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(Photo by World Red Eye)
In one of the world’s least affordable housing markets, Oolite Arts is providing its 2024 and future resident artists an additional $12,000-a-year housing stipend to ease the impact of the region’s affordability crisis. The housing stipend is supported by funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Miami-Dade County, where six out of 10 employed adults are housing cost-burdened, recently declared a housing affordability crisis for residents. Artists are among the most affected, often earning a modest income as they establish their creative careers. Given the role artists have had in establishing Miami as an international cultural destination, it’s essential that they are able to live and work in Miami-Dade moving forward.
“Our artists are one of Miami’s greatest assets. But our city will only continue to be a viable home for them if we find solutions to our affordable housing crisis,” said Dennis Scholl, Oolite Arts president and CEO. “With Knight Foundation’s support, the Studio Residency program can begin to help Oolite Arts’ resident artists bridge the financial gap.”
The funding is part of a $1.25 million grant from Knight, which includes both the Knight Artist Housing Stipend and support to enhance the use of technology by artists and throughout Oolite Arts’ new campus being built in the City of Miami. While it is not uncommon for artist residencies to include housing or stipends, those programs are most utilized by artists visiting from other places. The Knight Artist Housing Stipend is unique in its design to support artists by allowing them to remain in their home community.
“Art and culture are an important part of a city’s vitality and that’s why over the years Knight has supported independent artists and the institutions that support their work,” said Victoria Rogers, vice president for Arts at Knight Foundation. “For artists to live and work in our communities, affordable housing is essential.”
Oolite Arts, which has championed artists since its founding in 1984, offers holistic programming that elevates artists’ work at all stages of their careers. The nonprofit has offered assistance to help Miami-based artists in times of crisis, including launching a relief fund during COVID-19.
Because of the support from the local cultural community, artists, including Alejandra Moros, Reginald O’Neal and Diana Eusebio now have the opportunity to build their careers here. However, the affordability crisis has deepened and affected many emerging artists.
“I went to school in Baltimore at the Maryland Institute College of Art, and after I finished my studies, I decided to move back to Miami. It is where I was born and raised. It’s where my family resides and it’s where I draw a lot of my inspiration from my art practice,” Eusebio said.
“I think there is a growing amount of opportunities when it comes to the arts, but a lack of sustainability when it comes to our lifestyle. There’s a passionate pool of people that are born and raised here that are choosing Miami, but they can’t afford to live here,” she added.
Applications are open for the 2024 residency at Oolite Arts. As one of Florida’s largest artist support organizations, Oolite Arts’ residency includes free studio space, access to exhibition and funding opportunities, and now the Knight Artist Housing Stipend.
To qualify for the Knight Artist Housing Stipend as part of the Studio Residency, artists must show proof that they have lived in Miami-Dade for two years at the start of the residency in January 2024. Oolite Arts is offering the residency program at its headquarters at 924 Lincoln Rd., while the non-profit’s new campus is being built in Little River.
For more information, visit oolitearts.org.
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