FLORIDA KEYS COUNCIL OF THE ARTS
Press Release
Contact: Liz Young
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 305-295-4369

South Florida Cultural Consortium Announces Recipients of 2011 Visual & Media Artists Fellowships

KEY WEST, FLORIDA – Twelve fellowships have been awarded by the South Florida Cultural Consortium through its 2011 Visual and Media Artists Fellowship Program.  The Consortium, an alliance of the arts councils of Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Martin Counties, has awarded the fellowships to six visual artists from Miami-Dade County, four from Broward County, one from Palm Beach County and one from Monroe County.  The fellowships are conferred at either the $15,000 or $7,500 level. The $15,000 Fellowships are among the largest such awards provided by local arts agencies in the United States. 

The selected artists are: from Miami-Dade County, Antonio Chirinos, photographer - $7,500; Aymee Cruzalegui, filmmaker - $15,000; Cristina Lei Rodriguez, sculptor and mixed media artist - $15,000; Martin Oppel, sculptor and painter - $15,000; Leyden Rodriguez Casanova, installation artist - $7,500; and Asser Saint-Val, painter - $15,000; from Broward County, Madeline Denaro, painter - $7,500; Victoria Gitman, painter - $15,000; Christina Pettersson, illustrator - $15,000; and Jillian Mayer, filmmaker - $7,500; from Palm Beach County, Walter Hnatysh, painter - $15,000; and from Monroe County, Deborah Goldman, mixed media sculpture - $15,000.
        
The recipients were selected during a two-tier panel process which included the participation of regional and national arts experts.  The 2011 regional panel, whose selections are conducted totally anonymous and based solely on the evaluation of the artists' work as evidenced by the work samples submitted, included:  Francie Bishop Good, Visual Artist, 2010 SFCC Recipient, Broward; Glexis Novoa, Visual Artist, 2010 SFCC Recipient, Miami-Dade; Denise Delgado, Miami-Dade Public Library System, Miami-Dade; Irvin Lippman, Executive Director, Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, Broward; Rene Morales, Associate Curator, Miami Art Museum, Miami-Dade; and Wendy Blazier, Senior Curator, Boca Museum of Art, Palm Beach. The submissions selected by the regional panel for further consideration were forwarded for final adjudication and selection to the national panel, which was comprised of: Dina Deitsch, Associate Curator, DeCordava Sculpture Park and Museum, Lincoln, MA and Cheryl Hartup, Chief Curator, Museo de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico.

An exhibition featuring the works of the twelve recipients is scheduled to be presented at the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood, 1650 Harrison Street, Hollywood, FL from September 9 - October 16, 2011. The South Florida Cultural Consortium Visual and Media Artists Fellowship Program is a cooperative project funded in part with the support the Boards of County Commissioners of Broward, Miami-Dade, Martin and Monroe Counties, and the Palm Beach County Cultural Council. The South Florida Cultural Consortium is funded in part with the support of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Florida Department of State Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council, the Boards of County Commissioners of Broward, Miami-Dade, Martin and Monroe Counties, and the Palm Beach County Cultural Council. The Florida Keys Council of the Arts’ mission is to advance the creative development and promotion of the arts in our cultural community by providing excellence in leadership, advocacy, education and financial support for artists, cultural organizations, and citizens of Monroe County.

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