During its eleventh anniversary, the 2019 Miami Art Week was kickstarted with the announcement of the winners of the Knight Art
Challenge, facilitated by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation itself. The challenge is an annual event held in order to promote art for strengthening communities in the Miami area by funding ideas through a community-wide search.
This year, over $1.8 million was distributed to 44 different artists and arts organizations to encourage their efforts in bringing their various art ideas to life. The celebration and event were held at the Pérez Art Museum Miami and the award recipients stemmed from several backgrounds, including visual arts, theater, and music.
Many FIU alumni and programs received awards – among them, were FIU CARTA alums, Sterling Rook and Edison Peñafiel. Rook was awarded for his project, “The Miami Rope Bridges”;
A fiber-art installation of a rope bridge made from recycled fabrics in the style of a 500-year-old tradition from indigenous Peruvian rope bridge-builders, created collaboratively through a series of participatory fiber-art workshops and presentations that build community among the creators
Peñafiel was also awarded for his project, “Land Escape Paintings ”
A collection of large-scale compositions focused on migrants’ physical and emotional struggles through their journeys
CARTA News reached out to Edison Peñafiel to hear about his award and his future plans;
What does receiving the award mean to you?
I am very honored to have been selected as a Knight Arts Challenge Awardee. The award is a very important recognition of my work, as well as an opportunity to develop, create and present the proposed project to the community in South Florida.
How do you intend to utilize the award in bringing your creative idea to life?
The matching grant will allow me to invest in materials to create a series of large paintings, organize an exhibition and public events, as well as the creation of an exhibition catalog.
Congratulations to all the FIU Alumn and programs that received awards for your creativity and hard work! To learn more about the Knight Foundation and the Art Challenge Awards, click here.
