Extra Virgin Press

Airport purchases works from 14 visual artists to be included in MIA’s art collection

(MIAMI, September 16, 2020) – Miami International Airport is supporting the local arts ecosystem in Miami-Dade County during the pandemic by purchasing works from 14 local artists. The artworks will be featured in an exhibition scheduled for 2021, and they will then be displayed at various locations throughout the airport. 

The 14 contemporary artworks – consisting of paintings, photographs, and works on paper – were selected during a rigorous selection process by a six-person panel comprised of local art and museum professionals, including curators and public art program administrators. The jurors, in MIA’s first-ever call to artists announced in July, reviewed 253 submissions by 157 artists. Entries for consideration had to be existing two-dimensional artworks created within the last three years by artists with demonstrated experience in public art and/or with a history of exhibiting artwork at galleries, museums and alternative art spaces. The artists also had to be living and working in Miami-Dade County.

“The goals of this acquisition initiative are to showcase the broad and diverse spectrum of talent that our local art community has to offer, and to divide our funding among multiple working artists at a time when there are less opportunities,” said Gendry Sherer, MIA Fine Arts & Cultural Affairs Division Director. “We are also proud to continue presenting exhibitions through MIA Galleries, where South Florida artists can exhibit their work daily in front of an international audience.” 

The final artists selected compose a diverse group from varied artistic practices: Maria Theresa Barbist; Lujan Candria; Amalia Caputo; Cara Despain; Annick Duvivier; Carol Jazzar; Regina Jestrow; Monica Lopez de Victoria; Addonis Parker; Najja Moon; Ian Patrick O’Connor; Christina Pettersson; Silvia Ros; and Tom Virgin.

“I want to thank MIA so much for this opportunity in having my artwork displayed at the airport,” said Duvivier. “You brought a ray of sunshine and encouragement into my life in a time of doubt and uncertainty.” 

Lopez de Victoria added: “I am thrilled to have my artwork selected to be included in MIA’s permanent collection. I am grateful that institutions like MIA are investing in Miami’s artists. It is a crucial time to make a difference in our local creative community. Every bit goes a long way.”

About MIA Galleries

MIA Galleries is Miami International Airport’s Arts & Exhibition program. Founded in 1996 and organized by the Miami-Dade Aviation Department’s Division of Fine Arts & Cultural Affairs, MIA Galleries seeks to enhance the passenger experience by creating a visually engaging environment that is contemporary, thought-provoking and reflective of our South Florida community.

Instagram, Twitter & Facebook: @iflyMIA
Hashtag: #ArtsAtMIA

Join us digitally for our tour program, Local Views at PAMM, where select local artists will speak about their creative process and artistic practice. This week, Tom Virgin will lead the tour on Facebook Live and YouTube Live. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Join me for a virtual studio visit on Instagram Live @fountainheadresidency on May 6, 2020 at 6:00 pm. I’ll be discussing my work and answering any questions you might have! Link in bio to watch. If you miss me LIVE, it will be on Fountainhead’s Instagram Story for 24 hours and later added to Fountainhead Residency’s YouTube Channel.

Please come and meet some of my supporters, collaborators, writers, artists, and friends.

Extra Virgin Press’ Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/extravirginpress/

Tom Virgin’s prints:http://www.tomvirgin.com/wp/prints/

Fountainhead Residency’s Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/fountainheadresidency/

Fountainhead’s YouTube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHGp211T-fW4q3K5wuEXNGA/videos

Amos Paul Kennedy’s Pile of Bricks:https://www.instagram.com/pile_of_bricks/
https://www.amoskennedy.me/
http://www.kennedyprints.com/posters1.html
Art in Action: A Conversation with Amos Paul Kennedy Jr.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNHsvhH7wcw

Many thanks for the support of Oolite Arts:
https://oolitearts.org/ellies/https://oolitearts.org/grant/tom-virgin/

Today is GiveMiami Day
Extra Virgin Press has spent seven summers learning from the letterpress community in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. Letterpress printing in Minnesota is alive and well, growing a new generation of printers in the Midwest. We will bring that knowledge back to Miami. Your donations to Extra Virgin Press through GiveMiami will offer us another chance to visit this vital printing community, to purchase type and specialized tools, and bring it back to South Florida.

