Art San Diego Contemporary Art Fair, scheduled for September 1-4 at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, features numerous “Conversations” during the fair giving both novice and experienced collectors first-hand information on aspects of art collecting and direct encounters with numerous artists and leaders in the art world.

San Diego, CA, August 23, 2011 — Art San Diego Contemporary Art Fair, scheduled for September 1-4 at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, features numerous “Conversations” during the fair giving both novice and experienced collectors first-hand information on aspects of art collecting and direct encounters with numerous artists and leaders in the art world. In addition this year, we will feature a “Collector Resource Desk” that will be available throughout the weekend staffed with experts to offer advice, tours and collecting tips.

Friday, Sept. 2nd | 8 – 3 pm | Powering Innovation Economies

For you art lovers involved in city building, public art, community development, real estate development, or education, consider attending the Urban Land Institute’s Powering Innovation Economies Conference taking place at the Hilton from 8am to 3pm on Friday September 2nd. Come hear from leaders who have been successful in using art and culture as economic drivers for their cities and how this emerging trend is being identified as a key ingredient to future great cities in the 21st century. Governor John Hickenlooper from the State of Colorado will share how the City of Denver has earned a position as a leading cultural mecca; John Alschuler will present the highly successful High Line linear park in Manhattan; and Dave Malmuth and Pete Garcia will showcase their concept for San Diego’s IDEA District where innovation, design, education and art are intentionally integrated to create a place where creativity can thrive. Click here to register – Powering Innovation Economies.

“This conversation is about the future of our city and how we can use all of our creative energies to strengthen our artistic scene and drive economic vitality,” said David Malmuth, Conference Chairman and partner in I.D.E.A. District with Pete Garcia.

Saturday, Sept. 3rd | 2 – 3 pm | Professional Resources for Collectors

This panel discussion will cover professional resources for the serious art collector, including: art advisory services, conservation of artwork, state of the art storage for valuable art collections, viewing, and shipping of art works. In addition, topics will include: insurance needs and appraisals for estates, for museum donations, insurance, and resale purposes. This discussion will cover museum quality issues for the serious art collector and provide valuable insights and hard-earned advice from experts in various art-related fields.

Moderated by Arthur Lipper. Panel: James Merriman | Hub International Services, Tim Dadik | Chubb Personal Insurance, Elizabeth von Habsburg | Winston Art Group, Wendell Eckholm | ArtWorks, Wyatt Peabody | Soutirage

Saturday, Sept. 3rd | 5 – 6 pm | Regional Art Survey
Taking the pulse of San Diego’s visual arts community, we’ll discuss the role local artists and institutions play within the region as well as the broader, national scene. What are the strengths of the local arts community, and what’s missing that would make it more vital? How will San Diego participate in Pacific Standard Time, the sprawling, Getty-sponsored program of exhibitions and events launching in the fall?

Moderated by Leah Ollman. Panel: Marcela Quiroz | Curator Director, ART SAN DIEGO Contemporary Art Fair; Dr. Hugh M. Davies | The David C. Copley Director and CEO, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego; Marcia Reed, Head, Collection Development & Exhibitions, Getty Research Institute and Artists: Eleanor Antin and Ruben Ortiz Torres.

Friday & Saturday, Sept. 2nd & 3rd | 5 – 6 pm | Art Talks @ Community Table

Friday: 1 – 1:45 Conversing with NAFTA Designer Giacomo Castagnola | Moderator: Jennifer Luce | 2 – 2:30 Conversing with Ale de la Puente (SUMO, Mexico City) | Moderator: Marcela Quiroz (Curatorial Director – Art San Diego) | 3 – 3:45 Panorama: Argentina | Conversing with Maria Bedoian / Luisa González | moderators: Alejandra Laurenzi (Consorcio Gallery, Buenos Aires, Argentina) / Marcela Quiroz (Curatorial Director – Art San Diego)

