|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Michele Oka Doner selected for city’s largest public art commission since 2022
Today, the City of Miami Beach announced that Michele Oka Doner has been selected by the Art in Public Places Committee (AIPP) to design a site-specific, integrated artwork for Bayshore Park, which was partially funded by the 2018 voter-approved General Obligation Bond. Doner’s proposed artwork, Bird House, draws upon her deep, personal connection to Miami Beach and hopes to open the doors for exploration, pleasure and play for future generations.
Doner’s proposal was selected after a thoughtful curatorial approach and rigorous selection process that began with 67 applicants and was narrowed down to three outstanding semi-finalists, chosen for their understanding of what makes Miami Beach unique. Noted semi-finalists are Richard Hudson and R & R Studios (Roberto Behar & Rosario Marquardt).
Funded via a municipal investment of $300,000, the Bayshore Park project marks the city’s largest public art commission since the installation of FriendsWithYou’s Starchild in Henry Liebman Square in 2022. Bayshore Park — a former golf course transformed into a public park for all of the city’s residents to enjoy — will boast a central lake with boardwalks, a pavilion, six pickleball and tennis courts, a playground, dog park, jogging trails and pathways, a fitness cluster, and a butterfly garden. Last July, the City of Miami Beach solicited proposals from professional artists for a site-specific artwork that would offer visitors a striking artistic experience while also creating a unique visual identity for the park and surrounding environment.
Michele Oka Doner’s Bird House is inspired by the artist’s childhood and the natural elements that characterize the park and city. A Miami Beach native, Doner grew up across the street from the park, and always marveled at the wildlife that made their homes among its foliage. Bird House recalls an abandoned birdhouse which the artist discovered in a Coconut Palm Tree. Her proposed sculpture, which will stand 20 feet high and 6 feet in diameter, embodies the magic which exists in the natural world. Composed of shining mica, Bird House will be a radiant icon, combining the familiar with the mysterious, welcoming visitors of all ages to appreciate the beauty (both natural and artist-made) that makes the City of Miami Beach so special.
“It is a privilege to engage with the heritage of a city I call home,” said Michele Oka Doner. “With Bird House, I want to create a welcoming beacon that draws curious visitors to the park, serves as a familiar meeting-place for the community, and, over time, embeds itself in the collective memory of Miami Beach.”
“Bayshore Park represents a new chapter for Miami Beach — one that blends natural beauty, recreation, and artistic excellence,” said Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner. “Michele Oka Doner’s Bird House will be a striking addition, celebrating our city’s heritage while reinforcing Miami Beach’s reputation as an art and culture destination.”
Construction on Bird House is due to be completed by winter 2025.
About Michele Oka Doner
Michele Oka Doner is an artist whose work is fueled by a lifelong study and appreciation of the natural world, from which she derives her formal vocabulary. Her artistic production includes sculpture, drawing, public art, functional objects, video, artist books, and costume and set design. She has created numerous permanent art installations throughout the world, including Radiant Site at the Herald Square MTA station in New York, A Walk on the Beach at Miami International Airport, and Velocity of Light, the entrance to the new Astronomy Museum in Shanghai. Her work is found in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum and Whitney, NY, Art Institute of Chicago, Detroit Institute of Arts, The Louvre, Victoria and Albert, London, and Michigan, Oxford, Yale and Harvard university art museums, among others. She has received many awards, including those given by UN Society of Writers and Artists, Pratt Institute, New York State Council of the Arts and the Knight Foundation. She was first Artist in Residence at the New York Botanical Garden and received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Michigan, where she earned her undergraduate and MFA degrees. Oka Doner is the author or subject of numerous books, including Natural Seduction, Miami Beach: Blueprint of an Eden, Human Nature,Everything Is Alive, and Into the Mysterium. Born in Miami Beach, Michele Oka Doner was recently designated Guardian of the City of Miami Beach’s Great Banyan Tree and represents Miami Beach as Ambassador for Arts and Culture. Currently she is working on Talisman, in conjunction with the City of New York, on an installation for Park Avenue, opening March, 2026.
About the City of Miami Beach Art in Public Places Program
Art in Public Places Committee is a seven-member city board responsible for the commission and purchase of artwork by contemporary artists in all media. The program allocates funds totaling 2% of hard costs for City projects and joint private/public projects. Funds from construction projects may be aggregated into the Art in Public Places Fund and allocated for artwork at public sites and for collection maintenance.
