Kelani Nichole will help artists integrate new technologies in their work and inaugurate salon series on new media

May 4, 2023 (Miami, Fla.) South Florida artists experimenting with new technologies have a new resource: Oolite Arts today named its first Digital Arts Fellow, Kelani Nichole, who will oversee Oolite Arts’ new Media Art Lab and offer bi-monthly office hours where visual artists can ask technical questions and experiment with new tools.

In addition, at 7 p.m. May 13, Nichole will launch a salon series that both showcases artists’ work in progress and fosters critical dialogue around new media in Miami. The first Salon, entitled “Recursive Value,” will include both live demos by artists and a group discussion on intimacy and creativity in the era of AI. The event will take place at the Oolite Art Satellite Project Space + Media Art Lab, 7292 NW 2nd Ave. in Little River.

The Oolite Arts Digital Arts Fellowship is a one-year position supported in part by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, as part of a larger grant to enhance the way Oolite artists use technology in their practice.

“As an organization that offers holistic programming to visual artists, technology is an essential part of the equation,” said Dennis Scholl, president and CEO of Oolite Arts, an artist service organization that provides visual artists with free studios through its residency programs, in additional to financial support and professional development training.

“With her deep background in both technology and the arts, Kelani can be a source of inspiration and knowledge for artists exploring the use of tech in their practice.”

Nichole will also consult with Oolite Arts on how technology can be integrated into the organization’s new campus, which will be built at 75 NW 72nd St., Little River, to expand the organization’s programming as the visual arts community continues to grow.

“My biggest hope is that we can be a spark for opening up the artistic community to collaborate and connect with Miami’s growing innovation economy. I’d love to see an ethos grow here in South Florida of industry supporting culture,” Nichole said.

Named to ArtNews’ Innovator list and as one of Apollo Magazine’s 40 Under 40 Art & Tech Business leaders, Nichole brings ten years of hands-on experience working with artists as they explore new mediums. She is the founder of the experimental media art gallery TRANSFER, which has offered a platform for artists working in a range of technologies including virtual and augmented reality, video games and GIFs. Nichole, who has worked extensively in the tech sector, also has been exploring the role of decentralized networks and virtual worlds in contemporary art for a decade. As part of her fellowship, Nichole will work to prototype the TRANSFER Archive, where artists can collaboratively conserve digital art on the blockchain.

The first salon, “Recursive Value,” will include a demonstration by artist Leo Casteñada, who will live play his “Levels and Bosses” video game, which creates a transmedia world that dissolves the boundaries between the analog and the digital. In addition, the salon will feature Moises Sanabria’s project A124, which is a 24/7 streaming network of AI-generated programming, and the work of artists Fabiola Larios and Cynthia Cruz.

To learn more and RSVP, visit oolitearts.org/digital-arts-fellowship/

About Oolite Arts
Oolite Arts strives to empower South Florida-based artists and enrich communities. Established in 1984, Oolite’s mission is to support artists and advance the knowledge and practice of contemporary visual arts. Oolite Arts creates opportunities for experimentation and innovation and encourages the exchange of ideas across diverse cultures through residencies, exhibitions, public programs, education and outreach.
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 City of Miami Beach, Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council; the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Jorge M.Perez Family Foundation at the Miami Foundation; the Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Family Foundation; and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. For more information, visit oolitearts.org. Follow @oolitearts on social media.

About Knight Foundation
We are social investors who support democracy by funding free expression and journalism, arts and culture in community, research in areas of media and democracy, and in the success of American cities and towns where the Knight brothers once had newspapers. Learn more at kf.org and follow @knightfdn on social media.