Josh Aronson Wins $35,000 for No Vacancy, Miami Beach 2024

Photo courtesy of Jeanne Canto.

Miami Beach, FL – The City of Miami Beach, in collaboration with the Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority (MBVCA) and the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB), is pleased to announce the winners of the 2024 edition of No Vacancy, Miami Beach. The $25,000 Juried Prize and the GMCVB-sponsored $10,000 People’s Choice Award, have both been awarded to Josh Aronson, who presented Florida Boys at The Catalina Hotel & Beach Club.

The jurors for this year’s presentation are Franklin Sirmans, Director of Pérez Art Museum Miami, Ming Joi Washington, Lichtenstein Fellow at Pérez Art Museum Miami, Independent Curator and Scholar, and Direlia Lazo, Artistic Director for Zona Maco, Mexico City’s premier art fair, and Founder/Director of the Havana Art Weekend. The jurors unanimously selected Josh Aronson’s Florida Boys as the recipient of the Juried Prize.

The People’s Choice Award is determined by the public via an online vote; out of 2,146 votes, Florida Boys received 739 votes.

Florida Boys is a site-specific installation by Miami-based artist Josh Aronson, featuring the photograph Spring (2023–2024), dye sublimated onto fabric and suspended in front of the iconic two-story window at the Catalina Hotel & Beach Club. The translucent fabric allows daylight to pass through, transforming the photograph into a dynamic interplay of light and shadow. As air circulates in the lobby, the suspended artwork gently moves, creating a living, evolving presence that shifts with the changing light throughout the day.

Spring depicts a serene moment of young men floating in a Florida spring, a scene that speaks to themes of unity, tranquility, and the expansive nature of modern masculinity. Set in Miami Beach, the installation resonates with the city’s unique convergence of natural beauty and urban vibrancy, while also nodding to its legacy as a haven for queer culture. The subtle interaction of the photograph with its environment invites viewers into a contemplative space, echoing the rhythmic pace of the city while offering moments of quiet reflection and connection.

No Vacancy, Miami Beach is a juried art competition that supports and celebrates local artists, provokes critical discourse and encourages the public to experience Miami Beach’s famed hotels as art destinations. The fifth iteration of this competition included 12 participating artists drawn from a call to artists and selected by representatives from the City of Miami Beach Art in Public Places Committee, Cultural Arts Council, and Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority. Each selected artist created a site-specific work for display at one of 12 different hotels throughout Miami Beach.

Funding for this project is provided by the City of Miami Beach Cultural Arts Council, Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority as well as the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. For additional information, please visit mbartsandculture.org.

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Josh Daniel Aronson (born 1994, Toronto, ON, Canada) is an internationally exhibited artist and photographer whose work has received critical acclaim from leading publications including The British Journal of Photography, Dazed Magazine, i-D Magazine, Garage Magazine, Italian Vogue, Document Journal, Metal Magazine, Venice Magazine, and Design Miami’s Forum Magazine, among others. In 2021, he was honored with the Miami New Times’ Best of Miami: Best Photographer distinction.

In 2020, Aronson’s first artist book, “Tropicana” (2020), sold out in less than a week. It is now accessible for viewing through prestigious collections including The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Library in New York, New York and The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. In 2021, Aronson’s debut Miami solo exhibition, “Tropicana” (2021), opened at the Miami Design District. The show paired new works with vintage plastics to expand on the themes explored in his eponymous publication.

Recent solo exhibitions also include “Beyond Class”, Club Gallery, Miami, Florida (2022) and “I Thought About Posting This" Congruent Space, Chicago, Illinois (2019). Aronson has also participated in local, national and international group exhibitions including “Looking Along Side Another”, Studio Justine Kurland, Brooklyn, New York (2024); “Like a child”, curated by Daonne Huff, NADA (New Art Dealers Alliance) (2022); “Viewfinder”, curated by Ramon Bey and Malcolm Dia, Lower East Coast, Miami, Florida (2021); and “Sun Pours Daylong”, Miami Design District, Miami, Florida (2020).

Aronson earned his Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois (2016). That following year, he began working for his hero, the artist Ryan McGinley, while making portraits of artists who he met online through social media platforms such as Instagram. In 2018, Rangefinder Magazine named Aronson’s work among its annual "Portraits of the Year". That same year, Photo District News named him among its "Emerging Photographers" to watch.

Aronson lives and works in Miami, Florida.

About the City of Miami Beach Art in Public Places Committee
The Art in Public Places Committee is a seven-member City Commission-appointed citizen’s 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.

About the City of Miami Beach Cultural Arts Council
The Cultural Arts Council (CAC) is an 11-member body created in 1997 for the purpose of developing, coordinating and promoting the performing and visual arts in the City of Miami Beach. The CAC serves as arts advocates before governmental bodies, coordinates collective marketing initiatives for the local arts community and funds not-for-profit arts organizations. Since the program’s inception, the CAC has awarded approximately $18 million in cultural arts grants, supporting thousands of performances, exhibits, and other cultural activities in Miami Beach.

About the Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority (MBVCA)
The MBVCA is a seven-member authority, appointed by the City of Miami Beach Commission, with the goal of encouraging, developing and promoting the image of Miami Beach locally, nationally and internationally as an outstanding tourist destination. To this end, the MBVCA strategically focuses its funding investments in a balanced manner, fostering outstanding existing programs, stimulating new activities and encouraging partnerships. The MBVCA is committed to a careful, long-term plan for allocation of resources to help Miami Beach thrive as a destination with something for everyone.

About the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau ​​(GMCVB)
The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau is an accredited, independent not-for-profit sales and marketing organization whose mission is to attract visitors to Greater Miami & Miami Beach for leisure, business, meetings and conventions. For a vacation guide, visit our website at www.MiamiandMiamiBeach.com or call 1.888.76.Miami (US/Canada only) or 305.447.7777. To reach the GMCVB offices dial 305.539.3000. Meeting planners may call 1.800.933.8448 (US/Canada only) or 305.539.3071 or visit www.MiamiMeetings.com. To get further engaged with Greater Miami & Miami Beach, join the conversation by following us on our social media channels at Facebook.com/visitmiami, X.com/visitmiami, Instagram.com/visitmiami, Tiktok.com/@visitmiami and Pinterest.com/visit_miami.

Press Contact
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