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Local student and aspiring artist awarded scholarship to prestigious summer program at Sotheby’s Institute of Art in NYC.

Like many before her, Maria (“Mary”) Amaolo Lanata came to Steamboat Springs from Argentina for a boy.

“I was dragged here by the man who is now my husband,” she jokes. But in all seriousness, she was hungry for opportunity. “We were both young professionals eager for new possibilities, and looking for new paths in our careers.”

Mary’s husband Rugge came to study ski industry business at Colorado Mountain College, but Mary wanted to seriously pursue her career in art.

Despite an extensive education and experience in on-air graphics, art history, graphic design and art curating, the opportunities in Argentina were limited.  “The truth is, in Argentina, art is not considered a real career. The perception of artists is that you have to suffer and be hungry. It’s not a desirable path to choose. That’s why I came here—to make a new path for myself in art,” she says.

Mary moved to Colorado in June 2013 and hit the ground running: she enrolled in the Associates in Arts program at CMC and seized every opportunity she could find, literally knocking on the door of her favorite galleries and asking for work. She landed a job at the Wildhorse Gallery and volunteered for the Steamboat Art Museum. “I started doing different things for different people in the community, trying to grow as much as I could in the arts,” Mary says.

In addition to doing on-air, graphic, and web design, Mary got the experience she was looking for on the business side, from framing and curating to working with artists and spreadsheets. “Here I was, finally able to get involved and be on the other side, to participate in all the things that are involved in the business of art,” she says.

So when Steamboat Sotheby’s International Realty decided to sponsor a local student to attend “How the Art World Works,” a two-week summer program at the prestigious Sotheby’s Institute of Art in New York City, Mary was the perfect candidate.

“It was an extensive selection and jury process,” says Nancy Ihlenfeldt, Director of Marketing at Steamboat Sotheby’s International Realty. “From a carefully vetted list of students provided to me by Sameta Rush at CMC, Mary was selected. She’s so driven and passionate. And it was clear that she possessed the desire to learn about the business of art, which is so crucial and necessary and widely untaught. This knowledge can make or break an artist’s success. An artist that doesn’t understand the business of art is like knowing how to drive a car but not understanding traffic signs,” Ihlenfeldt says. “The goal is to bring that knowledge back to the Steamboat community, which is what our scholarship program is all about.”

Ihlenfeldt championed the partnership between Steamboat Sotheby’s International Realty and the Sotheby’s Institute of Art, which offers Masters Degree programs and has campuses in New York, Los Angeles and London. Devised by Sotheby’s Auction House, which has a global network of 90 locations in 40 countries and has been in existence for over 200 years, The Sotheby’s Institute of Art is one of the only programs in the world that offers programs in art markets and understanding the business of art. “The collaboration between realty and auction gives us targeted exposure to an influential audience all over the world,” Ihlenfeldt says. “Our mission here in Steamboat is to use that global influence to give back locally, particularly in the arts.”

Ihlenfeldt explains that by providing such an extraordinary educational opportunity to a local aspiring artist is a way to grow Steamboat’s own art scene. The two-week program, July 5-15, will focus on the business of art and how its various industries interrelate. Mary hopes that this will not only further her own career but enable her to be instrumental in the effort to help Steamboat to become certified as one of Colorado’s Creative Districts. “This town gave me the opportunity to be a better person,” Mary says. “I’m so grateful for this opportunity Steamboat Sotheby’s International Realty has given me, to be able to give back for everything I learned.”

To see more of Mary’s travels and experience visit the Steamboat Sotheby’s International Realty’s blog and Facebook page.

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