Bal Harbour announced in July the winner of the first "Unscripted" public art program. George Sánchez Calderón was chosen for his work Americana.
This work refers to the history of the town of Bal Harbour, adopting iconographies that define an archetype of the "American Dream".
In front of the new St. Regis Bal Harbour resort hotel, where the Americana hotel was previously located, Sánchez Calderón is presenting a 6-foot tall stainless steel installation featuring the word "AMERICANA". The Americana Hotel, designed by Morris Lapidus, served as the location for a variety of political events and welcomed presidents like Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Reagan, and Clinton.
The project's second phase consists of an installation where a Levittown-style home was built at the center of Bal Harbour's Founder Circle. For the artist, the Levittown style symbolizes the prototype of the post-war period in the US, which generated a new urban and suburban landscape in the country.
"Unscripted" is the first of a series of programs seeking to provide artists with a platform for the development of ambitious projects, aimed at mutual growth in Southern Florida.
The "Unscripted" public art commission is headed by curator Claire Breukel, who has consulted with public art experts such as Yvonne Force Villarreal, Yvonne Force Villareal, President and Co-Founder of the Art Production Fund; Solita Mishaan, a Bal Harbour resident, collector and member of the International Council for TATE London; and artists Hernan Bas and Hank Willis Thomas.
Due to the high quality of the projects submitted to the program, Bal Harbour decided to schedule another edition for the Spring of 2013, where Christy Gast will be presented as the second winner of "Unscripted".