wikipedia - this wasn't always a place of championships and celebration.

Before the roar of crowds and the crack of bats, this was home. Three thriving Mexican-American communities lived there: Palo Verde, La Loma, and Bishop. In the early 1950s, the city used eminent domain to evict more than 1,800 families, promising to build public housing. But that housing project was canceled, and the land was eventually sold to the Dodgers in 1958. The last residents were forcibly removed in 1959. laist

Families. Generations. Memories. All cleared away.

So the dirt is like the plank in the eye of the world that points a finger and does not look at them self as a hypocrites. We love our Dodgers. We celebrate the LA Championship. We love hard without time. But that same ground where champions play was taken from families who loved their homes, their community, their barrio.

The dirt in the eye makes you see both truths at once: the joy of victory and the cost of that victory ground.

When young artist Natalie collected that dirt on June 13th, 2025, she wasn't just gathering soil. She was gathering memory, displacement, resilience, and hope all in one handful.

As I am a Griffith Park community that is paying respect and using art as a Ave to add value to tomorrow outcome. We use art to remember what was lost and honor what was built, to celebrate without forgetting, to love without ignoring the truth.

The Travel Chaos (Because Of Course)

So the trip now that started off at Burbank transfer to LAX then to MIA took so much time they paid for a extra flight!

You read that right - the journey was so complicated, the airline actually compensated me with an extra flight. So I was paid this trip to attend Art Basel the highest most blessed to start off.

Maybe that was the universe saying, "This story needs to be told."

I displayed the piece at the Ritz on Miami Beach. The room was filled with energy - Shaggy ("It wasn't Me") and family VIP, then JaRule dinner, Timbaland, Savannah James, Clipse, Tyrese, Scott Page. Art Basel Miami Beach 2025 welcomed over 80,000 visitors including representatives from more than 240 museums and foundations. artandobject

But you know what? The VIP dinners and celebrity moments weren't what this trip was really about.

The Real Mission: Breaking Down Gates

Time, yes that is what we have to talk about now because it is the new the old and the now that we all fight to have the ability to gain the attention and build the future.

Brandon also the founder of a DAO namely (discord) #LADYDAYDAO established 2021 and keeps provided the assess to opportunities to be present in the room without gates or borders.

Let me explain what that means. (discord) #LADYDAYDAO wasn't created to be exclusive. It was created to be the opposite - to tear down the gates that keep people out of rooms where opportunities happen. No gates. No borders. Everyone deserves a seat at the table. Representation matters in a place were we are the product that they extract our date to create and target us.

And it's not just talk. With the next event this Saturday with another foundation in LA we are still doin this again and again as we are supporting others such as woman and minorities to level the playing field and provide more value.

Where the Magic Really Happened

And then showing up for the 3rd annual event helping with another awesome day the 5013c we helped the past few years straight donation of more than the most expensive currency TIME! also knowledge and games.

Three years straight. Three years of showing up. Three years of giving what matters most - TIME.

Not just money. Not just stuff. TIME.

The best part is to see them leave with food in their belly and two hands of toys 10k in shirts from Yuga Labs form @IllaDaProducer and a smile having a good time painting and with the people who showed up!

Picture it: Kids walking out with both hands full of toys. Bellies full from good food. Ten thousand dollars worth of shirts donated by Yuga Labs through @IllaDaProducer. Paint on their fingers from creating their own art. And smiles - genuine, can't-fake-it smiles.

That's the real Art Basel. Not the galleries. Not the VIP rooms. The real art is in those smiles.

What This Means For You

Here's what I learned, and here's what you can do with this information:

Give Your TIME It's the most valuable thing you have. More valuable than money. More valuable than anything you can buy. Volunteer. Show up. Be present.

Tell Complex Stories Through Your Art Don't shy away from uncomfortable truths. The "Love is..." painting holds both celebration and loss. Your art can do that too. Research the history of places around you. What was there before? Who lived there? What stories aren't being told?

Understand Power and Justice Those families in Chávez Ravine were promised public housing. They were lied to. The land was sold to the Dodgers instead. laist When you see injustice, name it. When you celebrate something, ask what the cost was. Both things can be true at the same time.

Remove Gates and Borders Look around. Who's not in the room? Who's being left out? Invite them in. Share information. Share opportunities. Make sure everyone knows what's happening and how to participate.

Support Those Leveling the Playing Field Women, minorities, people who've been kept out - they deserve the same chances as everyone else. Use your voice. Use your platform. Use your art.

