Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
‘Uniquely Fort Lauderdale’
Final touches being put on skywalk art installation commissioned by Westin
You can’t miss it if you’ve been on Fort Lauderdale beach lately. Pops of color arranged in ginormous hibiscus flowers and betta fish are emblazoned on a skywalk rising up off the sands on the east side of A1A and crossing over to the west side of the Strip.
“It’s one of those neck breakers, you know,” says artist Ruben Ubiera. “We didn’t want it to look like anything else.”
The $150,000 art installation, which is getting some final touches this week, is called “Aqua Vida” and was commissioned by the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort as the final flourish to two years of renovation, including a refurbished pool deck and lobby as well as the opening of chef Pablo Salas’ Lona Cocina and Tequileria.
“We lease [the skywalk] from the city and we’re responsible,” explains Tom Healy, chief opertaing officer of DiamondRock Hospitality, which bought the property in 2014. “I looked at it and said, ‘We’ve got to paint it,’ so why not do something uniquely Fort Lauderdale — create an Instagrammable moment, so to speak.”
Ubiera started the public art piece Feb. 21, working 12-hour shifts, usually from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. but sometimes longer.
“We were working like 22 hours the other day,” says Ubiera, who lives in Weston and has a studio called Urban Pop Soul in Wynwood. “It’s the norm for me. But I enjoy myself. If I can’t sleep, I paint.”
A1A has to be reduced to one lane so that Ubiera’s team can access the skywalk, which also increases the gawking, even if involuntarily.
“We kind of ran [the project] through the city, through the department of transportation,” recalls Healy. “As you can imagine, doing work over the roadway is very complicated.”
Ubiera — who thinks of the area as his old “stomping grounds” from when he attended the former Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale from 1994-1997 — says the project has essentially become a live art exhibition.
“Everyone stops and beeps their horns,” he says. “And that becomes like chain reactions, with people looking up to see what the beeping is about and then they beep their horns and wave. They are screaming out how much they like it from their cars and from the sidewalk. They just sit down [on the sea wall] and watch it. A lot of locals and tourists have been looking at the process. I think it’s more captivating to see the process than the final product sometimes.”
That process can be tricky though, he adds.
“Things can change in a matter of seconds. You have to plan ahead. The weather, rain, can come out of nowhere. We plan around weather basically. But this landscape, the people have been incredible.”
And when done, Healy thinks it will be a recognizable symbol of Fort Lauderdale beach.
“There are these moments … that become memorials of your stay, your experience,” he explains. “A picture of you under a [skywalk] hugging your kids, it creates a sense of place and a memory. We figured, if we’ve got to paint it, let’s do something fun. Let’s give them something to look at. We wanted to create an authentic memory. It brings you back to a place and helps you remember why you were there.”
The Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort is at 321 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., Fort Lauderdale. For more information, call 954-467-1111 or go to Marriott.com.