Oolite Arts is helping Miamians expand their visual arts collections without having to break the bank.
Now entering its fifth year, the organization’s Shares program offers members the opportunity to take home nine pieces created by local artists in $500 bundles known as Oolite’s Community Supported Art Shares.
Art lovers looking to purchase a share from the 2023 stock can expect works by participating artists Liene Bosque, Rose Marie Cromwell, Carolina Cueva, Diana Eusebio, Charles Hume Jr., Pepe Mar, Edison Peñafiel and Ema Ri – and one mystery artist to be announced later this fall.
(Courtesy of Oolite Arts)
Dennis Scholl, Oolite Arts president and CEO, and artists Monica McGivern and Xavier Cortada (L-R) at a 2019 Shares pickup event.
Previous years’ mystery artists have included Miami greats Daniel Arsham, Hernan Bas and Karen Rifas.
Shares provides a dynamic collection of art from a diverse lineup of talent. This time around, members may discover a Hume Jr. paintings detailing the African American condition, or a textile piece by Eusebio revealing the intersection between Blackness and Latin identity. Another bundle may include one of Cueva’s sculptures exploring ancestry and displacement, or perhaps a print of Cromwell’s intimate photography bridging the gap between the political and the spiritual.
"Over the past five years, Shares has helped Miamians start a collection of works from homegrown artists,” said Dennis Scholl, president and CEO of Oolite Arts. “Our goal is for our members to learn about our artists and get to know their practices, so that they may support them into the future.”
(Courtesy of Oolite Arts)
Shares members Wendy Francois and Kevin Michael after receiving their bundle.
The opportunity for members to gather and meet fellow art lovers and artists happens at the program’s pickup events, where they receive their bundles and unveil their pieces for the first time.
The exposure garnered through the program has brought additional sales and commissions to local artists over the years; at the same time it increases accessibility to quality art in an industry where a single piece could go for millions. Shares was modeled after the Community Supported Art program in Minnesota, which was created by organizations MN Artists and Springboard for the Arts, and has since been replicated in more than 60 communities across the United States and Canada.
Oolite Arts has been functioning for 30 years with the goal of helping artists advance their careers by providing them with free studio space, exhibition opportunities and a community in which to share their work. It also offers artist talks and more than 200 art classes for residents at any skill level. It is currently located on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach; a new location is scheduled to open in Miami’s Little River neighborhood in 2024.
Interested art enthusiasts can sign up for Shares membership at OoliteArts.org/Shares while slots remain. Only 50 shares are distributed each year.
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(Courtesy of Oolite Arts)
Members of Shares come together at a pickup event to receive their bundles and meet fellow artists.
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(Courtesy of Oolite Arts)
A printed image by 2019 Shares participating artist Terence Price.
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(Courtesy of Oolite Arts)
A work created by Xavier Cortada, a participating 2019 Shares artist.