Collaborate Across Differences I worked with Lateef Kadara from Nigeria and young artist Natalie. Different ages, different backgrounds, different perspectives. That's what made it powerful.

The Story Continues

My last event was supposed to be Scarface mansion but after Art With Me... with JJ LOVE. I needed to get that plain back home that turned into another fiasco 2 be continued...

Because of course it did. Because the journey is never straightforward. Because there's always more to the story.

But here's what I know for sure: Whether you're at Art Basel Miami with 80,000 visitors from around the world artandobject, or you're in your own neighborhood working with people right where you are, the mission is the same.

Give your TIME. Tell the truth with your art. Remember what was lost. Celebrate what was built. Remove the gates. Level the playing field. And always - always - put that dirt in the eye so people have to see clearly.

No gates, no borders. Everyone deserves to be in the room where opportunities happen.

The dirt in the eye reminds us to see everything, to love hard while acknowledging the full truth of our history.

Brandon Cauley is a 5X exhibitor artist with TYMEinc, using #TYMED to create art that adds value to communities and honors history through creative collaboration. He is the founder of( IG )#LADYDAYDAO, established in 2021, dedicated to providing access to opportunities without gates or borders.

The story continues...

Art Basel Miami 2025: When Dirt Tells the Truth - A Journey Through Time, Art, and Community By Brandon Cauley, 5X Exhibition Artist #TYMED & Founder of #LADYDAYDAO

The Journey Begins (Again)

Art Basel Miami was a amazing time that was remarkable with the start Delta from Bob Hope Airport to Mia or so I believed would start my day off. But let me tell you something about my journey - it's never been straightforward.

Traveling with medication for Pain from a previous broken back and neck because I crashed my new Cadillac about 2 years old at the time because of my inability to sleep somehow I fell asleep. SMH when I woke there was a woman in the room who IDK but nevertheless time goes by and after a few days I remember the lady name... MOM shit well look that was when I understood what is was not understood... I don't know?" in the past then to the present "Repeat that as deja vu but this time Rain in LA caused my car to hydroplane and total with a knot on my head causing confusion.

Life has a way of repeating lessons until you learn them. And now, here I am at an airport again, heading back to Miami, but this time carrying something special - something that would make people stop and think about what we celebrate and what we forget.

The Artwork That Started Conversations

Now I am at a Airport heading back to Art Basel 2025, which took place December 3-7, 2025, at the Miami Beach Convention Center, featuring 283 leading galleries from 43 countries and territories. Miami Art Week Events — Miami Art Week +2

In my hands: a tribute canvas painting, acrylic and watercolor - my first collaboration with Nigerian heritage artist Lateef Kadara from Blackfloss. Together, we created a piece titled "Love is..."

But here's where it gets interesting.

In the middle of the eye, right at the center of our painting, there was dirt. Not just any dirt - dirt from the Dodgers 2025 championship pitcher's mound cbssportsWikipedia, collected on June 13th, 2025 by a young artist named Natalie.

People would stare at that painting and ask, "Why dirt? Why in the eye?"

And that's exactly the question we wanted them to ask.

The Story The Dirt Tells

See, that dirt came from sacred ground. Ground that holds two truths at once.

Chávez Ravine - a shallow canyon in Los Angeles where Dodger Stadium now sits, with water that historically flowed from what is now Griffith Park Wikipedia - this wasn't always a place of championships and celebration.

Before the roar of crowds and the crack of bats, this was home. Three thriving Mexican-American communities lived there: Palo Verde, La Loma, and Bishop. In the early 1950s, the city used eminent domain to evict more than 1,800 families, promising to build public housing. But that housing project was canceled, and the land was eventually sold to the Dodgers in 1958. The last residents were forcibly removed in 1959. laist

Families. Generations. Memories. All cleared away.

So the dirt is like the plank in the eye of the world that points a finger and does not look at them self as a hypocrites. We love our Dodgers. We celebrate the LA Championship. We love hard without time. But that same ground where champions play was taken from families who loved their homes, their community, their barrio.

The dirt in the eye makes you see both truths at once: the joy of victory and the cost of that victory ground.

When young artist Natalie collected that dirt on June 13th, 2025, she wasn't just gathering soil. She was gathering memory, displacement, resilience, and hope all in one handful.

As I am a Griffith Park community that is paying respect and using art as a Ave to add value to tomorrow outcome. We use art to remember what was lost and honor what was built, to celebrate without forgetting, to love without ignoring the truth.