Saturday: 2 – 2:45 IN/TO Creating | Short Films Program: Conversing with Mauricio Chernovetzky / Aldo Guerra / Felipe Lima | Moderator: Joe Nalven (Digital Artist/Cultural Commentary) | 3 – 4:00 Collectrium / IPHONE App for Collectors

Saturday & Sunday, Sept. 2nd & 3rd | 5 – 6 pm | Meet the Artists @ 21st Editions / Booth #9

Book Signing/ Meet the Artist, Mitch Dobrowner| Saturday 1-3, and 5-7, Sunday 1-3
Mitch Dobrowner may well be the greatest of all landscape photographers. His art subverts the old masters and enlarges the potential for meaning within the landscape photograph. As an avid storm chaser, Dobrowner continually pushes his boundaries while putting his life on the line. Come meet the man and see his first monograph accompanied by his only work ever printed in silver-gelatin.

Meet the Artist, Charles Grogg| Saturday 3-5, Sunday 1-3
Charles Grogg refashions the natural world by the transformative power of art, first by the camera and then through stitchery by needle and thread. No one else has ever made such photographs. They are strange, rapturous visions like nothing we’ve seen before. Meet the man behind Cracked: The Art of Charles Grogg, a tomb of a book incorporating handmade platinum prints on handmade Gompi Toronoko papers. Cracked: The Art of Charles Grogg with 11 poems and an essay by John Wood, published by 21st Editions. Each of the 38 books in the deluxe limited edition feature 10 original 11×14″ prints in platinum and palladium, and three loose 20×24″ Reconstructions suitable for framing.

Over Labor Day Weekend, San Diego will be home to the third edition of ART SAN DIEGO Contemporary Art Fair. More than 50 leading galleries from the USA, Canada, Europe, Latin America, and Asia will be taking part. Chosen by ART SAN DIEGO’s Curatorial Director Marcela Quiroz Luna, the galleries – which include numerous new participants – will be showing works by over 500 artists. In addition to the gallery booths, special features include curated exhibitions, contemporary furniture design, solo-artist exhibitions, video-based works, performances, art in public spaces, and a lounge designed by noted Architect Jennifer Luce.

ART SAN DIEGO 2011 Exhibitors include: EDS Galería (Mexico City), NODO Galería (Tijuana), En Masse (Montreal), JDC Fine Art (San Diego), 21st Editions (Massachusetts), Tanya Aguiñiga (Los Angeles), Fu Xin Gallery (Shanghai), Castor (Toronto), David Weeks Studio (New York), Leanne Hull Fine Art (La Jolla), Galería Rubbers Internacional (Buenos Aires), JVS Gallery (San Diego), DTR Modern Galleries (Boston), Walter Bischoff Galerie (Berlin), ECOH (Mexico City), Ana Tzarev Gallery (New York), Gemmell Studio (San Diego), Aldo de Sousa Gallery (Buenos Aires), Diehl Gallery (Jackson), Koplin Del Rio (Culver City), Giacomo Castagnola (San Diego/Tijuana), Betsy Lane Art Consultant (Del Mar). AMIC | Arts Management International Corporation (Osaka), Symbolic Collection Gallery (San Diego), Joseph Bellows Gallery (La Jolla), La Caja Galería (Tijuana), 1500 Gallery (New York), Consorcio de Arte (Buenos Aires), Robert Green Fine Arts (Mill Valley), Ginocchio Gallery (Mexico City), Pristine Galerie (Monterrey), Toca Galería (Mexico City), Joanne Artman Gallery (Laguna Beach), Quint Contemporary Art (La Jolla), Mindy Solomon Gallery (St. Petersburg), SUMO (Mexico City).Mauricio Esquivel (Mexico City), Jonathan Ruiz de la Peña (Tijuana), César Vázquez (Tijuana), Tuca Vieira (New York), Daniel Ruanova (Mexico City), Hugo Lugo (Mexico City), Rubén Ortiz-Torres (San Diego/Los Angeles), Tristan Shone (San Diego), Jay Johson (San Diego), Adam Belt (San Diego). David Weeks (New York), Tanya Aguiñiga (Los Angeles), Castor (Toronto), Giacomo Castagnola (San Diego/Tijuana), and SDSU School of Art, Design & Art History Furniture Design Program, Museum Works (Chicago), Artist League Studios (Minneapolis).

