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Oolite Arts Awards

Celebrating the Foundation for What’s Next

Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Honoring Mario Cader-Frech and Robert S. Wennett

The

Oolite Arts Awards

Celebrating the Foundation for What’s Next

Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Honoring Mario Cader-Frech and Robert S. Wennett

Wednesday, April 22, 2026

1111 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach, 33139

5:30 p.m. Cocktails
6:30 p.m. Award Ceremony
7:30 – 10 p.m. Party

2026 Ellies Honorees

Honorees

Mario Cader-Frech and Robert S. Wennett

Honoring visionary arts leaders Mario Cader-Frech and Robert S. Wennett for their enduring legacy and transformative contributions to the advancement of arts and culture, cultivating research into and the dissemination of Central American art and its diaspora through **The Museo Reina Sofía’s Cader Institute of Central American Art (ICAC) and **Y.ES Contemporary. They are also recognized for their pivotal role as founding members of the Art Basel Global Patrons Committee and for their continued patronage of Miami’s art institutions and artists.

The 2026 Ellies will be presented across four award categories, the Lifetime Achievement, inspired by Michael Richards, honoring an artist whose career has made a profound and enduring impact on South Florida’s cultural landscape; the Better World Award, recognizing artists whose work sparks dialogue around critical issues including social justice, climate change, gender equality, and racial equity; the Art Teacher Travel Awards, providing five grants of $5,000 each to support Miami-Dade public school educators in enriching their classroom curriculum through travel; and the Creator Awards, empowering artists living and working in South Florida.

2026 Ellies Perez Family

Honorary Chairs

Jorge M. Pérez & Darlene Pérez

As Founding Executive Chairman of The Related Group, Jorge M. Pérez has led South Florida’s complex urban evolution for over 40 years. Regarded as one of the world’s leading contemporary art collectors, he is devoted to supporting arts and culture initiatives across South Florida and nurturing the artists and curators of the future. His long-lasting philanthropic legacy is evident throughout the region, most notably with the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), which was renamed in his honor following a $40 million gift. In 2019, Jorge expanded his support of the local arts ecosystem with the opening of El Espacio 23, his contemporary art space. Among his countless recognitions is being named by TIME Magazine as one of the top 25 most influential Hispanics in the U.S.

Darlene Pérez — a Miami native and advanced registered nurse practitioner with more than 25 years of experience — is an advocate and champion for healthcare and education in South Florida. Additionally, she founded PAMM’s International Women’s Committee and is active in a variety of civic and cultural organizations, including serving on the boards of Generation S.O.S; the Women Photographers International Archive; the Nursing Advisory Council for the Nicole Wertheim College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Florida International University; the Miami Cancer Institute Art & Design Committee and Wake Forest University. She is also a member of the Museum of Modern Art’s (MoMA) Latin American and Caribbean Fund.

Driven by a lifelong commitment to giving back and promoting sustainable, inclusive and just communities, Jorge, Darlene and their four children established The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation at The Miami Foundation (the Family Foundation) in 2015. In the first 10 years since its founding, the Family Foundation has committed over $70 million in support of nearly 150 non-profit organizations helping to develop South Florida as an exemplary world-class urban center. Among the Family Foundation’s notable initiatives is the Pérez CreARTE Grants Program (CreARTE), which focuses on cultivating a more dynamic, connected arts ecosystem. Since its 2019 inception, CreARTE has invested $10 million across 45 unique organizations in Miami-Dade County, including Oolite Arts, helping fill key areas that impact the creative community most, such as access to affordable workspaces, cultural equity and education.

