Rontherin Ratliff received a Creative Work Grant from Ana & Adeline Foundation to support the creation of Rosebud, a nomadic sculpture that will premier during the citywide triennial Prospect 4 in New Orleans. Modeled on tiny houses on wheels, Rosebud will be a metaphor for resilient beauty, love, loss and new beginnings constructed as a sculpture of woven narratives gathered throughout New Orleans. Included in the roving sculpture will be a video collage developed in collaboration and social engagement with neighbors and community members. This project will be presented in partnership with Antenna Gallery, Blights Out, Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance, YAYA, and Studio Everything.

 

This is his second award from the foundation. He received a Creative Ventures Grant in 2016 to support his participation in group exhibition, Figment on Governor’s Island, New York City, hosted by Antenna Gallery. In 2015 he was awarded a grant to support a residency hosted by Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator in Miami, FL with matching support from the Visual Artists Network.

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Rontherin is known for creating textural assemblages and sculptural work that examines contemporary society. In 2009, Works and Process at the Guggenheim NYC commissioned the set installation for the production of Peter and the Wolf of which Ratliff lead the artistic direction and co-creation. In 2010 Ratliff exhibited at Diverse Works in Houston Texas and in 2012 the Arts Council of New Orleans commissioned a site-specific art installation for The Norman Mayer Branch Library. Ratliff has exhibited at Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans, Rebecca Randall Bryan Gallery at Coastal Carolina University SC and was selected for the Joan Mitchell Foundations Artist In Residence Program in New Orleans in 2014. He was a collaborating artist for the nationally acclaimed street art installation ExhibitBe New Orleans. In 2015, the Diaspora Vibe Cultural Arts Incubator and NPN/VAN awarded Ratliff with an artist residency in Miami, FL.

 

His commitment to his practice lead him co-found Level Artist Collective with local artists of color living in New Orleans. In 2016 Ratliff exhibited at Governors Island New York, 516 ARTS, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery at College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA and was a recipient of the Adeline Edwards Founders Award along with a Blights Out artist fellowship. In 2017 Ratliff exhibited at Xavier University Gallery at Xavier University and Carroll Gallery at Tulane University in New Orleans and was invited to the Netherlands where he created an outdoor installation in response to the 1717 charismas flood.

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Rontherin rose from student artist at YAYA to Studio Manager in 2008-2012 and became the Artistic Director from 2012-2015.

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