MIAMI – Six local visual and multimedia artists have been selected to participate in Miami’s s first live/work artist residency program, scheduled to open in the Downtown Arts and Entertainment District this spring.
The Miami artists – Carlos Ascurra, Pachi Giustinian, Jiae Hwang, Alvaro Lizarbe, Manny Prieres, and Jen Stark – will benefit from sharing affordable studio and living space with fellow artists and curators. In addition, as part of the residency, all will produce an art project that gives back to the community. Ideas include creating a mentorship program with high school artists and working with the blind to create visual art. A list of the artists’ work and projects is below.
The Live/Work Residency Program, launched by the nonprofit LegalArt, is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s Knight Arts Challenge, a $40 million effort to bring South Florida together through the arts. Additional support is being provided from the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation and the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs.
“The residency will act as an incubator for these talented artists which will take them to a new level in his or her career,” said Kathleen Carignan, LegalArt’s Executive Director. “I am excited to see the new collaborations and innovative ideas that emerge when these artists live and work together.”
The highly competitive LegalArt Live/Work Residency is Miami’s first subsidized live/work, professional development, and community-building artists’ facility. Designed as an incubator, artists in residence live and work in private 900 square foot studios and have access to exhibition, lecture, legal counseling spaces and a comprehensive resource library. The Residency brings together some of Miami’s most promising artists, along with national and international artists and curators; allowing them to collaborate in ways only a residential model can offer. Visiting curators and scholars will engage both with resident artists—by mentoring, leading critiques and exploring exhibition opportunities beyond Miami—and the public through lectures, workshops and exhibitions.
“For these six up and coming artists, and others across South Florida, The Residency will be a crucial space for guidance, resources and fostering new ideas,” said Dennis Scholl, Miami program director for Knight Foundation.
The Residency’s first participants and their projects are:
Carlos Ascurra: His work explores the impact of sound and information in contemporary culture and engages in a dialogue with the viewer about the findings. Give-Back Project: Will create a publishing house called RUINS Publishing to create hand made publications with photocopy machines, silkscreen and sound equipment in order to create a forum for discussion and collaboration.
Pachi Giustinian: This multimedia artist explores matters of color, light and sensations. Give-Back Project: To See Without Sight is a program for individuals who suffer from all levels of blindness. The program will introduce them to a new form of expression, to produce and create visual art.
Jiae Hwang: Inspired by the ideas of string theory and parallel universes this interdisciplinary artist deals in a broad spectrum of media from traditional drawings to video, audio, and multimedia installations which seek to create new ways to engage with viewers. Give-Back Project: Graphic design, video art, and software training sessions for artists to provide project support for digital documentation, converting image files, import and export of visual media, and explanation of graphic and video software.
Alvaro Lizarbe: Creator of the Freegums clothing label Lizarbe focuses on madcap aesthetics, comfort, and individuality. Give-Back Project: Creating an opportunity for elementary school students to collaborate with mural artists.
Manny Prieres: His work is the product of the clash between tradition, temperamental heritage, and an intense, idiosyncratic counterculture expressed with detailed drawings and sculpture. Give-Back Project: An artist lecture series will provide studio visits for art students in high school and college. The series will give students a glimpse of what they can expect when they graduate and begin their careers.
Jen Stark: Interested in how math and science is intertwined in everything around us, Stark creates complex structures that reveal how remarkable common materials can become.
Pictures of the artists and their works are available on request.
About LegalArt
LegalArt empowers artists by providing affordable legal services, professional development services, the Live/Work Residency, grants, and educational opportunities. Our SeminArt series brings experts to educate artists on wide-ranging subjects including strategic planning, marketing, wage theft, winning arts commissions, and public speaking. LegalLink, a legal assistance and education program which partners with University of Miami Law School and local attorneys, provides legal services on a pro bono, barter or reduced rate basis. LegalArt’s professional staff made up of attorneys and arts advocates offers training in copyright and trademark, incorporation, portfolio management, writing skills and maintains the LegalArt headquarters where South Florida artists are welcome to seek guidance, support, resources and a greater sense of community with their peers. For more information, visit www.legalartmiami.org.
About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation advances journalism in the digital age and invests in the vitality of communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers. Knight Foundation focuses on projects that promote informed, engaged communities and lead to transformational change. For more, visit www.knightfoundation.org.
MEDIA RELATIONS CONTACT: Kathleen Carignan, Executive Director, [email protected] or 267.250.7522.