JOEL GAITAN, FIRST LAUREATE OF THE BAKEHOUSE ART COMPLEX x CITÉ INTERNATIONALE DES ARTS PROGRAM, IS AWARDED A TWO-MONTH ARTISTIC RESIDENCY IN PARIS, FRANCE.

Bakehouse Art Complex, Miami, and the Cité internationale des arts, Paris, are pleased to announce the selection of Joel Gaitan as the first Artist Laureate to benefit from a prestigious two-month residency in Paris this upcoming May and June 2023. Selected through a competitive and juried process, the Bakehouse x Cité internationale des arts residency emanates from a partnership forged last fall between the two artist-serving institutions to provide an exceptional professional and creative development opportunity to a Bakehouse artist. Three finalists were selected by a jury comprised of NSU Art Museum, Ft. Lauderdale’s Director and Chief Curator Bonnie Clearwater, artist and curator Edouard Duval Carrie, and Institute of Contemporary Art Miami’s Director, Knight Foundation Art + Research Center Gean Moreno. The final selection was made by the Cité internationale des arts based on the synergies among artists who will then be in residence.

“Not only are we proud to receive the first laureate of this new and exciting residency program, but the whole team at the Cité internationale des arts is also excited to meet Joel and welcome him into the Cité’s artistic community. While we want to make sure that he benefits in many ways from this multifold experience, we are convinced that his artistic practice, particularly his research on identity, will resonate with many of the other artists-in-residence. We are looking forward to witnessing what new developments this residency brings to his artistic growth” - Vincent Gonzalvez, Head of the residency department at the Cité internationale des arts, Paris.

Since its foundation in 1965, the Cité internationale des arts has encouraged cross-cultural dialogue and provided a place where artists can engage with diverse audiences through residency programs ranging from two months to a year. Every year, over 1,200 artists from over one hundred different countries and representing a multitude of creative disciplines—visual arts, music and performing arts, exhibition curators, art historians, writers, and researchers—stay in one of the 325 live-in studios at Cité, whose campus is divided between the Marais and Montmartre neighborhoods in Paris. 

Through its artist-in-residence programs and with the help of its many partners, the Cité internationale des arts provides artists of all disciplines the opportunity to live and work in Paris, advance their creative projects, and foster dialog and exchange with artists from around the world. The Cité allows artists to work in an environment conducive to creation and open to meetings with professionals from Paris' rich cultural milieu. Residents benefit from customized support from the Cité team and access to the depth and diversity of Paris's museums and other cultural resources and assets.

Said Cathy Leff, Bakehouse Director, “We are thrilled with the selection of Joel as the first artist to represent Bakehouse and benefit from this new partnership. He embodies the talent, seriousness of practice, energy, and diversity of the Bakehouse artist community and Miami itself. Joel will have access to an international community of peers, infrastructure, and programs offered by the Cité internationale des arts to its residents. In addition, he will be able to explore Paris’ contemporary and historical collections and institutions and meet important art professionals, all of which, hopefully, will be transformative at this exciting moment in his career.”

Since its inception in 1986, the Bakehouse Art Complex has provided emerging and mid-career artists with the opportunity to explore and develop their artistic endeavors through affordable studios, creative and professional development opportunities, and access to fabrication spaces. Bakehouse enables its community of 100 artists to work, make, discover, learn, and share their practices and work with each other and the broader community.

Bakehouse now is positioned for its next stage of development: to renovate the former bakery building and add affordable housing and new cultural spaces to its 2.3-acre campus. In doing so, it will play a critical role in the collective efforts to build a strong and sustainable ecosystem in Miami in which artists and the arts can thrive.

Joel Gaitan’s practice is a profoundly personal exploration of his family ancestry and identity as a first-generation Nicaraguan living in Miami, Florida. Believing that storytelling is the poetry of life, Gaitan highlights the Nicaraguense lifestyle and aesthetics through his traditional hand-built terracotta vessels. Gaitan's practice is multifaceted and layered as he highlights various colors, styles, and forms in his work, facilitating space for viewers to celebrate Central American traditions.

“I am elated to be selected as the first artist for the inaugural Bakehouse x Cité internationale des arts residency,” remarked Gaitan. “I marked my first anniversary at Bakehouse with this exciting news. It is definitely a big accomplishment and a turning point for my career. I look forward to exploring a new environment, and new mediums, and representing my identity, my culture, and Bakehouse in Paris!”

Support for this residency is made possible through a donation from Bakehouse Board President Jason Korman, in honor of City of Miami Chairwoman Christine King, The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation, and from a portion of the proceeds raised at Bakehouse's annual fall fundraiser.