SPONSORS: Presenting Sponsor: UBS Financial Services. Exclusive Sponsors: Hub International Services – Insurance Advisor; Chubb Personal Insurance – Insurance Sponsor; Winston Art Group – Art Appraisal Advisor Group; San Diego Magazine – Media Sponsor; and Art Pulse, Charity Partner, Hilton San Diego Bayfront – Hotel Sponsor; Lincoln – Car Sponsor, Charles Koll Jewellers – Jewelry Sponsor, Craters & Freighters – Art Shipping, ArtWorks San Diego – Art Handling, St. Petersburg Vodka – Beverage Sponsor.

For more information about ART SAN DIEGO Contemporary Art Fair
http://artsandiego-fair.com
For more information about ARTS MONTH San Diego/SEPTEMBER, please visit

http://artsmonthsd.com

DATES AND TIMES
Friday, September 2 through Sunday, September 4
Daily from noon to 8 p.m.
Closing day from noon to 5 p.m.
OPENING RECEPTION:
Opening Night VIP Event: Thursday, September 1
TICKETS AVAILABLE: www.artsandiego-fair.com

LOCATION
Place: Hilton San Diego Bayfront
PressRelease Distribution By PressReleasePoint

Contact:
Jennifer von Stauffenberg
Olive PR Solutions, Inc.
350 West Ash St. #103
San Diego, CA 92101
619-302-3181
[email protected]

http://www.artsandiego-fair.com

Chelsea’s Agora Gallery will feature a Lebanese artist, Rita Aad, in Passages. The exhibition is scheduled to run from March 25, 2011 through April 15, 2011 (opening reception: Thursday, March 31, 2011).

About the Artist

Rita Aad’s oil on canvas paintings utilize abstract figuration, effectively merging human and plant forms in vivid, plentiful color. Her tactile, indulgent use of paint verges on the sculptural and conveys an abundant sense of energetic motion, interconnectivity and balance. A spontaneous, impulsive recorder of life, Aad cultivates a profound sense of experiential joy which she crystallizes during her creative process. An expert of textural variation, Aad methodically builds up the canvas with thick layers of oil that she reshapes anew with palette knife and brush. Her neo-primitive motifs, inspired by the colors of Fauvism, portray a beguiling illusion of radiating warmth. Within each work lies a tender and whimsical manifestation of our collective emotional, physical and cultural landscape.

Rita Aad was born in 1967 in Lebanon and currently lives and works in Beirut. She studied Business Administration at the American University of Beirut and worked in fashion as an image consultant for four years.

Exhibition Dates: March 25, 2011 – April 15, 2011

Reception: Thursday, March 31, 2011, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Gallery Location: 530 West 25^th St, New York City

Gallery Hours: Tues – Sat, 11a.m. – 6 p.m.

Event URL: http://www.agora-gallery.com/artistpage/Rita_Aad.aspx

About the Exhibition:

Celebrate the spring with Agora Gallery’s new series of exhibitions. Through Contemporary German Art: The New York Experience you can get in touch with the energetic talent of some of the best of German art today. Full of personal insight, yet containing universal understanding and appreciation, these artists use their cultural heritage to create unique and innovative pieces of art. In Degrees of Abstraction you can view the works of artists who get to the heart of the complex mysteries of the world as they treat everything they meet with gentle but creative respect. Delightful but thought-provoking, these images will resonate with something deep within. Passages presents artworks which speak of the life-changing and perception-altering power of journeys both personal and physical. Reflective of the artists’ experience, they will also help viewers themselves to gain a new perspective on everyday life and humanity.

