

Without Oolite “I wouldn’t be making the work I’m making now. The residency has provided her the encouragement to pursue projects she was passionate about, as well as a nurturing environment and acceptance of her process.
OOLITE RESTAURANT SOUTH BEACH FREE
Their support and encouragement of my process has instilled in me a sense of security and allowed me the courage to experiment more because of the free space.” This year’s tab: $500,000.Īs an artist, Clay said, “you don’t know if anyone is even noticing your work and so it’s incredibly validating to be accepted at Oolite. The Ellies is a grant program created by Oolite and offered to working and emerging artists, art educators and established, professionally accomplished artists. There are residencies where you go and they give you an assistant for three months but they won’t be as intertwined in your career.”Īt Oolite the team has conversations with her about her career goals and with “the Ellies they’re funding your career,” she said.

Knowing what a competitive space Oolite is, “when I got the call I’d been accepted I actually teared up,” said Clay.Ĭlay describes the Oolite residency as “concentrated jet fuel support, because Oolite has helped me strategize my career with the kind of mentorship that is hard to find and incredibly priceless. One of those artists is Jen Clay, an Oolite Arts artist-in-residence who has had a space there since January 2020 after applying several times. Jen Clay is an artist-in-residence at Oolite Arts.

“Juste and Duval Carrié are pioneers in the area, and with other artists looking for studio space here we want to listen to the artists and support whatever ideas they have,” said Scholl. “Once the current tenant moves out we will be ready to move in immediately,” said Scholl.Ī board-led process, the move is also significant because it’s been home for decades to established artists like photojournalist Carl Juste and his Iris Photo Collective Art Space, and the Haitian-born contemporary artist and curator Edouard Duval Carrié. Wanting to get further and deeper into the neighborhood while the building goes up, the plan is to move into a storefront space at NW Miami Court and 74th Street which will soon become available. Scholl himself is a successful film producer and so film is always an important element of the Oolite Arts world.

It’s pretty great.”īecause of this, Oolite Arts plans to open a small storefront space a block away for the new site to offer classes as well as talks and film screenings. “The kids are great and so hungry for arts education, and we’re able to teach them to make videos in front of a green screen. Mary’s Cathedral these past five years,” said Scholl. “Father Marino has been very welcoming to us at St. Mary’s Cathedral.ĭennis Scholl, president and CEO of Oolite Arts, behind a 3D model of its new headquarters.
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It’s also a neighborhood familiar to Scholl and his Oolite Arts team where they have established partnerships including hosting a lecture series at the Little Haiti Cultural Center and a virtual art lab that is part of the after-school program at St. Knowing that cultural buildings are different and there’s more a sense of play – as well as understanding that they need to be visually interesting and thereby entice the public to visit – “the firm threw us just a little sketch and we were immediately smitten,” said Scholl. “It was narrowed down to three and ultimately we chose Barozzi Veiga because they have a very strong portfolio of cultural buildings.” The Oolite board of directors were determined to create a signature building and for that “they needed a ‘starchitect’ which entailed looking at 100 firms around the world,” Scholl continued. They’re moving into the Little River community looking for studio spaces.” “We settled on this area because it’s where the artists are going. We’re set to break ground in the fall and open in 2024,” said Dennis Scholl, Oolite Arts president and CEO. “We feel we have an obligation to be sustainable it’s our responsibility and it has always been part of our plan. Among several energy-efficient, sustainable design features, Oolite Arts' new $30 million campus will boast a community garden.
