Kilombo Photo Exhibition Celebrating Black History Month

BLACK HISTORY MONTH EVENT AT THE BETSY HOTEL PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY'S IWITNESS FEATURING APPEARANCES BY GLOBAL PHOTOGRAPHER MARIA DANIEL BALCAZAR AND JAZZ PERFORMER/POET TAI ALLEN

The Betsy Hotel (thebetsyhotel.com) is proud to present Kilombo, the inaugural iWitness exhibition of documentary photographs by Maria Daniel Balcazar, in the Carlton Room Gallery. Kilombo's opening event is on February 7, 2025 at 7:30 PM - and marks the launch of a new dynamic sustained collaboration: iWitness @ The Betsy. This event is free and open to the public. (enter The Betsy at 1433 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach). The exhibition will be up through May 2025.

The exhibition of large-scale documentary photographs entitled Kilombo, a tribute to the resilience and vitality of the African legacy in Brazil, represents the work of Maria Daniel Balcazar, a prize-winning documentary photographer and visual anthropologist, whose projects focus on the vitality of cultural traditions in the constant remaking of identity.

Artist Maria Daniel Balcazar will be present at the opening event to speak about her work, in partnership with Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Carl Juste, founder and curator of iWitness. Brooklyn-based Poet/Performer Tai Allen (with Brian Murphy, piano) will also present and perform. Ms. Balcazar and Mr. Allen will be in residence in The Betsy Writers Room (thebetsywritersroom.com) as part of this initiative - joining more than 1000 alumni in the program.

Kilombo marks the beginning of a sustained collaborative relationship between The Betsy Hotel and the iWitness: IPC Institute of Visual Journalism, itself a joint effort born of a partnership between the Iris Photo Collective led by Carl-Philippe Juste and the Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab led by Dr. Rebecca Friedman.

ABOUT iWITNESS: iWitness: IPC Institute for Visual Journalism (re)engages visual journalism as a means of pursuing knowledge and truth-telling. iWitness: IPC Institute for Visual Journalism at FIU foregrounds the visual narrative to investigate issues impacting democracy in Latin America, the Caribbean, and its Global Diasporas. ABOUT THE WOLFSONIAN PUBLIC HUMANITIES LAB: (WPHL) serves as FIU’s hub for public-facing research, teaching and community initiatives in the areas of arts and culture.

ABOUT THE BETSY-SOUTH BEACH: The Betsy is a family-owned and operated luxury beachfront resort in Miami Beach, Florida - and one of the preeminent arts and culture hotels in the world. Anchoring the quiet end of Ocean Drive in the historic Art Deco District, guests find 130 individually appointed rooms, an award-winning restaurant, rooftop pool deck suspended in midair, artists in residence, property library, Panther Coffee Bar, live jazz, and curated exhibitions. Hundreds of organizations have partnered with The Betsy since 2009, including an enduring partnership with Florida International University. Public art includes: #thebetsyorb – a highly unique design element that connects the hotel’s two historic wings, The Betsy Poetry Rail - a unique celebration of 12 writers that shaped Miami culture See overview of exhibitions https://bit.ly/3g3XIMX

Host or Publisher The Betsy Hotel