Featured Artists:

Degrees of Abstraction – Did Dontzoff, Jack Cymber, Domingo Martín, Concha García de Pablos, Andreas Hessman, Clive Rowe

Passages – Hanna Westerberg, Rita Aad, Neslihan Ozdemir, Richard Griffith, Jin Hwan Cho

Contemporary German Art – Amalia Gil-Merino, Christian Gipp, Christine Haehner Murdock, Eberhard Marx, Iva Milanova, Corina Schmidt, Renate Thalhammer, Petra Thoelken

About Agora Gallery

Agora Gallery is a fine art gallery, established in 1984 and located in the heart of New York City’s Chelsea art galleries district. It is famous for showcasing a spectacular array of talented artists from around the world and around the corner, while providing quality and original art to collectors. Gallery II, an elegant adjacent gallery space, gives artists the ideal area for a solo or group exhibition of their own, organized and publicized by Agora Gallery. The gallery also publishes ARTisSpectrum Magazine, a bi-annual magazine that is distributed to museums, galleries, art institutions and art schools around the world. It provides artists, collectors, museums, galleries, art organizations and enthusiasts with access to the work of international talented artists as well as feature articles, reviews and interviews. Agora Gallery is also the sponsor of ARTmine, one of the most comprehensive resources available worldwide to view and purchase fine art. The gallery also runs Agora Art Blog, a blog designed to provide helpful information and advice for artists while providing a forum for artists to help one another by sharing their experiences and thoughts.

Chelsea’s Agora Gallery will feature Sherry Ruden in The Rhythm of Color. The exhibition is scheduled to run from February 4, 2011 through February 25, 2011 (opening reception: Thursday, February 10, 2011).

About the Artist

There is a playful elegance to the decadent swirls and curves of Sherry Ruden’s figurative abstractions, a harmonious rhythm and lyrical flow as her sweeping linear loops reveal arching forms and the bodies of women relaxed in luxurious repose. Blending acrylic and oil paints on canvas, the artist infuses her art with a richness of hue and texture, her use of patterns and metallic sheen recalling the works of Gustav Klimt. As she paints, Sherry searches for beauty and perfection with a boundless freedom of self- expression, bringing to life the artistic dreams of her consciousness.

Born in Shanghai, China, Sherry began her studies in traditional calligraphy and scroll painting before attending the prestigious Shanghai University of Fine Art where she was inspired by Western art and culture from the Renaissance to modern masters. Sherry now lives and works in Seattle, WA where she continues to explore the limitless possibilities of her unique creative vision.

Exhibition Dates: February 4, 2011 – February 25, 2011

Reception: Thursday, February 10, 2011, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Gallery Location: 530 West 25th St, New York City

Gallery Hours: Tues – Sat, 11a.m. – 6 p.m.

Event URL: http://www.agora-gallery.com/artistpage/Sherry_Ruden_%28aka_Sherry_Ying%29.aspx

About the Exhibition:

Sensitivity, intelligence and vision shine through the works on display, with the collection as a whole an example of creativity at its energetic best. The artists come from widely differing backgrounds and a range of countries, and as such each bring their own personal perspective on life and the world at large to their work. Yet they are united by a shared commitment to the importance of artistic development, and the real and lasting effect that art can have on those who see it.

Featured Artists:

The Manifestation of Milieu

Vera L.P. Cauwenberghs, Ivan Radman, David Segeta, Thomas Ab-e, Peter Sherman, Thanh Mai-Charles, Heather Everett, Younghee Hong, Hyejin Kim

The Rhythm of Color

V. S. Ajayan, Yunkap Jung, Laurence Steenbergen, Sherry Ruden (aka Sherry Ying), Yvonne Maloney, Michael Grine, Adka (“Andrea Jones”), Gisa Elwazir

Unbound Perspectives

Jorge González Velázquez, Gary Hong, Brian Kelly, Fred Gemmell, Shenna Vaughn, kBlanchard, Paloma Bernaldo de Quirós, Jane Sandes

