Josh Garrick
Fine Art Photographer, Journalist, and Art Educator J. Joshua Garrick made art history 10 years ago when he became the first non-Greek in history to open a major art exhibition in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, Greece. The exhibit in Athens included an unprecedented 92 works of art, some of which will be shown in the OCAC Exhibit at 201 S. Rosalind Ave. in Orlando, Florida.
With a Master of Fine Arts degree from Columbia University, Garrick began his career as an assistant to Sir Rudolf Bing at the Metropolitan Opera. Josh has held positions including Concert Manager of Brooklyn Center for the Arts, Exec Director of the Boston Ballet, and Department Chair and Media Spokesperson for the School of Visual Arts in New York City. As Professor of "The Art and Culture of Ancient Greece" at SVA, Garrick led 15 student trips to Greece which led to recognition from the Greek Office of Antiquities in the form of unprecedented access to the museums and antiquities of Greece. That access included one day for him to photograph the New Acropolis Museum on a day when it was closed to the public. Another extraordinary day -- which Garrick acknowledges as "The Greatest Day of My Life," was the day when the Greek Ephorate of Antiquities gave Garrick permission to photograph the ancient temple -- the PARTHENON -- from the scaffolding and the ROOF of this architectural wonder during its current restoration. This was another first for any American Artist.
Garrick has served on funding panels including the National Endowment for the Arts, Florida Council on the Arts, Massachusetts Council on the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. He has testified before Congress on behalf of the arts for the Congressional Subcommittee on Human Services Committee on Aging.
Garrick's work has been presented in dozens of art exhibits and a host of books and magazines. That includes covers for Gallery Guide NYC, Where Magazine, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and Floridian Magazines. A hard-cover book was created by a Greek philanthropist to accompany the exhibit at the National Archaeological Museum. Throughout his 25 year residency in Orlando, Florida, Garrick has continued creating, teaching, judging and fund-raising for the Arts. In recognition of Garrick's contributions to the Arts, Mayor Buddy Dyer named June 27 as "Josh Garrick Day" in the City of Orlando.
