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for immediate release
May 19, 2026
Expanding its celebrated public art collection with a new 22-foot-tall permanent installation
Miami Beach, FL – The City of Miami Beach is pleased to announce that BirdHouse, a 22-foot-tall sculpture by internationally acclaimed artist Michele Oka Doner, will be unveiled on Friday, May 29 at 4 p.m. at Bayshore Park (2530 Pine Tree Drive).
Selected by the city’s Art in Public Places Committee (AiPP) via a public call for artists, the work was conceived as a site-specific, integrated artwork that reflects the natural beauty and history of its surroundings.
The event will feature poetry readings by students from O, Miami’s Sunroom program and the ceremonial sounds of a Caribbean conch shell, celebrating the park as one of Miami Beach’s most tranquil green spaces.
Parking for the unveiling event is available at nearby Miami Beach Senior High School (2231 Prairie Ave). Free shuttles will run from the high school to Bayshore Park during the unveiling.
Standing 22 feet tall and six feet in diameter at Fairgreen Hill in Bayshore Park, BirdHouse is inspired by Doner’s childhood and the natural elements that characterize both the park and the city. A Miami Beach native, Doner grew up across the street from the park and recalls discovering an abandoned birdhouse nestled in a coconut palm tree — a formative image that informs the sculpture.
“It was my desire to create a work of art that is totemic, a form somewhat familiar yet mysterious, a sculpture that appeals to all ages, visible beyond the boundaries of Bayshore Park,” shared Michele Oka Doner. “Like a beacon, it will draw curious visitors, become a destination for recreation and contemplation, and establish Fairgreen Hill as a meeting place for the surrounding community and all citizens of the City of Miami Beach.”
Composed of radiant mica, BirdHouse evokes both the familiar and the mysterious. The work serves as a luminous beacon within the landscape, inviting visitors of all ages to engage with the magic of the natural world and the artistic spirit that defines Miami Beach.
“The unveiling of Birdhouse marks more than a sculpture addition, it's the continued evolution of Bayshore Park as a cultural and community landmark,” said Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner. “Recognizing artists like Michele Oka Doner during Women's History Month reflects our dedication to lifting up the women whose vision and talent enrich Miami Beach.”
BirdHouse is the second permanent artwork by a female artist installed by the City’s AiPP Program during Women’s History Month. It follows the recent unveiling of She Spoke for the Birds, a mural by Christina Pettersson honoring Marjory Stoneman Douglas in her namesake park.
Funded by $300,000 from the city’s Art in Public Places fund, the Bayshore Park commission marks the city’s largest public art investment since FriendsWithYou’s Starchild was installed at Henry Liebman Square in 2022.
With BirdHouse, Doner joins the AIPP’s distinguished permanent public art collection, which includes works by artists including, Franz Ackermann, Farah Al Qasimi, Sanford Biggers, Amoako Boafo, Elmgreen & Dragset, Anneke Eussen, FriendsWithYou, Bill Fontana, Ximena Garrido-Lecca, Dan Graham, Ellen Harvey, Joseph Kosuth, Roy Lichtenstein, Sarah Morris, Ebony G. Patterson, Christina Pettersson, Jaume Plensa, Tobias Rehberger, Nina Surel, Juana Valdés, Joep van Lieshout and Wendy Wischer.
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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.
Press Contact
cityofmiamibeach@culturalcounsel.com
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