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The Creative Adventures of Brigitte “Bibi” Andrade

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The Creative Adventures of Brigitte “Bibi” Andrade

Introduction to Bibi Andrade. 1:57 min. Interview: Raymond Elman.  Post-Production: Beverly R. Muzii. Music:  Beverly R. Muzii.  Recorded at FIU Lee Caplin School of Journalism and Media  2/9/2024, North Miami.

 

 

BRIGITTE “BIBI” ANDRADE a multi-talented artist, Fashion Institute of Technology graduate, and former model, is a 43 year veteran of the Beauty Industry, where she acted as an agent for photographers, hair, and makeup artists.  From 1981 until 1986, Andrade was Managing Director for Beauty Bookings, where she created an international network for artists to showcase their talents abroad, while working with such prestigious clients as Vogue, Revlon, Harpers and Clairol.

Ever evolving, Andrade formed her own agency, Brigitte Inc., where she represented many domestic and international artists in the beauty and fashion industry, negotiating all bookings for photo and film shoots. The multi-faceted Andrade started a full-scale production company called Andrade International Productions Inc., handling every aspect of the creative process from design layout to production. For the last 31 years, Andrade has chosen to make Miami Beach her home, where she founded BB International Productions (1998-2021), and in 2022 formed a new company Bibi Art Media Inc. with the innovative creation of “The Adventures of Bibi and Friends,” a comic book that chronicles the travels and business dealings of a fictional public relations executive as she conducts her business. The Bibi character has been synonymous with everything cool in Miami Beach and the comic books led to a parallel career as an artist. Brigitte has received awards for her creative historical work from a Key to The City of Miami Beach in 2006, to being nominated for Tourism Professional of The Year in Dade-County in 2023. To date, 17 “Bibi” comic books have been published with the support of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, The City of Miami Beach, leading restaurants, hotels, nightclubs and major national sponsors. Andrade currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Miami Beach Black Affairs Advisory Committee, serves on the MB Sister Cities Committee, and is a board member of the Miami Beach Arts Trust, which publishes the online art, theater & cultural website Miamiartzine.com. Andrade also provides free social media marketing with her Artdecembermiami.co website, which is celebrating 16 years of supporting local & international artists and art events.

~booksandbooks.com

 

The videos below were recorded at the FIU Lee Caplin School of Journalism, are organized by Success Factor, and run between 30 seconds and 5 minutes. Click on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.

 

SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES: 1:09 min. 

Where did you grow up, and what was your first awareness of art of any discipline?

 

STRONG DRIVE FOR ACHIEVEMENT:  1:49 min

Who have been your role models and influencers?

 

VALUES FIRST-RATE EDUCATION:  0:54 sec.

Where did you go to school and what did you learn that still informs you today?

 

EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES:  0:51 sec. 

How did the FIT art history course change your life?

 

UNDERSTANDS THE BUSINESS OF ART:  2:02 min. 

Tell us about your transition from FIT into New York advertising.

 

DEVELOP A VOICE: 0:41 sec.

My friend Jerry Robinson (who created “The Joker” for “Batman”) was VERY instrumental in having cartoons recognized as an art form.

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 0:34 sec.

Who were some of your favorite cartoonists at a young age?

 

EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES: 0:41 sec.

How did your creation of comic books evolve?

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 1:23 min.

When did you start to feel passionate about comic art and why?

 

SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES: 0:50 sec.

What triggered you to begin making comic art?

 

SELF-CONFIDENCE:  1:09 min.

What was the response to your idea of making comic art?

 

SERENDIPITY:   0:27 sec. 

Did you have a strategy that if you could get Harrison Ford to participate others would follow?

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND:  1:03 min.

What role do you see comics playing in our society?

 

COMMUNITY VALUES:  0:40 sec. 

So comics can unite people by being all-inclusive.

 

SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES: 3:26 min. 

When did you first come to Miami and what inspired you to move to Miami Beach?

 

INSIGHT & INSPIRATION:  0:33 sec. 

How did moving to Miami change the content of your comic books?

 

DEVELOP A VOICE:  4:00 min

Have you animated your comic book images?

 

CRITICAL THINKING:  0:54 sec.

There are adventure comic books, humor comic books, propaganda comic books, etc. How would you describe the ethos of your comic books?

 

CRITICAL THINKING:   0:40 sec.

What do you think about the “underground comics” created by cartoonists like R. Crumb, Bill Griffith, etc.?

 

SELF-CONFIDENCE:   2:08 min.

How has social media impacted what you do?

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND:   2:50 min.

Tell us about your project with Sam Moore.

 

CRITICAL THINKING:   2:06 min

During the Jim Crow era, most of the most prominent Black entertainers, athletes, and politicians stayed at the Hampton House in Brownsville / Overtown when they visited or performed in Miami. Why isn’t the Hampton House famous?

 

PERSEVERANCE FURTHERS:   1:02 min. 

So much of African-American history is deeply buried and needs to be brought under a spotlight — i.e. the Hampton House, the Tulsa Massacre, Rosewood.

 

CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND:   4:34 min. 

Tell us about your latest Expo Metro art project with Rudolph van Valkenburg.

 

DEVELOP A VOICE:   1:56 min. 

What is your protocol for developing a project?

 

SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES:   3:59 min. 

What projects are you most proud of?