The Travel Chaos (Because Of Course)

So the trip now that started off at Burbank transfer to LAX then to MIA took so much time they paid for a extra flight!

You read that right - the journey was so complicated, the airline actually compensated me with an extra flight. So I was paid this trip to attend Art Basel the highest most blessed to start off.

Maybe that was the universe saying, "This story needs to be told."

I displayed the piece at the Ritz on Miami Beach. The room was filled with energy - Shaggy ("It wasn't Me") and family VIP, then JaRule dinner, Timbaland, Savannah James, Clipse, Tyrese, Scott Page. Art Basel Miami Beach 2025 welcomed over 80,000 visitors including representatives from more than 240 museums and foundations. artandobject

But you know what? The VIP dinners and celebrity moments weren't what this trip was really about.

The Real Mission: Breaking Down Gates

Time, yes that is what we have to talk about now because it is the new the old and the now that we all fight to have the ability to gain the attention and build the future.

Brandon also the founder of a DAO namely (discord) #LADYDAYDAO established 2021 and keeps provided the assess to opportunities to be present in the room without gates or borders.

Let me explain what that means. (discord) #LADYDAYDAO wasn't created to be exclusive. It was created to be the opposite - to tear down the gates that keep people out of rooms where opportunities happen. No gates. No borders. Everyone deserves a seat at the table. Representation matters in a place were we are the product that they extract our date to create and target us.

And it's not just talk. With the next event this Saturday with another foundation in LA we are still doin this again and again as we are supporting others such as woman and minorities to level the playing field and provide more value.

Where the Magic Really Happened

And then showing up for the 3rd annual event helping with another awesome day the 5013c we helped the past few years straight donation of more than the most expensive currency TIME! also knowledge and games.

Three years straight. Three years of showing up. Three years of giving what matters most - TIME.

Not just money. Not just stuff. TIME.

The best part is to see them leave with food in their belly and two hands of toys 10k in shirts from Yuga Labs form @IllaDaProducer and a smile having a good time painting and with the people who showed up!

Picture it: Kids walking out with both hands full of toys. Bellies full from good food. Ten thousand dollars worth of shirts donated by Yuga Labs through @IllaDaProducer. Paint on their fingers from creating their own art. And smiles - genuine, can't-fake-it smiles.

That's the real Art Basel. Not the galleries. Not the VIP rooms. The real art is in those smiles.

What This Means For You

Here's what I learned, and here's what you can do with this information:

Give Your TIME It's the most valuable thing you have. More valuable than money. More valuable than anything you can buy. Volunteer. Show up. Be present.

Tell Complex Stories Through Your Art Don't shy away from uncomfortable truths. The "Love is..." painting holds both celebration and loss. Your art can do that too. Research the history of places around you. What was there before? Who lived there? What stories aren't being told?

Understand Power and Justice Those families in Chávez Ravine were promised public housing. They were lied to. The land was sold to the Dodgers instead. laist When you see injustice, name it. When you celebrate something, ask what the cost was. Both things can be true at the same time.

Remove Gates and Borders Look around. Who's not in the room? Who's being left out? Invite them in. Share information. Share opportunities. Make sure everyone knows what's happening and how to participate.

Support Those Leveling the Playing Field Women, minorities, people who've been kept out - they deserve the same chances as everyone else. Use your voice. Use your platform. Use your art.

Collaborate Across Differences I worked with Lateef Kadara from Nigeria and young artist Natalie. Different ages, different backgrounds, different perspectives. That's what made it powerful.

The Story Continues

My last event was supposed to be Scarface mansion but after Art With Me... with JJ LOVE. I needed to get that plain back home that turned into another fiasco 2 be continued...

Because of course it did. Because the journey is never straightforward. Because there's always more to the story.

But here's what I know for sure: Whether you're at Art Basel Miami with 80,000 visitors from around the world artandobject, or you're in your own neighborhood working with people right where you are, the mission is the same.

Give your TIME. Tell the truth with your art. Remember what was lost. Celebrate what was built. Remove the gates. Level the playing field. And always - always - put that dirt in the eye so people have to see clearly.

No gates, no borders. Everyone deserves to be in the room where opportunities happen.

The dirt in the eye reminds us to see everything, to love hard while acknowledging the full truth of our history.

Brandon Cauley is a 5X exhibitor artist with TYMEinc, using #TYMED to create art that adds value to communities and honors history through creative collaboration. He is the founder of( IG )#LADYDAYDAO, established in 2021, dedicated to providing access to opportunities without gates or borders.

The story continues...