Originally from Argentina, artist and scuba diver Ana Bikic believes that art should play an active roll in environmental education and awareness.
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Bikic began her career as an artist after studying fine arts in Cordoba at the Figueroa Alcorta School of Fine Arts in Argentina. She then worked in art publishing and marketing in Spain, creating designs for Moroccan Carpets and exhibited throughout Europe and the UK.
Bikic is currently based in Miami, Florida, and is an active advocate for various regional and International conservancy groups and community arts programs. With a profound fascination for the seemingly infinite designs of marine life and fauna, which continue to be discovered, Bikic has dived in sites around the Mediterranean Sea and now South Florida to explore the reefs.
Recently, Bikic introduced her thesis of Ecosymbolism to the international arts community at the Florence Biennale, Italy, as well as exhibiting some of her underwater paintings from her International Year of the Reef (IYOR) series, which she began in 2004. During the IYOR, Bikic exhibited these art works in South Florida at venues supported by regional groups and environmental agencies. Her exhibits included petitions and literature, enhancing the visual experience of her paintings with facts and internet links to community conservancy groups.
Bikic edits several artist registries that promote educational and international arts networks and is currently writing a history of Miami’s Freedom Tower mural for the Florida Museum and Miami Dade College. In 2007, the Reef Encounter Marine Science magazine featured her work on the cover.
Bikic’s art work has been collected, purchased, auctioned and even stolen by a vast variety of people from various walks of life from colleagues in the arts to scientists to divers. Most recently, former governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, and his family acquired artwork by Bikic.