The People’s Choice Award is determined by the public via an online vote. Their selection, The Future Eternal by the San Juan-born, Miami-based artist Carlos Betancourt, is an animated video projected onto the iconic “Betsy Orb,” a skybridge placed in between the two buildings of the Betsy Hotel. The colorful, kaleidoscopic installation reflects the Christmas decorations and tree toppers of Betancourt’s childhood, which he and his mother left behind when they moved from Puerto Rico to Miami. This memory led him to collect discarded decorative lights from second hand stores, which he has layered to explore themes of memory, beauty, and the passage of time in The Future Eternal.
No Vacancy is a juried art competition that supports and celebrates mainly local artists, provokes critical discourse, and encourages the public to experience Miami Beach’s famed hotels as temporary art destinations in their own right. No Vacancy 2023 included 12 participating artists drawn from a call for submissions and selected by representatives from the City of Miami Beach Art in Public Places Committee, Cultural Arts Council (CAC) and MBVCA. Each artist created a site-specific work for display at one of 12 different hotels throughout Miami Beach. For the fourth edition of this competition, $35,000 in prizes were awarded, including the $10,000 Public Prize by the GMCVB and the $25,000 Juried Prize awarded by a panel of art world professionals.
For additional information please visit: www.mbartsandculture.org/no-vacancy.