About Agora Gallery

Agora Gallery is a fine art gallery located in the heart of New York City’s Chelsea art galleries district that was established in 1984 and is famous for showcasing a spectacular array of talented artists from around the world and around the corner, while providing quality and original art to collectors. The gallery also publishes ARTisSpectrum Magazine, a bi-annual magazine that is distributed to museums, galleries, art institutions and art schools around the world. It provides artists, collectors, museums, galleries, art organizations and enthusiasts with access to the work of internationally talented artists as well as feature articles, reviews and interviews. Agora Gallery is also the sponsor of ARTmine, one of the most comprehensive resources available worldwide to view and purchase fine art. Most recently, the gallery launched Agora Art Blog, a blog designed to provide helpful information and advice for artists while providing a forum for artists to help one another by sharing their experiences and thoughts.

Chelsea’s Agora Gallery will feature Latin American artist, Alejandro Mandel, in Enigmatic Realms.  The exhibition is scheduled to run from June 04, 2010 through June 25, 2010 (opening reception: Thursday, June 10, 2010).

The gripping, plaintive landscapes in Alejandro Mandel’s oil paintings don’t just bare the scars of humanity’s destructive hand, but actually feature rips in time, introducing art historical motifs into contemporary settings. The effect is at once deeply moving and strangely elusive, as if the conflation of sceneries – an angel hovering over a train yard, a Victorian hunting party near a modern coal mine – were about to disappear back into the flow of history.

For Mandel, these quizzical scenes have an undeniable urgency. “My work,” he explains, “expresses the changes that I see in my environment.” As a Chilean Jew who lived through the 1973 revolution and eventually immigrated to America, Mandel is especially sensitive to notions of dislocation, fracture and collision, and the places he paints are, above all else, crash sites. The scenes are never overtly violent, though. Mandel renders our culture’s all-pervading sense of acceleration and fragmentation in tangible, eerily beautiful paintings, providing a much-needed pause during which to contemplate our ever-changing landscape.

Exhibition Dates: June 04, 2010 – June 25, 2010

Reception: Thursday, June 10, 2010, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Gallery Location:  530 West 25^th St, New York City

Gallery Hours:  Tues – Sat, 11a.m. – 6 p.m.

Event URL: http://www.agora-gallery.com/ArtistInvite/Alejandro_Mandel.aspx

Inventive and spontaneous, the mind of each artist is a world unto itself and they are compelled towards the act of creation. Within Enigmatic Realms audiences may observe the sheer endless forms of inspiration within our grasp. Life experiences, spirituality, and natural splendor become the muse for the talented individuals collected here, as they take us on a journey into the world as seen through their eyes.

Featured Artists:

D. Loren Champlin, Alex Hook, Alejandro Mandel, Mary Nangah, Barbara Palka Winek, Kiran Sainani, Terry Wang, Nathalie Weis

About Agora Gallery

Agora Gallery is a fine art gallery located in the heart of New York City’s Chelsea art district that was established in 1984 and is famous for showcasing a spectacular array of talented artists from around the world and around the corner, while providing quality and original art to collectors. At the end of 2009, Agora Gallery opened its doors to a new exhibition space.  This beautifully designed and spacious new gallery will showcase artists and their work in a significant solo exhibition environment. The gallery also publishes ARTisSpectrum Magazine, a bi-annual magazine that is distributed to museums, galleries, art institutions and art schools around the world. It provides artists, collectors, museums, galleries, art organizations and enthusiasts with access to the work of internationally talented emerging and mid-level artists as well as feature articles, reviews and interviews. Agora Gallery is also the sponsor of Art-Mine.com, one of the most comprehensive resources available worldwide to view and purchase fine art from emerging, mid-level and well-established artists. Most recently, the gallery launched http://agoraartgalleryblog.com, a blog designed to provide helpful information and advice for artists while providing a forum for artists to help one another by sharing their experiences and thoughts.

