Phase Gallery at Moonlighter FabLab Presents: Dawn of Digital

Celebrating the October Edition of Miami Beach Culture Crawl with the grand opening of the Dawn of Digital exhibit. Enjoy light bites and refreshments, music, and a hands-on activity by the curator.

About Dawn of Digital | The Art and Soul of Early Computing

Celebrating the design and innovation of the technologies that sparked the digital revolution – Featuring selections from the private collection of Mario Cruz with restoration support from Miguel Corteguera. Step into the spark that ignited our digital age. Dawn of Digital: The Art & Soul of Early Computing invites visitors to explore the iconic devices that revolutionized the relationship between humans and machines. This carefully curated exhibition pays tribute to the bold industrial design and technological innovation that defined the dawn of personal computing—from raw circuitry to sculpted elegance. At the core of this exhibit is the belief that computing has always been more than code and hardware—it is a reflection of human imagination, aspiration, and design. Each object on display, generously loaned by collector Mario Cruz, tells a unique story of a pivotal moment in our collective technological evolution. Together, they form a visual timeline of ingenuity: machines that shrank rooms of computing power into homes, schools, and briefcases—each one reshaping how we live, work, and play. From the functional minimalism of the TRS-80 Model 3 (1980), engineered to overcome radio interference and offer stability for home users, to the whimsical, award-winning elegance of the iMac G4 (2002), design evolves alongside accessibility. Early pioneers like the Commodore VIC-20 (1980) made computing affordable and friendly, while powerful systems like the PDP-11/70 (1975) served as the unseen backbone of scientific progress. Witness the playful rise of gaming consoles like the ATARI 2600A and Magnavox Odyssey 2, which transported the arcade into the living room and introduced a generation to digital interactivity. Meanwhile, the Kaypro II and TRS-80 Model 100 embodied early dreams of computing on-the-go, encapsulating the rugged portability and purpose-driven design that shaped today’s mobile devices. Dawn of Digital not only celebrates these technological artifacts as milestones but elevates them as cultural objects—evidence of an era that dared to imagine computing as universal. These machines reflect the shift from the specialist to the everyday user, from labs to living rooms, from mainframes to mouse clicks.

About the Phase Gallery at Moonlighter FabLab

PHASE Gallery features work that blends technology, social impact, and art in new innovative mediums. Creators that work in the realms of both bits and atoms – Digital and Physical matter. PHASE Gallery celebrates the process and technical craft of artists, designers, and engineers creating on the cutting edge and making an impact on their communities. Located in Moonlighter FabLab, a 501(c)3 non-profit S.T.E.A.M. Learning Center and Community Fabrication Lab in Miami Beach, Florida dedicated to empowering makers with the skills, tools, and opportunities to shape a better future. Supported in part by The City of Miami Beach, Miami Beach Cultural Affairs, and the Jorge M. Perez Family Foundation CreARTE grant at the Miami Foundation.

Info: Light bites and refreshments Available. Exhibition on View.

Info: Meet Mario Cruz and Miguel Corteguera - and learn more about the pieces on display in the gallery. Get hands-on with retro hardware and software to get a glimpse of life in the days of early computing.

Info: Enjoy music, light bites, and the pieces on view along with a meet and greet with the curators of the exhibit.

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