Ohio Dominican University (ODU) Lecturer of Art and Design Eliana Calle Saari has been selected by the Greater Columbus Arts Council (GCAC) as one of two artists for a residency in Dresden, Germany, for its 2024 Artist Exchange Program, which provides artists with an extended opportunity to concentrate on research and production of their art, while fostering connections between artists, galleries and community leaders.
Calle Saari will spend three months in Dresden as part of the program, during which she will have access to various work and research facilities, and will also receive a stipend, lodging, studio and travel accommodations. While in Dresden, Calle Saari will act as an ambassador for GCAC and the city of Columbus.
“I would like to tell the stories of Dresden today,” said Calle Saari when asked about her plans for her residency. “I look forward to exploring local museums, galleries and historical landmarks, absorbing the city's rich artistic and cultural offerings, but mostly I want to walk the streets and observe and understand the culture.”
The Dresden Exchange program is offered in conjunction with the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony (Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen) as part of the Sister City program.
“I would like to find the magic within the people and their story,” said Calle Saari, “and try to get a whiff of the tenacity of this city and its people, who rebuilt a city completely destroyed by war.”
Calle Saari is a printmaker who splits her time teaching and making art professionally. She has been teaching at ODU since 2016, and her work has been displayed numerous times in ODU’s Wehrle Art Gallery, including her most recent exhibition, “Eliana Calle Saari: A Life in Printmaking,” in 2023.
ELIANA CALLE SAARI, was born in Medellin, Colombia, where she received a Degree in Fashion Design. Soon after, she moved to the United States to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art and Spanish from Otterbein College, and then a Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking from The Ohio State University. She has split her time teaching and making art professionally. Eliana has exhibited both nationally and internationally and has received multiple awards and residencies; in 2008, she was awarded the Artist in Residence Exchange in Dresden, Germany by the Ohio Arts Council. In 2016 and 2017, she received a printmaking award for her work in the Ohio State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition. In 2019 she was featured on Broad & High on PBS. In 2022, she was awarded the Grater Columbus Arts Council Professional Division Award in the Ohio State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition. In addition, she is currently a member of the Phoenix Rising Printmaking Cooperative in Columbus, Ohio.