Contact:

Lee Eagle

Public Relations

Agora Gallery

[email protected]

Miami, (Dec. 5, 2009) The Cintas Foundation and The Frost Art Museum at Florida International University (FIU) announced the start of the annual competition for the 2010 Brandon Fradd Fellowship in Music Composition administered by the Foundation and the Cintas Fellowship Program at The Frost.

The only one of its kind in the nation, the program has honored some of the world’s most talented Cuban musicians. Last year, the three finalists for the award were Oriente Lopez, Fabian Almazan and Sergio Barroso who won the award. Past music fellows include Armando Bayolo, Mario Bauza (known as the father of Afro-Cuban jazz), José Bernardo, Aldo Rafael Forte, Julián Orbon, Tania León and Orlando Jacinto Garcia. The Cintas Foundation awards fellowships annually to creative artists of Cuban lineage who reside outside of Cuba. Competition details are posted on the Cintas Foundation web site at www.cintasfoundation.org.

Cintas fellows are awarded $10,000 and the opportunity to pursue an art project outlined in their applications. Since it was established in 1963, the Cintas Fellowship Program has honored more than 300 artists. FIU and the Cintas Foundation Board have been administering the awards program since 2005. Winners will be announced in May 2010.

Applicants for the music fellowship must submit original musical compositions and recordings of their work by January 30, 2010.  All program requirements and application forms are posted on the Cintas Foundation web site at www.cintasfoundation.org.

About the Cintas Foundation
The Cintas Fellowship Program encourages creative development in architecture, literature, music composition and the visual arts. The Foundation was established with funds from the estate of Oscar B. Cintas (1887-1957), former Cuban ambassador to the United States, a prominent industrialist and patron of the arts. www.cintasfoundation.org

About the Frost Art Museum – Florida International University

Over 27,000 people have visited The Frost Art Museum since the new building’s November 2008 opening. The Frost is an AAM accredited museum and Smithsonian affiliate. The museum is located at 10975 SW 17thSt across from the Blue garage and adjacent to the Wertheim Performing Arts Center on the University Park campus. Its hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday noon-5 p.m. The Frost is closed on Mondays and most legal holidays. For more information, please visit http://thefrost.fiu.edu or call 305-348-2890.Miami, (Dec. 5, 2009) The Cintas Foundation and The Frost Art Museum at Florida International University (FIU) announced the start of the annual competition for the 2010 Brandon Fradd Fellowship in Music Composition administered by the Foundation and the Cintas Fellowship Program at The Frost.

The only one of its kind in the nation, the program has honored some of the world’s most talented Cuban musicians. Last year, the three finalists for the award were Oriente Lopez, Fabian Almazan and Sergio Barroso who won the award. Past music fellows include Armando Bayolo, Mario Bauza (known as the father of Afro-Cuban jazz), José Bernardo, Aldo Rafael Forte, Julián Orbon, Tania León and Orlando Jacinto Garcia. The Cintas Foundation awards fellowships annually to creative artists of Cuban lineage who reside outside of Cuba. Competition details are posted on the Cintas Foundation web site at www.cintasfoundation.org.

Cintas fellows are awarded $10,000 and the opportunity to pursue an art project outlined in their applications. Since it was established in 1963, the Cintas Fellowship Program has honored more than 300 artists. FIU and the Cintas Foundation Board have been administering the awards program since 2005. Winners will be announced in May 2010.

Applicants for the music fellowship must submit original musical compositions and recordings of their work by January 30, 2010.  All program requirements and application forms are posted on the Cintas Foundation web site at www.cintasfoundation.org.

