ArtCenter South Florida Grants Nearly $500,000 to 44 Ellie Award-Winning Artists

There’s something to be said for a collective that brings together an expansive community brimming with talent. Empowering is just one word to describe Miami’s ArtCenter South Florida. A nonprofit devoted to furthering the knowledge and practice of contemporary visual arts, the organization launched the Ellies, a grant program inspired by their founder, Ellie Schneiderman, in April. More than six months later, the long-anticipated moment has arrived: 44 winners of close to $500,000 in artist funding have just been announced.

In a ceremony at the Bass this evening, ArtCenter president and CEO Dennis Scholl took the stage with his colleagues to commemorate the winners. Broken down into three categories, the 44 awards went out to 38 “creators,” five teachers and one lucky recipient of the Michael Richards Award. Eduoard Duvall-Carrie is that singular winner bestowed with the distinction, a commissioned work to be displayed at the Bass and a no-strings-attached $75,000 prize. A Haitian-American sculptor and painter, Duvall-Carrie has had solo shows at the Pérez Art Museum Miami, Museum of the Contemporary Art North Miami, and international exhibits everywhere from Chile to Dakar, Senegal.