2026 Ellies Co chairs

Co-chairs

Sergio García Granados & Tanya Brillembourg

Sergio García-Granados is a wealth manager, historian, and art collector who serves as Executive Director of a team overseeing his family’s and other family trusts at Morgan Stanley in Miami, Florida. An Academico member of the Guatemalan Historical Society, he has published and edited articles in the Society’s Anales and authored several historical works, including Cuaderno de Memorias de Jorge Garcia Granados (Artemis-Edinter, 2000; Magna Terra, 2024), Libre Crezca Fecunda (Magna Terra, 2006), a study of Enlightenment thought in 18th-century Central America, and The Birth of Israel (Newman Springs, 2024), a review of his grandfather’s notes on the UN process that led to the creation of the State of Israel in 1947–48; he is currently working on an essay exploring the stories of the Popol Vuh, the sacred text of the Mayan peoples of Guatemala. He earned a law degree with honors from Universidad de San Carlos and completed postgraduate studies in international law and finance at Université de Paris (Sorbonne). An avid collector of contemporary Latin American art, García-Granados’s collection includes works by Elmar Rojas, Antonio Pichilla, Luis González-Palma, Manuel Chavajay, Tepeu Choc, Rubén Torres-Llorca, León Ferrari, Gustavo Acosta, José Bedia, Tomás Sánchez, and Alexandre Arrechea, among others. His longstanding cultural leadership includes board service with the Patronato de Bellas Artes, the National Theatre Miguel Angel Asturias, the Museo Cubano de Arte y Cultura, the Miami Symphony Orchestra, and membership on the Collectors Council of the Pérez Art Museum Miami, as well as involvement with numerous art and cultural organizations in Miami and Guatemala.

Tanya Brillembourg is an art consultant and gallerist based in Miami with a lifelong commitment to advancing Latin American and Caribbean art. Together with her husband, Sergio García Granados, she is an active collector and supporter of artists from Central and South America, helping elevate their work within the international contemporary art landscape. With a career spanning nearly four decades, she has played significant leadership and curatorial roles in galleries and institutions in Miami, New York, and Caracas, contributing to the visibility and development of contemporary art practices across the Americas. From her early roles in Caracas to key positions in New York and her founding of influential art spaces in Miami, Tanya’s professional experience reflects deep engagement with artists and communities throughout the region. She holds a B.A. in Museology and Fine Arts from Universidad José María Vargas in Caracas.

Auction

Ellies Awards Auction led by the Artist Host Committee

We’re thrilled to share that the 2026 Ellies Auction, led by Oolite Arts alumni whose practices continue to inspire and shape our creative community, is now live.

The auction is open to everyone; you can register to bid online starting today through April 22 at 10 p.m. The starting bid is half of the market value of the artworks, offering a great opportunity for new and seasoned collectors. Learn more about the twelve exceptional works and register today.

Up to 50% of the proceeds go directly back to the participating artists, making the Ellies Awards Auction a meaningful way to support both the celebration and the incredible 2026 awardees.

Artist Host Committee

Ariel Baron-Robbins
Luisa Basnuevo
Leo Castañeda
Jen Clay
Yanira Collado
Mark Fleuridor

Gonzalo Fuenmayor
Pepe Mar
Charo Oquet
Marielle Plaisir
Anastasia Samoylova
Kristen Thiele

2026 Creator Award Winners

Pavel Acosta
Nathalie Alfonso
Priscilla Aleman
Roxana Barba
Luján Candria
Adrian Cardenas
Beatriz Chachamovits
Yanira Collado
Rose Marie Cromwell
Marie Franco
Marina Gonella
Margo Hannah
Diana Larrea
Amanda Linares
Francisco Masó

Ania Moussawel
Edison Peñafiel
Kerry Phillips
Alián Rives
Medardo (Freddy) Rodriguez
Leyden Rodriguez-Casanova
Samantha Salzinger
Ingrid Schindall
Amy Schissel
Melissa Sclafani
Monica Sorelle
Sheherazade Thénard
Cornelius Tulloch
Jula Tüllmann
Lisu Vega

