Between Tides

Six playable sculptural ping-pong tables by international artists installed in Collins Park during Miami Art Week, transforming the space into a site of contemporary art, play, and community. About Following its highly popular summer 2026 exhibition at Rockaway Beach in New York City, Public Art Fund will bring a new presentation of Between Tides to Miami Beach during Miami Art Week and Art Basel Miami Beach. From November 29 through December 6, 2026, six playable sculptural ping-pong tables by Moko Fukuyama, Ilana Harris-Babou, Las Hermanas Iglesias, Carlos H. Matos, Amalia Pica, and SUPERFLEX will be installed in Collins Park, transforming it into a site of contemporary art, play, and community. The exhibition is presented by Public Art Fund in association with The Bass, with the support of Kenneth C. Griffin and Griffin Catalyst and KHR McNeely Family Foundation. Originally commissioned for New York City's Rockaway Beach over the summer of 2026, Between Tides became an active part of the beach landscape, inviting visitors to play, gather, and encounter contemporary sculpture in an unexpected setting. In Miami Beach, the works will take on a new life, engaging local residents and an international audience during one of the art world's busiest weeks. "Public art has the ability to change how we experience the places we know and to generate encounters that might not otherwise happen. Between Tides embodies that idea in a truly joyful way," said Nicholas Baume, Artistic and Executive Director, Public Art Fund. "After an extraordinary response in Rockaway this summer, we're thrilled to bring the exhibition to Miami Beach, to a new coastal setting where audiences from around the world will have a chance to experience art and play during Miami Art Week." "Miami Beach has long been a place where art, culture, recreation, and public life intersect, and Between Tides is a wonderful expression of that spirit," said Silvia Karmen Cubiñá, Executive Director, The Bass. "We're thrilled that the Public Art Fund is bringing these playful and thought-provoking works to Collins Park during Miami Art Week." Curated by Gabriela López Dena, Associate Curator of Public Practice at Public Art Fund, Between Tides reimagines the familiar ping-pong table as a site for artistic experimentation, social exchange, and participation. The six artists transform the conventional table through distinctive forms, materials, imagery, and ideas, creating works that function simultaneously as sculptures, gathering places, and playable objects. A kiosk onsite will be open daily throughout the installation, offering free ping-pong paddles and balls for visitors to borrow. "The response to Between Tides in the Rockaways was incredibly energizing. People of all ages and backgrounds came together around these works—to play, to watch, to talk, and sometimes simply to discover them while walking along the beach," said López Dena. "Bringing the exhibition to Miami Beach allows us to see what happens when these sculptures enter a new community and a new waterfront context. I'm especially excited for audiences to experience the works not as objects to be viewed from a distance, but as invitations to participate." Moko Fukuyama (b. 1981, Chiba, Japan) presents Old School, 2026 (aluminum boat, reclaimed wood, plywood, automotive paint). A salvaged boat from the Rockaways and a ping-pong table top are gripped by a giant sea monster inspired by the Scandinavian Kraken and the Japanese Akkorokamui. Old School suggests the impermanence of human-made objects and the power of myths to shape our understanding of the vast, uncontrollable forces of nature. Las Hermanas Iglesias (founded 2005; Lisa Iglesias b. 1979, Queens, NY; Janelle Iglesias b. 1980, Queens, NY) presents DiMeLo, 2026 (stainless steel, ready-made musical instruments). Each game played on this musical sculpture creates a live composition. It features instruments associated with many different cultures, including handpan, glockenspiel, tom drums, and cymbals. Play becomes a celebration of migration and the ever-evolving sonic landscapes shaped by cultural exchange. Ilana Harris-Babou (b. 1991, Brooklyn, NY) presents for those of us who live at the shoreline, 2026 (terrazzo, concrete, handmade ceramic tiles, powder-coated steel). Four sculptures in terrazzo and concrete, including a seating area and a ping-pong table with ceramic beach items, open up space for unstructured discovery. Harris-Babou imagines the shoreline as a space of possibility, where skill gives way to curiosity. The installation encourages visitors to shift their focus from competitive gameplay to experimentation, imagining new forms of recreation, rest, and interaction. Carlos H. Matos (b. 1983, CDMX, Mexico) presents Tlachco, 2026 (aluminum, volcanic stone, powder-coated steel). Matos merges ping-pong with Ulama, an ancient Mesoamerican ballgame rich in cosmic symbolism that is still played today. Aztecs and Maya often regarded the ballcourt, or tlachco, as a portal to the underworld. Referencing its tilted walls and challenging hoops, the work connects ancestral traditions with contemporary play, inviting visitors to explore layers of history. Amalia Pica (b. 1978, Neuquén, Argentina) presents Fair Play, 2026 (fiberglass, powder-coated steel, cotton canvas). Eight staggered tabletops spell out "FAIR PLAY" using the International Code of Signals, a colorful system for maritime communication. Suspended fabric flags reading "COME PLAY" were created in collaboration with the organization RISE (Rockaway Initiative for Sustainability and Equity). Pica invites friends and strangers to join simultaneous matches, emphasizing the collective nature of play. Lecturas Posibles, a new site specific installation by Amalia Pica, is also simultaneously on view at The Rotunda, in the northeast corner of Collins Park. SUPERFLEX (founded 1993. Bjørnstjerne Reuter Christiansen b. 1969, Copenhagen, Denmark; Jakob Fenger b. 1968, Roskilde, Denmark; Rasmus Rosengren Nielsen, b. 1969, Hjørring, Denmark) presents Fish Ping-Pong, 2026 (cantera stone). This pink stone structure doubles as a ping-pong table and a potential marine habitat. If submerged, its coral-promoting color and multiple openings could host plankton and algae, encouraging biodiversity. With a design inspired by modernist housing blocks, the sculpture points toward harmonious coexistence between humans, urban life, and the ocean. To celebrate the Miami Beach presentation, Public Art Fund and The Bass will host a special ping-pong event featuring matches with leading figures from the international art world, who will compete on the playable sculptures for a prize. Artists, museum directors, curators, gallerists, collectors, and other prominent members of the art community will face off in a spirited competition during Miami Art Week, turning Between Tides into a lively gathering place for the international art community. Public Art Fund Presents: The Paddle in the Park Classic Monday, November 30, 2026, 4–6 PM. A free ping-pong event with a DJ, food vendors and other entertainment. Participants and prizes to be announced. Between Tides reflects Public Art Fund's longstanding commitment to bringing ambitious contemporary art into the places where people live, work, gather, and play. Its summer presentation at Rockaway Beach demonstrated the potential of playable public art to create spontaneous connections among visitors of all ages and backgrounds. Collins Park in Miami Beach offers a different context for the same six works, placing them within a city where art, tourism, recreation, and the waterfront converge. Free and open to the public, the exhibition invites visitors to experience contemporary art not simply by looking, but by participating. As Public Art Fund approaches its 50th anniversary in 2027, Between Tides continues the organization's commitment to making ambitious contemporary art accessible to broad audiences and integrating art into everyday public life. Read more Toggle Performance / Live Art Sculpture Installation