Take a look at MCBA Book Arts Biennial 2017
http://www.mnbookarts.org/book-art-biennial-2017/

Some of the magic, Midwest glue that holds the printing community together…
The Minnesota Center for Book Arts hosted Amos Kennedy and one of his many powerful community oriented prints in July 2017. He filled the MCBA with 6500 prints.

Below, John Coy and Gaylord Schanilec, and some really cool glue that went into printing “My Mighty Journey.”

Extra Virgin Press is proud to be supported by our local community, students, writers and artists.

With your help, last summer I was able to watch the best printers on the planet in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul). Extra Virgin Press was also able to secure a bit more wood type from the print rich Midwest. The goal is to return to Mpls again summer 2019 for the MCBA Book Arts Biennial and more time in the studios of master printers.

To see Gaylord Schanilec’s collaborative project, My Mighty Journey, a book about the Mississippi River with the Minnesota Historical Society, writer John Loy, coordinated and documented by Paul Nylander on Tumblr, go to:

https://mymightyjourney.tumblr.com/

This blog is a gift of collaborative knowledge across many aspects of printing with the letterpress.
Pass it along to other print people who support the future of letterpress in South Florida.
Our GiveMiami goal this year is $4,000, for travel, type, and training with master printers in Summer 2019.

Best,
Tom

Extra Virgin Press also teamed with Adler Guerrier to create a broadsheet for the Frost Museum in support of their adopt an artwork initiative. https://frost.fiu.edu/support/adopt-an-artwork/index.html
Below: Untitled (Here, this place …radical impulse), Adler, Kathleen Hudspeth, Tom

Tom Virgin, Proprietor of Extra Virgin Press has been funded by The Ellies, Miami’s visual arts awards, presented by ArtCenter/South Florida. My project will create a series of artist’s books that engage conversations on contemporary concerns in our neighborhoods. I am grateful for this opportunity to work with ArtCenter, collaborating writers, and fellow visual artists. For more information, see the following links:

https://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/visual-arts/article220455085.html

https://www.miaminewtimes.com/arts/artcenter-south-florida-announces-winners-of-the-ellies-awards-2018-10852135

https://www.artforum.com/news/artcenter-south-florida-awards-nearly-500-000-to-miami-based-artists-77321

https://www.culturedmag.com/edouard-duval-carrie-receives-the-elliess-michael-richards-award/

ABOUT ARTCENTER/SOUTH FLORIDA
Established in 1984, ArtCenter/South Florida is a non-profit that advances the knowledge and practice of contemporary visual arts and culture to an audience of approximately 80,000 people per year. ArtCenter/South Florida creates opportunities for experimentation and encourages the critical exchange of ideas through residencies, exhibitions, public programs, education and outreach. The residency programs include a Studio Residency Program, a Cinematic Arts Program, an International Exchange Program, a PRINTshop Residency Program and an Art in Public Life Residency. Exhibitions and programs at ArtCenter/South Florida are made possible with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council; the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; the Miami Beach Mayor and City Commissioners; the State of Florida, Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs; the Florida Arts Council; the National Endowment for the Arts; and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. For more information, visit www.artcentersf.org

Give Miami Day 2018 is almost here!

Donations will be accepted from 12 a.m. on November 15, 2017 to 12 a.m. on November 16, 2018.

Visit https://givemiamiday.org/npo/extra-virgin-press-llc
for more information.

Tom Virgin, Extra Virgin Press will be giving a talk at MBUS: Miami Beach Urban Studios on Thursday, October October 25th at 6:30 pm. More information will be available at http://carta.fiu.edu/mbus/events/public-art-talk-with-tom-virgin/