Bilingual Hip-Hop Artist Olmeca Inspires and Empowers at Community Performance

June 14, 2021 – Sarasota

Internationally recognized Bilingual Hip-hop Artist, Activist, Scholar, and Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Olmeca concluded a year-long residency in Sarasota today with a performance on the Van Wezel lawn that sought to inspire and empower the community.

The performance, along with a week of curated in-person community lectures, workshops, a master class and other performances, concluded a year-long residency for Olmeca that seamlessly melded digital events with in-person ones to form a hybrid prototype that can serve as a model, not only for future Artist-in-residence programs in Sarasota, but nationally.

“This week we were able to bring Olmeca to Sarasota for a series of in-person teachings and performances, including the blockbuster performance he delivered on the Van Wezel lawn today to an enthralled crowd – it was an inspiring, empowering and powerful week,” said Cheryl Mendelson, CEO of the Van Wezel Foundation. “We are grateful that our generous donors were able to make this first-of-its-kind Artist-in-residence program a reality; together, we believe that the arts can open a world of new possibilities for all, and that message was truly embodied by Olmeca.”

The community performance and in-person events, along with the year-long residency, was thanks in large part to The Van Wezel Foundation’s philanthropy, paired with the mission of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall’s new IDEA initiative.  As a result of their work together, the Foundation, in partnership with the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall education department, launched a new initiative, called IDEA (inclusivity, diversity, equity and access). IDEA strives to teach and create with cultural appreciation in mind, championing the belief that art can increase student empowerment, destroy negative stereotypes, promote innovation and equip students with the necessary tools to become more aware of their own agency from a local and global perspective.

The in-person events this week in Sarasota, capped off a year-long virtual residency where Olmeca engaged educators, students, families and community leaders in virtual trainings, workshops and performances designed to utilize the performing arts to build culturally responsive communities and classrooms.

“IDEA is a visionary platform created by the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall Education and Community Engagement Program and made possible by the Van Wezel Foundation and its donors, who are invested in how the arts can have a positive impact on our community,” said Kelli Maldonado, director of Education and Community Engagement at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. “IDEA brought to life this first-of-its-kind Artist-in-residence Program that allowed us to bring Olmeca here and spark important discussions through the arts; and we look forward to working alongside the Van Wezel Foundation to ensure our community has ongoing access to this type of diverse and thought-provoking programming.”

The Van Wezel Artist-in-residence Program is sponsored by the Van Wezel Foundation, Jenne Britell and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation.

To learn more about the new Sarasota Performing Arts Center and get involved, visit vwfoundation.org/SPAC. For more information on the Foundation and its mission, visit vwfoundation.org, or join us on Facebook and Instagram.