Dennis Scholl

A seasoned arts leader, Dennis Scholl is the former president and CEO of Oolite Arts, where he oversaw a major expansion of programming that elevates artists’ work at all stages of their careers through studio space, financial support, and professional development. Before joining Oolite Arts, Scholl served as Vice President/Arts of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, where he led the foundation’s national arts program, providing grants to cultural organizations totaling close to $200 million. Personally, Scholl has created a series of initiatives dedicated to building the contemporary art collections of major museums, and has served on the boards and executive committees of the Aspen Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, and the Pérez Art Museum – among others. In 2022, Scholl and wife Debra were named Members of the Order of Australia, one of the country’s highest honors, for their significant contributions to advancing and promoting indigenous Australian art
and culture in the United States, where they developed exhibitions of contemporary Aboriginal Australian art that traveled the U.S.

As a documentary filmmaker focused on arts and culture, he has received 22 regional Emmys from the National Academy of Television Arts and Science. A visual artist with recent exhibitions in New York and Berlin, Scholl is preparing for upcoming solo exhibitions in France and the United Kingdom. In his early career, Scholl was an accountant, attorney, and entrepreneur.

Scholl is granting the $10,000 award to former Oolite Arts resident Gonzalo Fuenmayor.