New Wave Art Wknd announces partnership with City of Asylum Inaugural NWAW Immigrant Artist Residency Program for 2nd edition
PRESS RELEASE
(Palm Beach, FL) New Wave Art Wknd founder Sarah Gavlak is pleased to announce the second edition of New Wave Art Wknd (NWAW) from December 6 – December 8, 2019 in partnership with Pittsburgh based non-profit organization, City of Asylum. New Wave Art Wknd is a noncommercial collectors weekend featuring private collection tours, gallery openings, public art installations, artist conversations and panel discussions dedicated to thought-provoking dialogue. New Wave Art Wknd's Advisory Committee includes Ann G. Tenenbaum, Amy Phelan, Beth Rudin De Woody, Burt Minkoff, Franklin Sirmans, Gopal Rajegowda, Henry Reese, Jane Holzer, Joanne Casullo, Keith Bloomfield, Lindsay Taylor, Lisa & Richard Perry, Mike De Paola and Sanford Biggers.
Every year the weekend will focus on a critical theme – the topic for 2019 is immigration and migration through a cultural lens. The Norton Museum will host New Wave Art Wknd on December 6 for Place & Space: Negotiating Displacement through a Cultural Lens featuring their chief curator Cheryl Brutvan alongside City of Asylum's Henry Reese and artists from Southern Hemisphere. On Saturday the Eau Hotel will host a panel discussion on art as intervention led by curator Isolde Brielmaier and featuring artists Saya Woolfalk, Jeppe Hein and Renzo Ortega, the inaugural recipient of the NWAW Immigrant Artist-in-Residency Program.
In addition to the residency, which provides financial support and a live/work studio space in West Palm Beach for six weeks, Ortega (b. 1974, Peru) will participate throughout the weekend's robust public programming and host a "displacement potluck" for the local immigrant community. His work explores social, political and cultural implications of immigration and his status as a naturalized American citizen who has made the transition from undocumented to documented. His residency in West Palm Beach will begin in July.
"We all profoundly believe in the power of art and culture to sow the seeds of empathy, community and engagement. NWAW's Advisory Committee felt that a dialogue on the global migration crisis was especially vital here in the wealthy enclave of Palm Beach where many residents have the means to create real change. We are very fortunate to have raised enough funds to support a space in West Palm Beach for artists to resume their artistic practice and to foster meaningful dialogue with the local community here. Ortega's multidisciplinary practice stood out to us because not only is it rooted in his own experience fleeing extraordinary violence to pursue a better life in the US but also because his work focuses on the immigrant community's poignant contributions to American life. We are proud to welcome him." explained Gavlak.
About City of Asylum
Located on the Northside of Pittsburgh, City of Asylum is the world's largest residency program for writers exiled under threat of persecution. For two years, the organization provides each exiled writer (and family) with a stipend, medical benefits, and a variety of other assistance such as transportation to the U.S., legal counsel, scholarships for children, and career services such as translations. Each writer is also provided a rent-free furnished home with no term limit, so they are stable and able to write while transitioning to financial independence.
City of Asylum's award-winning creative placemaking initiatives have transformed its community through arts-based community development. It has invested over $12.5 million in converting blighted properties into homes for its programs—including 6 homes, a public park, and a cultural center with a performance space, a bookstore, and a restaurant. It presents 180 literary, jazz, and film programs annually—all free to the public.
About Sarah Gavlak
In 2005, Sarah Gavlak opened the first contemporary art gallery in Palm Beach after recognizing a lack of local gallery presence there. She founded her eponymous gallery with the goal of championing female and LGTBQ artists, and over the last 14 years has staged highly conceptual and pioneering exhibitions, which includes early solo presentations by Marilyn Minter, Betty Tompkins, Simone Leigh and Wade Guyton. In 2014 she expanded her footprint and opened a 5,000 square foot space in Hollywood, and recently took on representation for artists Gisela Colon, Beverly Fishman, Candida Alvarez, and Vanessa German. In 2018, Sarah founded New Wave Art Wknd to create an experiential weekend in Palm Beach for dedicated collectors.
About Renzo Ortega
Renzo Ortega (b. 1974, Lima, Peru) is an artist based in Carrboro, North Carolina. Renzo received a BFA in painting from the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes del Perú (1999) before coming to the United States to study at the Art Students League of New York (2000-04). He received his MFA in painting from Hunter College (2014). His artwork has been exhibited in solo and group shows in the United States and Perú. His recent solo exhibitions have been at Vox Populi Gallery in Philadelphia (March 2019) and The Power Plant Gallery at Duke University (February 2019). He is a recipient of the 2018-2019 North Carolina Arts Council Artist Fellowship Award.
For schedule of events or to arrange attendance please visit www.NewWaveArtWknd.com
For more information please contact: Bettina Prentice (212) 228-4048 Bettina@PrenticeArt.com