Oolite Arts

We are saddened by the passing of Ruth Shack, whose decades of leadership and advocacy helped shape Miami into the city we love today.

At Oolite Arts, we are especially grateful for Ruth’s long standing connection to our organization herself, as well as through her husband, Chair Emeritus Richard Shack. Her warmth, generosity, and commitment to this community will not be forgotten. Ruth was well known for championing artists whose work was original, bold, and deeply human. Her work building what is now the Miami Foundation provided critical funding to organizations like the South Florida Arts Center—what is now Oolite Arts. She was a defender of artists’ rights to speak their minds, take risks, and challenge conventions. Her work helped to make Oolite Arts-supported artists a courageous community.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to her family and loved ones.

Photo credits: The Miami Foundation

Our thanks to Maricarmen Martinez and others in our community who spoke to us about Ruth’s positive impact, and to the Miami Foundation for her image.

Two new exhibitions are coming to Windows @ Walgreens this June.

Mark Delmont’s “For a Lifetime” reflects on labor, care, and collective knowledge through painting, photography, and video, drawing from his background in construction and time in Suriname.

Beatriz Chachamovits’s “Heliotropic Seekers: Drift” transforms the Walgreens Windows into a luminous suspended reef installation exploring drift, movement, and collective navigation.

Join us on Wednesday, June 3, for the opening reception!

6–7 p.m.: Walking Tour beginning at 74th St. and Collins Ave. and ending at 67th St. and Collins Ave.
7–9 p.m.: Reception at Norman's Tavern

RSVP today: https://bit.ly/4nRaSjp

Oolite Arts alumni are continuing to make their mark in exhibitions and collections across Miami and beyond.

Edouard Duval-Carrié (Studio Resident 1995–2005 and Ellies Michael Richards Award Winner 2018) will be featured in La Nostra Biennale at Pan American Art Projects, opening May 28. The exhibition celebrates Latin American and Caribbean artists connected to the Venice Biennale and coincides with Duval-Carrié representing Haiti at the 2026 Biennale.

Marie Franco (2026 Home + Away Resident and Ellies, Oolite Arts Awards 2026 Creator Award Winner) is currently featured in come closer, a group exhibition at 81 Leonard Gallery in New York City, closing May 30. Her luminous paintings of the South Florida Swap Shop capture moments of community, labor, and shared ritual through scenes filled with warmth and possibility.

Luna Palazzolo-Daboul (2025 Live.In.Art Resident) was recently announced as a represented artist at Primary, where her first solo exhibition will open this September. Her work "Of Possession" has also been acquired by Pérez Art Museum Miami for its permanent collection ahead of her participation in the FAR Residency in Spain this June.

Learn more about our alumni and where their work is taking them: https://oolitearts.org/alumni/

Congratulations to current Oolite Arts Studio Residents Shayla Marshall and Lucía Morales on being selected as finalists for Pathways 2026: The Carlos Malamud Prize. Their work will be featured alongside fellow finalists in a collaborative exhibition presented by the Rollins Museum of Art and the UCF Art Gallery in Orlando.

Opening reception: Wednesday, May 27, 5:30–7 p.m.

UCF Art Gallery, 12400 Aquarius Agora Dr, Orlando

On view through August 30, 2026.

Learn more about Oolite Arts' current residents: https://oolitearts.org/currentresidents/

From Brooklyn to the Bronx, Oolite Arts’ Collective Circle New York City Art Away was an unforgettable immersion into the city’s vibrant contemporary art landscape.

The itinerary was filled with intimate studio visits, museum tours, and private collection tours and experiences. Highlights included visits with Oolite alumni Luis Gispert and Alejandro Contreras, as well as a tour of the Whitney Biennial with Oolite alumni Leo Castañeda, whose work is featured in the exhibition. Guests bonded over wonderful meals, wine receptions, and inspiring conversations with artists, curators, and collectors shaping today’s cultural landscape.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this special journey through New York’s art community.

To learn more about future behind-the-scenes cultural experiences with Oolite Arts, check out Collective Circle membership opportunities:
https://oolitearts.org/collective-circle/

Congratulations to Gonzalo Hernandez, Oolite Arts’ 2026 Studio Resident, on being featured in Pérez Art Museum Miami’s upcoming exhibition, “This Is America: Selections from PAMM’s Collection.”

The exhibition also includes work by Oolite Arts alumni José Bedia (2025 Ellies Lifetime Achievement Award), Thomas Bils (2020 and 2023 Home + Away Resident), and Sandra Ramos (2023 Home + Away Resident and 2021 Ellies Creator Award Winner).

Join PAMM for the opening reception and artist + curator meet and greet on Thursday, May 28, from 6–8 p.m., featuring Sandra Ramos, Eddie Arroyo, Gonzalo Hernandez, and curator Maritza M. Lacayo.

Learn more about our 2026 Studio Residents: https://oolitearts.org/currentresidents/



Image 3:
AP_4, 2023
Jacquard woven
Collection of Jorge M. Pérez

Oolite Arts will have adjusted hours over the holiday weekend:

Friday, May 22: Gallery and office closing early at 2:00 p.m.

Saturday & Sunday: Gallery open regular hours; offices closed.

Monday, May 25: Closed for Memorial Day

Thank you for your understanding!

We celebrate Ellies 2025 Creator Award winner and 2025 Home + Away resident Marisabela Telleria as she opens her solo exhibition, A Distant Blue, at Fundación Pablo Atchugarry on May 23. Presented with the support of her Ellies 2025 Creator Award, the exhibition explores how identity is shaped by geography, memory, thebody, and time.

Opening reception: May 23, VIP 6–7 p.m. and public reception 7–9 p.m.

On view through July 26, 2026 at Fundación Pablo Atchugarry.

Learn more about how The Ellies, Oolite Arts Awards support South Florida artists: https://oolitearts.org/ellies/