iWitness @ The Betsy – the marriage of The Betsy Hotel South Beach and iWitness: IPC Institute of Visual Journalism at FIU – represents a collaborative commitment to community partnership that brings together creativity in art, hospitality and education to excite crowds about the need to continue to support democracy and justice, wherever they are found.
iWitness @ The Betsy serves as a bridge in a variety of ways, connecting the mainland to the beach, and reminding us how to find the foreign in the familiar and vice versa. iWItness @ The Betsy too creates space for ideas and people to engage about subjects that bring them from their community and their homes to a new home through public activations that inspire dialog and work toward solving our world’s most pressing challenges.
The inaugural exhibition is the work of Maria Daniel Balcazar from her Kilombo series in the café which launched February 13, 2025.
Kilombo: Places of Memory, Resistance, and Holding Spaces
In Brazil, Quilombo represents an autonomous community where runaway slaves planted the seeds of Afro-Brazilian heritage. The title of this book, Kilombo, was chosen to honor its Bantu origin, while also highlighting its meaning as a haven from injustice and violence. It is a symbol of dignity and freedom with emphasis on the resistance and transcendence of the African diaspora, generation after generation. During the Atlantic slave trade, approximately 4.8 million African slaves from various regions of Africa were forcefully brought to Brazil, bringing only their customs and religious practices. Through nurturing their roots despite the imposition of new beliefs, these customs continue to be celebrated by many. The vitality of the African legacy, within the richness of Brazilian syncretism, and its resilient presence in everyday life, drew my heart to Afro-Brazilian culture.
Maria Daniel Balcazar is a documentary photographer. Most of her projects focus on the vitality of cultural traditions in the constant remaking of identity. A central theme in her work is the vital role of women in preserving tradition through adversity, nurturing resilience, and fostering growth amidst change. She has studied Fine Arts, Languages, Journalism and Photography. Her work has been featured in several international magazines and newspapers, and exhibited in universities, galleries, museums and international festivals in various countries. Maria Daniel works as a freelance photographer. She has a fellowship at Florida International University on the iWitness project. Books: - Kilombo, a tribute to the resilience and vitality of the African legacy in Brazil. - The Heirs of Dawn, on traditions, and histories in the Carnaval de Oruro in Bolivia. - Nuances of your gaze, a visual interpretation honoring poet Julia de Burgos. - Invisible Custodians, on the preservation of natural and cultural heritage in the Amazon and River Plate basins in Bolivia
See Maria Daniel Balcazar Exhibition Here