About the Cintas Foundation
The Cintas Fellowship Program encourages creative development in architecture, literature, music composition and the visual arts. The Foundation was established with funds from the estate of Oscar B. Cintas (1887-1957), former Cuban ambassador to the United States, a prominent industrialist and patron of the arts. www.cintasfoundation.org

About the Frost Art Museum – Florida International University

Over 27,000 people have visited The Frost Art Museum since the new building’s November 2008 opening. The Frost is an AAM accredited museum and Smithsonian affiliate. The museum is located at 10975 SW 17thSt across from the Blue garage and adjacent to the Wertheim Performing Arts Center on the University Park campus. Its hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday noon-5 p.m. The Frost is closed on Mondays and most legal holidays. For more information, please visit http://thefrost.fiu.edu or call 305-348-2890.
Miami, (Dec. 5, 2009) The Cintas Foundation and The Frost Art Museum at Florida International University (FIU) announced the start of the annual competition for the 2010 Brandon Fradd Fellowship in Music Composition administered by the Foundation and the Cintas Fellowship Program at The Frost.

The only one of its kind in the nation, the program has honored some of the world’s most talented Cuban musicians. Last year, the three finalists for the award were Oriente Lopez, Fabian Almazan and Sergio Barroso who won the award. Past music fellows include Armando Bayolo, Mario Bauza (known as the father of Afro-Cuban jazz), José Bernardo, Aldo Rafael Forte, Julián Orbon, Tania León and Orlando Jacinto Garcia. The Cintas Foundation awards fellowships annually to creative artists of Cuban lineage who reside outside of Cuba. Competition details are posted on the Cintas Foundation web site at www.cintasfoundation.org.

Cintas fellows are awarded $10,000 and the opportunity to pursue an art project outlined in their applications. Since it was established in 1963, the Cintas Fellowship Program has honored more than 300 artists. FIU and the Cintas Foundation Board have been administering the awards program since 2005. Winners will be announced in May 2010.

Applicants for the music fellowship must submit original musical compositions and recordings of their work by January 30, 2010.  All program requirements and application forms are posted on the Cintas Foundation web site at www.cintasfoundation.org.

About the Cintas Foundation
The Cintas Fellowship Program encourages creative development in architecture, literature, music composition and the visual arts. The Foundation was established with funds from the estate of Oscar B. Cintas (1887-1957), former Cuban ambassador to the United States, a prominent industrialist and patron of the arts. www.cintasfoundation.org

About the Frost Art Museum – Florida International University

Over 27,000 people have visited The Frost Art Museum since the new building’s November 2008 opening. The Frost is an AAM accredited museum and Smithsonian affiliate. The museum is located at 10975 SW 17thSt across from the Blue garage and adjacent to the Wertheim Performing Arts Center on the University Park campus. Its hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday noon-5 p.m. The Frost is closed on Mondays and most legal holidays. For more information, please visit http://thefrost.fiu.edu or call 305-348-2890.

Born in the Vedado neighborhood of Havana, Cuba, in the winter of 1932, Margarita Fernandez Villa Urrutia was educated at the Ruston Academy and the University of Havana.

Miami – (May 14, 2009) The Cintas Foundation (www.cintasfoundation.org) will present the 2009 Lifetime Service Award to Margarita Cano in recognition of her lifetime dedication to the Cuban arts. Born in the Vedado neighborhood of Havana, Cuba, in the winter of 1932, Margarita Fernandez Villa Urrutia was educated at the Ruston Academy and the University of Havana. She took degrees in biochemistry and physics, later earning a master’s degree in library science and working at the Havana National Museum and at the Julio Lobo Napoleon Museum.

In 1956 she married Pablo Cano. Their first child, Isabel, was born in 1959 and their son, the artist and Cintas Fellow, Pablo Daniel, was born in 1961. At the time, Pablo Sr. had a successful music career in Havana and Margarita became an assistant to the director of Cuba’s National Library. Both, however, became disillusioned with the recently established revolutionary government in Cuba, as censorship encroached on their intellectual freedom. With the help of family already living outside Cuba, the Canos arrived in Miami on October 17, 1962 – three days before the Cuban Missile Crisis.

In 1963, Margarita began a 30 year career with the Miami-Dade Public Library System during which she initiated, promoted and executed innovative programs, and played an instrumental role in shaping a major art collection for the library.

