The Betsy Orb Debuts a Permanent Art Program With a World Cup Tribute

• The Betsy - South Beach has installed a permanent, Christie Jazz Series projection system on The Betsy Orb, launching a year-round digital public art program.

• The inaugural work, "The Gooooaaaaal Is Love" by local transmedia artist dNASAb, runs nightly through July 18, timed to the World Cup.

• The installation is presented with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

The Betsy - South Beach has quietly built one of Miami's more unusual permanent art venues into a hotel alleyway, and its opening act is timed directly to the World Cup.

The hotel has installed a Christie Jazz Series 1DLP laser projector, delivering 17,800 lumens, roughly nine times the output of a standard home projector, calibrated to the spherical geometry of The Betsy Orb. The system launches a year-round program of commissioned digital works by contemporary artists, positioning the Orb as an ongoing venue rather than a single-event backdrop.

The inaugural work, "The Gooooaaaaal Is Love" by local transmedia artist dNASAb (pronounced "diznee"), runs nightly through July 18. dNASAb describes the piece as drawing on his own background playing competitive soccer, translating the intensity of the sport into a large-scale cinematic experience that blends architectural projection, live-action filmmaking and public-space storytelling. The work is presented with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

The Betsy Orb sits out of sight from both Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue, visible only to pedestrians who walk midway down Espanola Way at 14th Place and look into a restored alleyway. That discovery element is part of the design: the hotel is betting that a landmark visitors have to seek out builds more word-of-mouth attention than one placed on a main thoroughfare.