2026 Art Teacher Travel Award Winners

Jorge Avelino Fernandez
Nicole Burko
Veronica M. Fazzio

Crystal Pearl Molinary
Maria S. Patiño

2026 Ellies Lifetime Achievement Award Winners No Title

2026 The Lifetime Achievement Winners

Roberto Behar & Rosario Marquardt / R&R Studios

Rosario and Roberto are artists, educators, and childhood friends, and the founders of R&R STUDIOS, a multidisciplinary platform merging art, architecture, and the city. Their artworks create encounters between stories and places, weaving together the everyday and the fantastic, the poetic and the political. They create architectural social sculptures that blur the boundaries between art and life and perform as instant landmarks.

The $75,000 Lifetime Achievement Award goes to these trailblazing artists which works include the biggest “M” in the world in Miami; All Together Now in downtown Denver; The Living Room, their iconic Miami home turned inside-out; Bésame Mucho at the Coachella Music Festival, Building Blocks, a square in Seattle and Peace & Love a Parkland Memorial sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies. They recently unveiled three artworks for Princeton University Art Museum documented in The Home We Share: Three Social Sculptures for Princeton University (Park Books, 2025), and Beauty for All, a visual manifesto for the 2025 Chicago Architecture Biennial.

2026 Ellies Better World Award Winner No Title

2026 Better World Award

william cordova

william cordova is an interdisciplinary cultural practitioner working with site-specific installations. His work is based on a creative engagement with architecture, geometry, and history. These are essential components that have continuously shaped his worldview. cordova is interested in the fundamental origins of abstraction, including cultural encoding and non-linear narratives, from the African, Andean, and Asian diaspora point of view that originates in Peru, where he was born and raised. william’s work continues to invest in this cultural, ethnic, and Racial synthesis, as a method of disrupting, challenging, and reassessing these influences on the history and practice of Western secular architecture, modernism, and theory. It has been a continuous process of illuminating and connecting historical evidence of ritual labor and its theory to contemporary examples. It is an attempt to reconsider how the abstracted evidence of cultural matter plays a large role in the modern world.

2026 Ellies Better World Award Winner No Title

2026 Better World Winner

william cordova

william cordova is an interdisciplinary cultural practitioner working with site-specific installations. His work is based on a creative engagement with architecture, geometry, and history. These are essential components that have continuously shaped his worldview. cordova is interested in the fundamental origins of abstraction, including cultural encoding and non-linear narratives, from the African, Andean, and Asian diaspora point of view that originates in Peru, where he was born and raised. william’s work continues to invest in this cultural, ethnic, and Racial synthesis, as a method of disrupting, challenging, and reassessing these influences on the history and practice of Western secular architecture, modernism, and theory. It has been a continuous process of illuminating and connecting historical evidence of ritual labor and its theory to contemporary examples. It is an attempt to reconsider how the abstracted evidence of cultural matter plays a large role in the modern world.

2026 Creator Award Winners

adrian cardenas

Adrian Cardenas

2026 Creator Award Winner
Alián Rives Headshot

Alián Rives

2026 Creator Award Winner
Amanda Linares Portrait

Amanda Linares

2026 Creator Award Winner
2022 Creator Award Winner
Amy Schissel Headshot

Amy Schissel

2026 Creator Award Winner
Ania Moussawel Headshot

Ania Moussawel

2026 Creator Award Winner
2021 Teacher Travel Grant Winner
Beatriz Chachamovits Headshot

Beatriz Chachamovits

2026 Creator Award Winner
2023 Creator Award Winner
Cornelius Tulloch Headshot

Cornelius Tulloch

2026 Creator Award Winner
2025 Creator Award Winner
2022 Creator Award Winner
2020 Creator Award Winner
Diana Larrea Portrait

