Queer Artists to Watch in Miami

Art is woven into the fabric of Greater Miami & Miami Beach, a dynamic hub of cultural innovation where creativity thrives. This vibrant destination has become a magnet for locals and visitors seeking both renowned and emerging talent. Miami’s art scene has increasingly embraced its diverse queer community, fostering a more-inclusive space for LGBTQ artists. Highlights like Art Gaysel at Hotel Gaythering – now a Miami Art Week favorite – and esteemed venues like the Rubell Museum, The Bass, Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, YoungArts Gallery and Locust Projects celebrate queer voices year-round.

We connected with local queer artists to explore how Miami shapes their work and inspires their creative journeys.

Carlos Betancourt

Telling Stories through Art

Carlos Betancourt, a celebrated multidisciplinary artist, continues to captivate Miami with his inventive approach to art and storytelling. During Miami Art Week 2024, Betancourt collaborated with architect Alberto Latorre to unveil “Miami Reef Star,” a 60-foot installation composed of 46 textured star sculptures. The piece resembles a monumental sandcastle and serves as a prototype for a larger underwater iteration for The ReefLine. Betancourt’s work explores themes of memory, nature and identity, blending his personal experiences with broader cultural narratives.

The installation was later reimagined for the Mediterranean, when The Reefline’s “Reef Star” was presented in Nice, France in June of 2025. In 2026, the “Miami Reef Star” entered its Phase 2 when it was placed underwater just off the coast of Miami Beach, creating quite a visual impact for passengers flying overhead.

“Ultimately, I am a storyteller, and I like my artwork to have poetry, mystery, energy and magic,” says Betancourt. Miami has been a cornerstone of his career, and he remains deeply committed to the city’s creative ecosystem. “Miami is fascinating. Visiting artist studios is one of the best ways to experience the city’s vibrant and diverse arts community.”

Rev. Houston Cypress

Helping People Connect through Art

Rev. Houston R. Cypress, a proud member of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida and the Otter Clan, is a queer poet, artist, environmental activist and ordained minister whose work bridges identity, community and the natural world. Cypress leads the Love the Everglades Movement, which fosters awareness and action to restore this vital ecosystem.

“I want to create community and encourage conversation and help people connect with the natural world, especially places throughout the Greater Everglades,” Cypress says.

Cypress celebrates his Two-Spirit, queer and Miccosukee identities through mixed-media artistry, including poetry, photography and video.

“Being Two-Spirit, queer, gay, and Miccosukee definitely influences my art,” he says. “It allows me to transform trauma and celebrate the beauty of who I am.”

GeoVanna Gonzalez

Sculpting Miami’s Identity

GeoVanna Gonzalez is a Miami-based multidisciplinary artist whose work intertwines themes of identity, community and the intersections of natural and human-made environments. 

In 2024, she unveiled “Flowing Pathways,” an architectural installation as part of the Museum of Art and Design at Miami Dade College's MOAD Pavilions’s MOAD Pavilions public art series. In 2025, Gonzalez was featured in Alice Coltrane, Monument Eternal, a group exhibition at the Hammer Museum in her hometown of Los Angeles, where she presented “Beneath the Sun, Lies the Wisdom Eye,” an immersive installation that was a sculptural site and a stage for live performance.

As a Forward Fellow at the 2024 Third Horizon – an initiative for Miami filmmakers who trace their lineage to the Caribbean – Gonzalez recently went into production for the short film funded through the grant program.

“Being queer is part of my identity, and my identity is inevitably embedded in my work,” she says. Her art is inspired by personal experiences, architecture and her community. “Miami has an amazing community of artists and thinkers, and it’s important for them to receive support to sustain their practices here.”

Orlando Gonzalez

Welcome to His Barrio Abajo

Formerly an award-winning menswear designer, Orlando Gonzalez picked up painting seemingly by accident: In 2021, his mother asked him to paint a pitcher for her restaurant, sparking an interest in in the visual arts. A move to Miami soon followed, where his career has since blossomed, including his studio at the Futurama 1637 Art Building, a creative workspace and arts marketplace in the heart of Miami’s Little Havana.

Gonzalez's work is deeply autobiographical, with its subject being the Barrio Abajo (“down town”), the Colombian neighborhood where he was born and raised. Through the stories he tells with his work, all infused with a kaleidoscope of bright and energetic colors, viewers are introduced to this historic section of Baranquilla.

Along with depicting his rich cultural heritage, Gonzalez's art includes symbols personal to him, such as numbers associated with significant dates, like the birthdays of his parents and his wedding day.

"All I want with my work is to remind people that life is still in colors, because I know life becomes too serious when we grow older," Gonzalez says. "I want to help make them remember that with my story."

Najja Moon

Exploring the Intersections of Queer Identity and Black Culture

Najja Moon, a dynamic visual artist and cultural force, has been leaving her mark on Miami’s art scene since moving here in 2009. Moon’s work spans drawing, sculpture and public art, exploring the intersections of queer identity, Black culture and movement. 

Her talent has garnered significant recognition, including a spot on OutSFL’s inaugural “OUT & PROUD 50” list in 2023, as well as the prestigious Art on the Plaza commission from the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami in 2021.

Moon (who played college basketball), unveiled “Uncommon Routes” in 2024. The colorful public art project at the Legion Memorial Park basketball courts highlights themes of community and collaboration.

In 2025, Miami’s Tunnel Projects hosted Moon’s first-ever solo exhibition, Mate Masie, which also had thematic ties to basketball. Most recently, she’s worked on two additional public art projects. Throughout it all, Moon’s work continues to connect people and cultures, enriching Miami’s creative landscape.

Nestor Paz

An Abstract Expressionist Window to the World

Nestor Paz is a Venezuelan artist whose emotive works have earned him recognition across the Americas and Europe. Based in the U.S. since 2003, Paz draws from his roots to create a unique blend of abstract expressionism and what he terms “neo-cubism.” His art, characterized by strong lines and vivid colors, explores the intersection of balance and imbalance, figuration and abstraction, inviting viewers into surrealistic landscapes and evocative human forms. Paz has exhibited widely, from Miami and New York to Florence, Italy. In 2024, he was selected by the Kimpton EPIC Hotel in Downtown Miami for its annual artist-in-residency Program. Paz’s career continues to flourish, with works in the United States and Italy. As he puts it, “I need to paint to be alive; it’s stronger than me.”

Facundo Yebne

Inspired by Miami's Sunsets and Ocean

Facundo Yebne, the creative force behind FLY Miami Art, is an Argentinian-born artist now based in Miami. A successful entrepreneur with several thriving businesses, Yebne transitioned from the business world to the arts after studying under renowned master painter Jack Amoroso, whose mentorship ignited his passion for visual expression.

Yebne's work is characterized by vibrant mosaics crafted from tiny resin rubber ducks, a playful yet thought-provoking motif. His pieces often blend pop culture with a critique of consumerism and modern society. Through his art, Yebne invites viewers to explore their connections to mass-produced imagery and the meanings they hold in contemporary life.

In 2025, in celebration of April’s Miami Beach Pride and June’s International Pride Month, Yebne created two monumental sculptures with his whimsical ducks for a public installation on Lincoln Road, the famed pedestrian mall in Miami Beach.