More Than 100 Photographers Are Raising Funds to Protect 30 Million Hectares of African Parks

Scott Ramsay, Mbeli Bai, Nouabale-Ndoki National Park, Republic of Congo, western lowland gorilla. All images courtesy of Prints for Wildlife, shared with permission

African Parks, a nonprofit focused on conservation and protecting endangered species, is behind several efforts to address the loss of biodiversity across the continent, and its latest initiative is to preserve 30 million hectares of parkland by 2030. Prints for Wildlife is supporting the effort through its annual fundraiser, which sells limited-edition works from more than 100 photographers around the globe. This year’s collection includes a diverse array of animals and environments, including multiple vulnerable or engaged species like the western lowland gorilla and polar bear.

Now in its third year, Prints for Wildlife has raised $1.75 million since it launched in 2020, and 100 percent of proceeds benefit African Parks. Shop the sale through September 25. (via Feature Shoot)

 

Pie Aerts, Naboisho Conservancy, Kenya, Masai giraffe

Marsel van Oosten, Lower Zambezi National Park, Zambia, African elephant

Marco Gaiotti, Spitsbergen, Norway, polar bear

James Lewin, Amboseli National Park, Kenya, Masai giraffe

Gurcharan Roopra, Lake Magadi, Kenya, flamingos

Chris Schmid, Serengeti, Tanzania, cheetah

Beverly Joubert, Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, Botswana, plains zebra

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September 2022 Opportunities: Open Calls, Residencies, and Grants for Artists

Tomás Sánchez, “A la orilla” (1996), acrylic on linen

Every month, Colossal shares a selection of opportunities for artists and designers, including open calls, grants, fellowships, and residencies. If you’d like to list an opportunity here, please get in touch at hello@colossal.art. You can also join our monthly Opportunities Newsletter.

 

Open Calls

Joyce Awards (Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, Minneapolis-St. Paul)
Artists of color working in Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, and Minneapolis-St. Paul can apply for the Joyce Awards, which commissions new work from five artists. The award has a $75,000 project budget and $25,000 stipend.
Deadline: September 7, 2022.

NYC Mural Arts Project (New York City)
Three artists will receive a $20,000 honorarium to complete a proposed work for the NYC Mural Arts Project. The project should raise awareness about mental health issues.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. EST on September 9, 2022.

SPIE International Day of Light Photo Contest (International)
The annual SPIE International Day of Light Photo Contest focuses on light and its vital role in nature, art, and technology. One winner will receive $2,500, with smaller cash prizes for runners-up.
Deadline: September 16, 2022.

50 Reasons Why: Your Take on the East End (U.S.)
East End Arts is accepting submissions for a juried exhibition centered around the East End of Long Island. U.S.-based artists of any medium are eligible, and the application fee is $40.
Deadline: September 30, 2022.

The Bennett Prize for Women Figurative Painters (U.S.)
U.S.-based painters are invited to apply for the third iteration of The Bennett Prize, which awards $50,000 to one artist with a runner-up receiving $10,000. The entry fee is $40.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. MST on October 7, 2022.

London Craft Week 2023 (International)
The 2023 edition of London Craft Week runs May 8 to 14, and the annual event is accepting applications from emerging artist-maker-designers. There are a few free spaces available for those who qualify.
Deadline: November 25, 2022.

 

Grants

Manhattan Art Grants (Manhattan, New York City)
LMCC’s Manhattan Arts Grants awards up to $10,000 for presentations that respond to the community and local culture.
Deadline: 5 p.m. on September 13, 2022.

Teiger Foundation Grant for Curators (U.S.)
The Teiger Foundation will award up to $3.5 million annually, through individual grants of up to $150,000, to curators working on exhibitions and research supported by a non-profit organization. Recipients can be involved in the climate action pilot program, which will offer climate-conscious planning.
Deadline: September 15, 2022.