Diana Larrea

2026 Creator Award Winner
2023 Creator Award Winner
Edison Penafiel Headshot

Edison Peñafiel

2026 Creator Award Winner
2021 Creator Award Winner
Francisco Maso Headshot

Francisco Masó

2026 Creator Award Winner
2022 Creator Award Winner
2020 Creator Award Winner
Ingrid Schindall Headshot

Ingrid Schindall

2026 Creator Award Winner
Jula Tüllmann

Jula Tüllmann

2026 Creator Award Winner
Kerry Phillips Headshot

Kerry Phillips

2026 Creator Award Winner
LRC Portrait Square

Leyden Rodriguez-Casanova

2026 Creator Award Winner
2019 Creator Award Winner
Lisu Vega Headshot

Lisu Vega

2026 Creator Award Winner
Candria Headshot

Luján Candria

2026 Creator Award Winner
2025 Creator Award Winner
Margo Hannah Portrait

Margo Hannah

2026 Creator Award Winner
Marie Franco Portrait

Marie Franco

2026 Creator Award Winner
Marina Gonella Headshot

Marina Gonella

2026 Creator Award Winner
Medardo (Freddy) Rodriguez Headshot

Medardo (Freddy) Rodriguez

2026 Creator Award Winner
Melissa Sclafani Headshot

Melissa Sclafani

2026 Creator Award Winner
Monica Sorelle Headshot

Monica Sorelle

2026 Creator Award Winner
2023 Creator Award Winner
Nathalie Alfonso Headshot

Nathalie Alfonso

2026 Creator Award Winner
Pavel Acosta Square

Pavel Acosta

2026 Creator Award Winner
headshot Aleman

Priscilla Aleman

2026 Creator Award Winner
Rose Marie Cromwell

Rose Marie Cromwell

2026 Creator Award Winner
2022 Creator Award Winner
2019 Creator Award Winner
Roxana Barba Headshot

Roxana Barba

2026 Creator Award Winner
Samantha Salzinger Headshot

Samantha Salzinger

2026 Creator Award Winner
Sheherazade Thénard Headshot

Sheherazade Thénard

2026 Creator Award Winner
2025 Creator Award Winner
Yanira Collado Portrait

Yanira Collado

2026 Creator Award Winner
2025 Creator Award Winner
2023 Creator Award Winner
2019 Creator Award Winner

Event Photos

Thank you to everyone who joined us and made the evening possible.

Event Recap

About The Ellies

The Ellies, Oolite Arts Awards are now unrestricted and open to artists living and working across Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe, and Palm Beach counties, reflecting our commitment to meet artists where they are and support their growth as they seek new, affordable spaces to create and thrive. This year, the winning artists will collectively receive $425,000 in direct financial support, with an additional $75,000 in direct artist support through acquisitions, bringing the total awards to an outstanding $4.1 million in support through the eighth editions of South Florida’s premiere art award program.

Your support will provide vital resources that empower artists to create, connect, and grow through residencies, exhibitions, and public programs, fueling the continued vibrancy of our cultural community.

Creator Award & Art Teacher Travel Award Tier 1 Jurors
  • Lina Alfonso
    Program Officer, Brooklyn Org, Brooklyn, NY
  • Deanna Miera
    Residency Manager, Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, IL
  • Lauren O’Connell
    Curator of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, AZ
  • Marianna Pegno
    Senior Director of Engagement and Inclusion at the Tucson Museum of Art and Historic Block (TMA), Tucson, AZ
  • Christian Ramirez
    Cohn Assistant Curator of Contemporary Art and Director of Engagement, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ
  • Gabriela Urtiaga
    Chief Curator, Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, CA
Lifetime Achievement Award, Inspired by Michael Richards, A Better World Award, and Tier 2 Creator Award & Art Teacher Travel Award Jurors
  • Seth Curcio
    Co-owner, Nazarian / Curcio, Los Angeles, CA
  • Ryan Dennis
    Co-Director and Chief Curator, Contemporary Art Museum Houston, Houston, TX
  • Amy Oppio
    Chief Operating Officer/ Deputy Director, Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV

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