CIFO Announces the Recipents of the 2011 CIFO Grants and Commissions Program

Over the past eight years, CIFO has cemented its place as a driving force in contemporary art from Latin America. CIFO has granted awards to over fifty artists from countries such as Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Ecuador. In addition, many of the artists that have been recipients of our grants have gone on to forge important relationships with collectors, museums and galleries, and have launched international careers.

CIFO Grants and Commissions Program

CIFO’s Grants and Commissions Programs offer opportunities to emerging and mid-career contemporary artists from Latin America to develop and present new work. The grants and commissions enable artists to create their work outside of the constraints of the commercial marketplace, and provide them with a unique platform to present projects for local and international audiences in Miami.

Grants are awarded each year to up to ten emerging artists and Commissions to up to three mid-career artists whose work is featured in a group exhibition at CIFO Art Space. The Commissions Program includes a special award, the CIFO Achievement Commission, recognizing the contributions of a highly accomplished artist who would benefit from significant exposure and recognition in the U.S.

Artists for both programs are nominated by CIFO’s honorary Advisory Committee of leading art professionals, curators and artists from Latin America, the United States, and Europe, who help identify visual artists from Latin America who are creating some of the most challenging and innovative work today. After a rigorous review process, the annual recipients of CIFO grants and commissions are chosen by the Selection Committee and ratified by the CIFO Board of Directors.

CIFO, the Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation, is a non-profit organization established in 2002 by Ella Fontanals-Cisneros and her family to foster cultural and educational exchange within the visual arts.

CIFO has three primary initiatives:

• CIFO Art Space – a permanent venue for the presentation of engaging and provocative contemporary art exhibitions highlighting works from the Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection, works by CIFO grantees and commissioned artists, and experimental, challenging art programs;
• Grants and Commissions Programs supporting emerging and mid-career contemporary artists from Latin America; and
• Foundation-initiated support for other arts and culture projects.

www.cifo.org 305.455.3380