ESALEN PACIFICA PRIZE
In 2012 and 2013 Track Two partnered with the Esalen Institute and California College of the Arts in the United States, along with The Far Eastern Academy of the Arts in Russia to produce the Esalen Pacifica Prize. Graduates of these institutions specializing in painting and drawing were selected from both countries. The goal of this collaboration was to highlight the role of the arts in enriching and deepening bonds across countries and cultures.
Selected artists spent four weeks living and working together at Esalen Institute in an effort to create new and enduring connections between the artistic and greater communities from their home countries.
During the artists’ residency, Track Two and Esalen hosted a public arts workshop which focused on the power of art to connect and inspire new thinking about areas of common interest, with subjects ranging from Russia’s evolving role in Asia’s economy to the impact of climate change on the Pacific Ocean. After residency, the Pacifica Prize Winners’ body of work was showcased at a series of exhibits in San Francisco and Vladivostok.
MEET THE ARTISTS
OLGA BULGAKOVA
OLGA BULGAKOVA lives and works in Vladivostok. Currently, she specializes in commissioned ornamental wall paintings; teaches painting privately; and is studying vitrage technique. She is a 2011 graduate of the Far Eastern Academy of the Arts and completed undergraduate studies at the Vladivostok Art School. In recent years, she has exhibited extensively in the Primorsky Region of the Russian Federation.
"Boy and Fox" By Olga Bulgakova, 2012
"Sunset" By Daria Bonet, 2012
DARIA
BONET
DARIA BONET lives and works in Vladivostok. A 2011 graduate of the Far Eastern Academy of the Arts, she currently teaches painting privately; works as a designer at the Arsenyev Museum, and is studying vitrage technique. Her work has been exhibited in the Russian Federation at leading venues in the Primorsky Region and, most recently, in St. Petersburg.
REMA GHULOUM
REMA GHULOUM, from Los Angeles, California, began teaching as a professor of art at California State University in Long Beach, California, in the fall of 2012. She completed her undergraduate studies in drawing and painting at California State University, Long Beach, and obtained a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from the California College of the Arts in San Francisco in 2010. She has exhibited her work nationally, including in solo exhibitions, and has won numerous awards and art residencies.
"Day 1" By Rema Ghuloum, 2012
SARAH
HOTCHKISS
SARAH HOTCHKISS is based in San Francisco, California. When not painting, she is a regular contributor of art reviews to local media and also devotes time to exploring how art can be used to illuminate visions of the future. A graduate of Brown University, she received a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from California College of the Arts in San Francisco in 2011. She has exhibited her work in several major cities in the US and has received numerous awards, including several residencies.
"Starry Dazzle" By Sarah Hotchkiss, 2012