Marking 25 years of scholarship support for talented art students in Miami-Dade County, the Coconut Grove Arts and Historical Association Scholarship Program recently presented $14,000 in scholarship awards for the 2016 school year.
Receiving scholarships of $1,000 each were 13 graduating seniors from five of Miami-Dade County’s public magnet arts high schools and one freshmen student at the New World School of the Arts College.
The awards were presented by members of the board of the Coconut Grove Arts and Historical Association, producers of the nonprofit Coconut Grove Arts Festival, on Saturday, May 7. The presentation took place during the opening reception for “Mapping the Heart,” the latest installment of the arts festival’s monthly Gallery at CGAF exhibition series.
The 2016 high school scholarship recipients are:
Leo Bacan, New World School of the Arts;
David Baptiste, Design and Architecture Senior High;
RaShawn Dixon, Robert Morgan Educational Center-High School;
Diana Eusebio, Design and Architecture Senior High;
Jose Garcia, South Miami Senior High School;
Adriana Llauro, Coral Reef High School;
Jessica Martinez, New World School of the Arts;
Amanda Muñoz, South Miami Senior High School;
Daniel Ochoa, Coral Reef High School;
Mayra Ona, South Miami Senior High School;
Daniela Reyes, Design and Architecture Senior High;
Brenda Rodriguez, South Miami Senior High School, and
Nadia Wolff, Design and Architecture Senior High.
Each of the schools represented by a scholarship recipient received one $250 award to be used for classroom art supplies. Also receiving a $250 arts supplies scholarship were local Grove schools: Coconut Grove Elementary, Frances Tucker Elementary and George Washington Carver Middle School.
In addition to the talented seniors, the Association’s scholarship program provided one New World School of the Arts College freshmen with $1,000. Attlesha Harry, a senior award-winner in 2015, as part of the Association’s newest initiative, will continue to receive support from the Arts Festival until her university graduation should she maintain academic requirements. The program demonstrates the arts festivals mission to support homegrown 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 Arts Festival’s newest 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, is running now through June 24 and is open to the public. 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, visit www.cgaf.com.
