Oolite Arts in Miami Beach announced the inaugural recipients of the Ellies. Established earlier this year, the visual art awards aim to elevate and celebrate the careers of Miami-based artists. Selected from a pool of more than five hundred submissions, forty-four artists and art educators were honored at a ceremony that took place at the Bass on Wednesday night. The honorees will each receive a grant in support of an unrealized project. A total of $491,000 will be split between them.
Among the recipients of the Ellies is Edouard Duval-Carrie, who was named the inaugural winner of the $75,000 Michael Richards Award, which was created in honor of artist Michael Richards. The ArtCenter alum, who was known for addressing racial inequity and social injustice in his work, died in the World Trade Center in New York during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The award will support Duval-Carrie’s practice over a two-year period and will include a commission to create a new work to be exhibited at the Bass.