By China Boynton
The Pompano Beach Cultural Affairs Department has started the new season of its Artist in Residence program featuring artists worldwide.
The program provides artists with studio space to create new work, collaborate with fellow resident artists, and engage with the community.
Laura Atria manages the Public Arts and the Artist in Residence (AIRs) programs at the Bailey Contemporary Art Gallery (BaCa) located at 41 NE 1st St, Pompano Beach. Atria is a visual artist who just had an exhibit of her work on display at The Frank Gallery in Pembroke Pines. Atria made it clear that the goal of the AIRs program is to bring artists recognition from different areas in South Florida and build upon the blossoming art scene in Pompano Beach.
“These artists are an eclectic group. There is a little of everything, from a ceramicist to a projection artist and they all have hit the ground running since the start of the season,” Atria said.
Pompano has had artists in residence previously however; the current class of artists is the second class of a reinvigorated program that hosts eight artists.
Each will feature as an “Artist of the Month” allowing them to create a unique artistic experience to attract art lovers to BaCa and showcase their work.
“One of the things I try to get the artists to do is teach classes, like Michele Del Campo was October’s Artist of the Month so recently he acted as an instructor for the day at the lunch with visual arts workshop,” Atria said.
Michele Del Campo is from Italy and is a portrait artist. He uses simple illustrations to evoke different viewpoints of emotion in simple moments. For example, his portrait “Girl with Cat” is a simple depiction of a girl on a couch with a cat and evokes an emotion of pensive melancholia.
“I portray people that I know so I try to be inspired by their stories and use them as actors,” Del Campo said.
The Broward Cultural Division recently awarded Del Campo the $10,000 artist innovation grant that provides funding to professional artists for new or experimental art projects.
Another “Artist in Residence,” Terrence ‘T.M.’ Pride is a multi-faceted artist from Quincy, FL with talents such as directing, choreographing, dancing, costume designing, and teaching.
“I would describe myself as a multi-disciplinary artist and I have found so much inspiration from the collaboration with other Artists in Residence,” Pride said.
Pride has credits in film, T.V., and the off-Broadway stage. Pride is currently sharing his artistic knowledge by serving as dance program director for Dillard High School for the Arts.
In December, artist Renee Rey will have her work highlighted. She is a jack of all trades when it comes to her artwork. She creates ethereal ecospheres that celebrate the connection between cultures, nature, and technology by using mediums such as abstraction, surrealism, and varied media such as oil, acrylic, and paper.
“Generally, I start with a large canvas when I have ideas that speak to me,” Rey said. “My work is about a grand unity and how we are all connected to nature and one another around the world.”
Rey also does assemblage artwork and works on large and intimately scaled paintings.
The Artist in Residence program will last from October to May 2024 when a new crop of artists will be selected for next season.
Their work will be on display at The Bailey Contemporary Art Center until May. If you would like to apply for the program or support the artists go to pompanobeacharts.org
