The arts have meant everything at The Betsy - South Beach since it re-opened in 2009 and at the FIU College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts | Miami Beach Urban Studios [MBUS], which opened its doors in 2011. The two institutions are connected on many levels, but most importantly, both value community, education, and, of course, the nourishment and experience of exceptional talent. Over the past decade, The Betsy and MBUS have hosted thousands of artists in their numerous galleries and performance spaces.
In a partnership between FIU MBUS and The Betsy, we are taking the show on the most open road of them all. You’re invited to four weekly installments of a new online interactive arts salon series called “Zen and the Art of … (Architecture, Music, Poetry, Photography),” featuring talks with and performances by some of the most innovative artists working today.
Architecture - Chad Oppenheim
March 30, 2020
Chad Oppenheim is an architect. His work ranges from large-scale urban architecture, hotels, resorts, and luxury homes to interiors and furnishings. He has received global recognition for socially and environmentally conscious architecture and set trends in sustainability. An alchemist of atmosphere, Oppenheim transforms the prosaic into the poetic, and his firm’s award-winning work has been featured in over 1,000 publications, including The New York Times and Architectural Record. He is an adjunct professor at FIU.
Music - Jason Calloway
April 6, 2020
Jason Calloway is a cellist. He has performed to acclaim at festivals all over the world as soloist and chamber musician, including Lucerne, Spoleto USA, Darmstadt, Klangspuren (Austria), Acanthes (France), Perpignan, Valencia, Citta’ della Pieve (Italy), Jerash (Jordan), Casals (Puerto Rico), Blossom, Brevard, Colima (Mexico), Great Lakes, Kingston, Rockport, Sedona, Sarasota, Music Academy of the West, the New York String Seminar, and Encore. Mr. Calloway is currently cellist of the Amernet String Quartet, Ensemble-in-Residence at FIU, and was previously a member of the Naumburg award-winning Biava Quartet, formerly in residence at the Juilliard School. He is a cello instructor in the Department of Music at FIU.
Poetry - Campbell McGrath
April 13, 2020
Campbell McGrath is a poet. He is the author of nine full-length collections of poetry, including, most recently, In the Kingdom of the Sea Monkeys (Ecco Press). McGrath has been recognized by some of America’s most prestigious awards, including the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, a Pushcart Prize, the Academy of American Poets Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a MacArthur Foundation "Genius Award." In 2017, McGrath was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry. He is Distinguished University Professor; Endowed Phillip and Patricia Frost in English at FIU.
Photography - Robert Zuckerman
April 20, 2020
Robert Zuckerman is a photographer. He has done recent album cover and movie poster photography for Will Smith and was invited to be the personal photographer for the family of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz. Zuckerman’s images have become the advertising and publicity campaigns for such films as “Any Given Sunday,” “Training Day,” “Terminator 3” and “Transformers,” among others, and television series including “The Shield,” “Rescue Me” and “Nip/Tuck.” Zuckerman is drawn to any subject as long as there’s spirit and love in the room, from the inner city to the mansions of Malibu. He is a Dean’s Distinguished Fellow at FIU.