Foundwork Artist Prize (International)
The annual juried Foundwork Artist Prize is open to emerging and mid-career artists working in any media. One artist will receive an unrestricted $10,000 grant.
Deadline: September 26, 2022.

Precipice Fund (U.S.)
The Portland Institute for Contemporary Art will award up to $5,000 to unincorporated visual art collectives, alternative spaces, and collaborative projects as part of Round 11 of the Precipice Fund. Poposed rojects must be based in and around the City of Portland.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. PDT on October 7, 2022.

$500,000 Creative Capital x Skoll Foundation Fund (U.S.)
Kickstarter, Creative Capital, and Skoll Foundation launched a $500,000 Creative Capital x Skoll Foundation Fund to support projects by Asian, Black, Indigenous, and Latinx creators. Awards are given out on an ongoing basis to creators in categories like Arts, Comics & Illustration, Design & Tech, Film, Food & Craft, Games, Music, and Publishing.
Deadline: Rolling.

Adobe Creative Residency Community Fund (Ukraine or refugee)
Adobe’s Creative Residency Community Fund commissions visual artists to create company projects on a rolling basis. Awardees will receive between $500 and $5,000.
Deadline: Rolling.

 

Residencies & Fellowships

The Civic Practice Partnership (New York City)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art offers a two-year residency for socially engaged New York City artists and collectives. Recipients receive a $20,000 yearly honorarium and a $20,000 yearly project budget.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. ET on September 6, 2022.

HATCH and BOLT Residencies at Chicago Artists Coalition (Chicago)
Applications for both the HATCH Curatorial Residency and BOLT Residency for artists are open at Chicago Artists Coalition. There are fees to submit.
Deadlines: September 7, 2022, for HATCH. September 30, 2022 for BOLT.

MacDowell Fellowship (International)
International artists of all backgrounds working in multiple disciplines are eligible for the MacDowell Fellowship. The program awards about 300 fellowships each year, and there’s a $30 application fee.
Deadline: September 10, 2022.

Golden Foundation Artist Residency (U.S.)
Six artists working in paint are eligible for this residency that focuses on exploring the diversity of the materials. Studio space, loading, and materials are provided.
Deadline: September 12, 2022.

Princeton Arts Fellowship (International)
Open to early career artists, this fellowship is geared toward artists who also want to foster a robust teaching practice. The two year program comes with an $88,000 yearly stipend.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. on September 13, 2022.

Laundromat Project Create Change Residency (U.S.)
New York City artists of color between 21 and 30 years old can apply for a residency rooted in community.  The program offers a $15,000 honorarium and up to $10,000 in project production.
Deadline: September 14, 2022.

Monson Arts Residency (International)
Open to visual artists, photographers, and writers, the month-long Monson Arts residency offers studio space, housing, and a $1,000 stipend. There is a $25 application fee.
Deadline: September 15, 2022.

Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Residency (International)
International writers, visual artists, and composers can apply for this residency, which grants studio and living space and meals to its recipients. There is a $30 application fee.
Deadline: September 15, 2022.

Pioneer Works Residency (U.S.)
Open to visual artists, musicians, and those working in technology, the Pioneer Works Residency offers studio space and a $200 monthly stipend.
Deadline: 5 p.m. EST on September 30, 2022.

Grand Canyon Artist in Residence Program (International)
Three spots are available for the Grand Canyon Artist in Residence Program, which offers space and a stipend of $2,500 for eight weeks. Artists workin across disciplines and engaging with conservation, identity, and community are encourage to apply. There is a $45 application fee.
Deadline: September 30, 2022.

Art Omi Residencies (International)
Art Omi provides residencies to international artists working in architecture, visual arts, dance, music, and writing. Residents receive lodging and meals.
Deadline: October 15, 2022.

Denbo Fellowship (International)
Artists interested in papermaking, printmaking, and book arts are eligible for the Denbo Fellowship, which provides studio and storage space, access to facilities, and a living stipend.
Deadline: October 18, 2022. 

