Scholarships to be awarded at next gallery event

Marking 25 years of scholarship support for talented art students in Miami-Dade County, the Coconut Grove Arts & Historical Association Scholarship Program has announced $15,000 in scholarship awards for the 2016 school year. Receiving scholarships of $1,000 each are 12 graduating seniors from five of Miami-Dade County’s public magnet arts high schools and three freshmen students at the New World School of the Arts College.

The awards will be presented by members of the board of the Coconut Grove Arts & Historical Association – producers of the nonprofit Coconut Grove Arts Festival – on Saturday, May 7 at 7 pm. The presentation will take place during the opening reception for Mapping the Heart, the next installment of the arts festival’s monthly Gallery at CGAF exhibition series.    

The 2016 high school scholarship recipients are:

David Baptiste, Design and Architecture Senior High
Plans to attend: The New School - Parsons School of Design

RaShawn Dixon, Robert Morgan Educational Center – High School
Plans to attend: Ringling College of Art + Design 

Diana Eusebio, Design and Architecture Senior High
Plans to attend: The New School - Parsons School of Design (Paris)

Jose Garcia, South Miami Senior High School
Plans to attend: Art Institute of Chicago

Adriana Llauro, Coral Reef High School
Plans to attend: College for Creative Studies

Jessica Martinez, New World School of Art
Plans to attend: Maryland Institute College of Art

Amanda Munoz, South Miami Senior High School
Plans to attend: Florida International University

Daniel Ochoa, Coral Reef High School
Plans to attend: New World School of the Arts College  

Mayra Ona, South Miami Senior High School
Plans to attend: Miami Dade College

Daniela Reyes, Design and Architecture Senior High
Plans to attend: Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design

Brenda Rodriguez, South Miami Senior High School
Plans to attend: Miami Dade College

Nadia Wolff, Design and Architecture Senior High
Plans to attend: Art Institute of Chicago

Each of the schools represented by a scholarship recipient will receive one $250 award to be used for classroom art supplies. Also receiving a $250 arts supplies scholarship will be Coconut Grove Elementary, Frances Tucker Elementary and George Washington Carver Middle School.

In addition to the talented seniors, the Association’s scholarship program will also be providing three New World School of the Arts College freshmen with $1,000. The students were all senior award-winners in 2015 and, as part of the Association’s newest initiative, will continue to receive support from the Arts Festival until their university graduation should they maintain academic requirements.  The program demonstrates the arts festivals mission to support home-grown emerging artists throughout various stages of their careers.

Assisting with the selection process for this year’s awards is the Fund 4 Design & Art Education, an organization created and maintained by retired arts educators across the County. The organization has assisted the Arts Festival in selecting some of Miami-Dade’s best arts students since 2013. 

The upcoming exhibition, Mapping the Heart, features solo artist Aimee Perez, a Cuban-American mixed-media artist and sculptor whose work can be found in many private collections across the United States and Mexico and in permanent collections, such as the Florida International University Honors College Collection.

Mapping the Heart by Aimee Perez, will run through June 24. Both the scholarship award presentation and exhibition opening reception will be held on Saturday, May 7 from 7  to 10 pm and is open to the public. Refreshments will be served. The Gallery @ CGAF is open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and by appointment. For more information about the Gallery @ CGAF, please visit www.cgaf.com.