14 Miami-based artists participate in prestigious Anderson Ranch Arts Center program as part of Oolite Arts travel residency

MIAMI BEACH (Oct. 17, 2019) — Oolite Arts has selected 14 Miami-based artists to spend five weeks in Colorado this winter as part of its new Home and Away program, which offers artists career-advancing opportunities to participate in some of the country’s most prestigious artist residencies.

Selected by a jury of curators and artists, the participants are headed to Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass, Co., where they will meet with master artists and curators and have the time and studio space to experiment with new work.

The selected artists are an inter-generational group that works across various mediums including painting, sculpture and filmmaking. They are: Thomas Bils, Kelly Breez, Christopher Carter, Alejandro Contreras, Cara Despain, Edson Jean, Elite Kedan, Rhea Leonard, Michael Loveland, Williams Osorio, Nicole Salcedo, Lauren Shapiro, Barron Sherer and Michael Vasquez.

“Residencies provide a chance to grow, and create the connections that can lead to important career opportunities,” said Dennis Scholl, Oolite Arts’ president and CEO. “We hope the artists return home with new ideas that will enrich their careers, and our city.”

“We are so proud to partner with our exceptional colleagues at Oolite Arts to provide the time and space for these talented artists to work and connect with one another,” said Elizabeth Ferrill, Chair of the Artists-in-Residence program at Anderson Ranch Arts Center. “We can’t wait to welcome them to our campus to experience all the Ranch has to offer and know this ‘Home and Away’ opportunity will enrich both Oolite’s and our creative communities.”

In addition to Anderson Ranch, Oolite’s Home and Away initiative provides three additional opportunities, at the Atlantic Center for the Arts, Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and Yaddo. Oolite Arts makes all of these opportunities more financially feasible for artists by providing stipends and covering any tuition and travel expenses.

Each of the four opportunities have differing ways to qualify and participate. Full details are available at oolitearts.org/homeandaway.

Since its inception in the 1980s, Oolite Arts, one of Miami’s largest artist support organizations, has offered its own, year-long residencies to artists at its current home on Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road. This new program expands that mission to prestigious national residencies, providing artists with exposure to new people, ideas and connections that can propel their career.

ABOUT OOLITE ARTS
Established in 1984, Oolite Arts advances the knowledge and practice of contemporary visual arts and culture and creates opportunities for experimentation and encourages the critical exchange of ideas through residencies, exhibitions, public programs, education and outreach. The residency programs include a Studio Residency, a PRINTshop Residency Program, a Cinematic Arts Residency and an Art in Public Life Residency. Exhibitions and programs at Oolite Arts are made possible with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council; the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; the Miami Beach Mayor and City Commissioners; the State of Florida, Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs; the Florida Arts Council; the National Endowment for the Arts; and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. For more information, visit oolitearts.org

ABOUT ANDERSON RANCH ARTS CENTER
Founded in 1966, Anderson Ranch Arts Center is a premier destination in America for art making and critical dialog, bringing together aspiring and internationally renowned artists to discuss and further their work in a stimulating environment. Nestled in the Rocky Mountains of Aspen/Snowmass, Colorado, the Ranch hosts extensive workshops for aspiring, emerging, established artists, children and teenagers in eight disciplines, including Photography & New Media, Ceramics, Painting & Drawing, Furniture Design & Woodworking, Sculpture, Woodturning, Printmaking and Digital Fabrication. In addition to the Summer Series: Featured Artists & Conversations, the Ranch hosts engaging events throughout the year including: the Recognition Dinner, held in honor of Anderson Ranch’s International Artist Award and Service to the Arts Award honorees; the Annual Art Auction & Community Picnic, a thirty-nine-year-old tradition which features works of local, national and international artists; and a year-round Artists-in-Residence Program, fostering artistic growth for emerging and established visual artists. For more than 50 years, Anderson Ranch Arts Center has been working to enrich lives with art, inspiration and community. Learn more at www.andersonranch.org or 970/923.3181.