Art Talk: In Conversation with AIRIE

An engaging evening of presentations with Everglades National Park Superintendent Pedro Ramos, Audubon Director Eric Draper and artist Susan Silas, moderated by Deborah Mitchell.

South Florida is home to the only subtropical wilderness area in the country, and Artists in Residence in Everglades (AIRIE) is the only program bringing artists to the Everglades. AIRIE’s purpose is to inform, connect and support artists, ​writers and musicians who wish to be ambassadors for the Everglades by providing month-long residencies on-site.​

Pedro Ramos was appointed as Everglades National Park Superintendent after working for over a decade at Big Cypress National Preserve. Ramos’ career includes acting superintendent assignments at Jimmy Carter and Andersonville National Historic Sites in Georgia, San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto Rico and Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee.

Eric Draper, executive director of Audubon Florida, the state’s most effective conservation group, is recognized as a leading advocate for Everglades restoration, water resource protection and land conservation.​

Susan Silas is a visual artist who lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. She is a dual American and Hungarian national. Silas has been exhibiting her work in the US and in Europe since 1985, and has taught at New York University and Cooper Union.