Fountainhead Experiments with Artists’ Power to Shape the Future
The 13-year-old arts organization will launch themed residencies while debuting a new creative identity and website
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - October 15, 2021 - Miami, FL. In its 13-year history, Fountainhead has been driven by the belief that artists can change the way we view the world, help us embrace the value of our differences, galvanize awareness and affect change on challenging issues and perspectives. Drawing attention to artists’ ability to find solutions and connect communities, Fountainhead will experiment with a new residency model. In 2022, each month will be focused on a singular theme. This new model is an important evolution for Fountainhead, one that offers more concrete opportunities for community engagement and impact, and greater cohesion among the artists-in-residence. As part of this shift, the organization also unveils an alumni-powered nomination process, and a new creative identity and website to celebrate this milestone. Selected artists will be announced in November 2021.
Kathryn Mikesell, the co-founder and Executive Director of Fountainhead, says that a shift toward thematic residencies is an exciting expansion of her and co-founder Dan Mikesell’s vision. “Moving towards this more focused approach allows us to elevate artists’ voices and the valuable role they play in shifting perspectives and shaping the future,” she says. “We’re excited to engage both new and familiar audiences around ideas and opportunities for change.”
Fountainhead’s thematic residencies provide artists time and space to research and create work, and a platform to transform perspectives around race, climate, parenting, age, immigration, and more. For each themed residency, Fountainhead is leading collaboration among local organizations to enhance each themed residency’s contributions to Miami’s culture and audience.
Some of the most important societal issues to be addressed in 2022 include:
Wisdom and Energy: Multigenerational Artists (January 2022): Brings together artists born in different decades to share their ideas, experiences, energy and methodologies in developing their careers. Sponsored in part by Hesty Leibtag and Terry Verk.
Becoming an Artist is Not a Linear Path (February 2022): Exploring the many different paths to success taken by artists, inspiring roadmaps for fellow makers. Sponsored in part by Leslie and Michael Weissman and Lois Whitman-Hess and Eliot Hess.
Celebrating Women in the Arts (March 2022): Dedicated to exploring the specific challenges and obstacles faced by women artists during International Women’s Month. Sponsored in part by Carlo and Micol Schejola Foundation.
Climate and Environmental Sustainability (April 2022): Selects three painters whose work responds to the impending threat of climate change. Sponsored by Jane Wesman.
Time For You: BIPOC Mothers (June 2022): Creates space for parent artists of color to take time for themselves and their practice; connecting and creating around their specific experiences as both parents and artists. Sponsored in part by Francie Bishop Good and David Horvitz and Sustainable Arts Foundation.
Art Heals: Social Practice (July 2022): Welcomes artists responding to the current moment with innovative art and social practice models, sharing their knowledge, methodologies and experiences.
Technology and New Media (September 2022): Invites artists who investigate and put forth the implications of a rapidly changing technological environment.
Our Stories Unite US (October 2022): Selected by an open call process, artists hailing from different regions come together to share their immigrant experiences and engage with the diverse communities of Miami. Sponsored by Shepard Broad Foundation.
Fountainhead’s artist alumni network, collaborators and partners were called upon to nominate artists to apply for the 2022 residency season; their applications were reviewed by a jury of renowned artists, curators, and arts writers, including Danny Baez (Founder, Art Noir, MECA Art Fair, and Regular Normal); Nanette Carter (Artist and professor, Pratt Institute); Mark Thomas Gibson (Fountainhead alumnus, 2021 Pew Fellowship recipient); Rene Morales (Chief Curator, Perez Art Museum Miami); Diana Nawi (Co-Curator, Prospect 5 New Orleans); and Monica Uszerowicz (Author and Critic, Creative Capital Art Writers Grantee). The Committee reviewed applications in September 2021 and will announce its selections in November 2021.
Alongside this important shift, Fountainhead debuts a new creative identity and website, www.fountainheadarts.org, inspired by Miami’s lush natural surroundings and enduring support throughout artists’ careers. Fountainhead’s new identity supports its history and its mission to elevate artists’ voices, visibility and value in our society.
Support for Fountainhead is provided by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Jorge and Darlene Perez Family Foundation, the Florida Department of State Division of Arts and Culture, the Miami-Dade County Division of Cultural Affairs, and the Miami Foundation, among other generous donors.
To learn more about Fountainhead’s curatorial committee, see a full list of thematic residencies, and stay up-to-date on upcoming announcements, please visit fountainheadarts.org/residency.
For press inquiries, contact Nicole Martinez, Associate Director at nicole@fountainheadresidency.com or 305-450-0414.
About Fountainhead
Fountainhead’s mission is to elevate the voices, visibility and value of artists in our society and make their work accessible to a global community. Offering a year-round residency program, flexible and affordable artists’ studios, the Miami Dade County-wide open studios event Artists Open, and a series of career-focused programs, Fountainhead empowers artists to build thriving careers while cultivating and nurturing a community that supports them and their work. Harnessing the power in our diversity, Fountainhead is building a more equitable and inclusive future, one personal connection at a time. Learn more at www.fountainheadarts.org.