She served on the Board of the Cuban Museum of Arts and Culture and with its support presented, at the Main Library, the first exhibition of Cintas Fellows in 1977 and a major exhibition of works related to Colonial Cuba, “The Romance of an Era.” In 1983, she organized “Nine Cuban-American Artists, The Miami Generation,” an exhibition for the Cuban Museum that traveled to Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia.

After her retirement from the library in 1993, Margarita dedicated herself to her own creative work, painting portraits of family and friends and nostalgic Cuban landscapes. She also began work on a series of hand-written aphorisms that, combined with miniature versions of her paintings, became books in the style of the medieval Books of Hours. Margarita has also written and illustrated several books for children.

“As a director of the Cintas Foundation for almost three decades, Margarita has been instrumental in the work of the foundation in promoting the fellowships and the works of the fellows in numerous exhibitions,” said Hortensia E. Sampedro, president of the Cintas Foundation. “Margarita Cano has dedicated her life to the arts and has worked selflessly for the benefit of Cuban artists as well as many other artists in South Florida. We are honored to recognize her with the Cintas Foundation Lifetime Service Award”.

The award will be presented at a ceremony at the Frost Art Museum of Florida International University on May 20, 2009, at 7:00 pm. The public is invited.

About The Cintas Foundation

The Cintas Foundation was established with funds from the estate of the late Oscar B. Cintas (b. Sagua La Grande, Cuba 1887 – d. New York City, 1957), a prominent industrialist and patron of the arts. Since 1963, the Cintas Foundation has awarded more than 300 fellowships to artists of Cuban lineage who reside outside of Cuba.

About the Frost Art Museum – Florida International University

The Frost is an AAM accredited museum and Smithsonian affiliate. The museum is located at 10975 SW 17thSt. across from the Blue garage and adjacent to the Wertheim Performing Arts Center on the University Park campus. Its hours of operation are Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday noon-5 p.m. The Frost is closed on Mondays and most legal holidays. For more information, please visit www.frostartmuseum.org or call 305-348-2890.

Miami – December 12, 2008 – The Cintas Foundation and the Frost Art Museum at Florida International University today announced the start of the annual competition for the 2009 Brandon Fradd Fellowship in Music Composition administered by the foundation and the Cintas Fellowship Program at The Frost.

Established in 2006, this fellowship is generously endowed by Brandon Fradd of NewYork City.  Managing director of Apollo Medical Partners, Fradd, a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Medical School, grew up in Miami among Cuban friends from whom he learned Spanish and developed an interest in Cuban music.

The only one of its kind in the nation, the program has honored some of the world’s most talented Cuban musicians. Past music fellows include Armando Bayolo, Sergio Barroso, Mario Bauza (known as the father of Afro-Cuban jazz), José Bernardo Aldo Rafael Forte, Julián Orbon, Tania León and Orlando Jacinto Garcia. Last year, the first William B. Warren Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Bebo Valdes. The Cintas Foundation awards fellowships annually to creative artists of Cuban lineage who are currently residing outside of Cuba. Winners will be announced in May 2009.

“Endowing a specific fellowship for music composition is a visionary gesture which supports the rich heritage of Cuban music for the enjoyment of all. The music community is indebted to Brandon Fradd for his generosity,” said Hortensia E. Sampedro, president of the Cintas Foundation.

Applicants for the music fellowship must submit original musical compositions and recordings of their work by January 30, 2009.  Cintas fellows are awarded $15,000 and the opportunity to pursue an art project outlined in their applications. Since it was established in 1963, the Cintas Fellowship Program has honored more than 300 artists. FIU and the Cintas Foundation Board have been administering the awards program since 2005.

The Cintas Fellowship Program encourages creative development in architecture, literature, music composition and the visual arts, and awards annual fellowships in creative writing and visual arts as well. The foundation was established with funds from the estate of Oscar B. Cintas (1887-1957), former Cuban ambassador to the United States, a prominent industrialist and patron of the arts.

Application forms and competition requirements are available online at www.cintasfoundation.org or by contacting Stephanie Guasp at the Frost Art Museum at [email protected]