2023 Rome Prize Fellowship (U.S.)
Each year, the American Academy in Rome recognizes about 30 artists and scholars working in the humanities. Fellows  Each receive stipends of either $16,000 or $30,000 depending on the duration of the program, meals, a bedroom with private bath, and a private workspace.
Deadline: November 1, 2022.

On::View Artist Residency Program (International)
Sulfur Studios in Savannah, Georgia, will host four artists throughout summer 2023 for consecutive residencies with a group exhibition slated for early 2024. The application fee is $50.
Deadline: December 10, 2022.

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Photographer Stéphan Gladieu Documents the Congolese Street Children Turning Waste into Wonder

All images © Stéphan Gladieu, shared with permission

So dramatic, so strong, so visual,” artist Stéphan Gladieu said of his first encounter with the revival of an ancestral folk art movement in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Kinshasa is the capital of Congo but also one of the many places American and European countries send their waste. Though doing so is illegal, wealthier nations still export tons of debris with the knowledge that these places do not have the resources to treat or recycle it. Instead, these discards sit, swell, and slowly drown everything around them.

In the face of this ecological disaster, the young people of Kinshasa began to repurpose the waste into traditional religious costumes that were previously destroyed, along with other cultural histories and rituals, by the forced Catholicism of colonization. Gladieu’s relationship with these artists has evolved into the Homo Détritus series.

“(In the photographs), we are talking about ecology, but we are talking about ecology through African masks. As you can see, they’re completely covered up. You don’t see any part of the skin. The traditional masks were done with natural materials. They symbolized the spirit of the ancestors or the spirit of support of the natural world. These young artists reinvent these traditional masks in a way, but they do it today with trash because they find more trash and natural materials.”

 

While doing research in Yoruba for a different photo project that has yet to be released, Gladieu found some grainy photos of a girl dressed in plastic bottles. After reaching out to the contact, he discovered that several of these outfits already existed in Kinshasa and were being produced by local artists as a cultural response to the growing waste problem. However, some of them were damaged due to the lack of resources to properly store the pieces. The labor ranged widely. It could take a few days to repair a mask or when working in groups of three to four people. When using plastics like the shoes seen in “Babouch” (“Flip-Flop”), costume construction could average five to six days.  The most complex garments made of tires, bottles, and metal scraps took up to three to four weeks.

In “Homme Bidon,” which translates to “Phony Man,” brightly colored cups, water containers, and buckets form a mask. With two pails in each arm, the figure balances a water bucket on top of its head. The opening of a yellow container becomes a mouth, and a perforated top represents its eyes—creating a pained expression that also evokes thirst. To the left of the figure, there is a woman in a yellow chair pouring water into her hands. This image references the inequitable economics of water that disproportionately affect poorer countries like those across Sub-Saharan Africa where, as of 2020, 30 percent of people have access to safe drinking water. The surrounding environment also nods to the gendered divisions of women and girls who are responsible for gathering this vital resource for their communities. 

The young artists of Kinshasa and Gladieu’s photographic approach set this project apart from other ecological art concerning this region. “I didn’t want to do work that would be dark. A lot of work had been done like that,” Gladieu said of wanting to avoid guilting viewers into paying attention. “People don’t want to see and don’t really react anymore to those images. It doesn’t help them realize that we all have a personal responsibility in the way we consume and throw things away.” This approach also better honors the agency and resilience of the community of Kinshasa. It exalts the reclamation of their culture rather than the systemic violences enacted against them.

 

“L’Homme Caoutchouc” (“The Rubber Man”) calls out industrial companies that are not relegated to strictly enforced environmental regulations. This charge is captured in the figure’s monstrous stance, rugged form, and emergence from a pool of oil black mud. Similarly, “L’Homme Sachet” (‘The Bag Man”) speaks to the way the plastic bag engulfed many developing countries and quite literally consumed land, animals, and water sources. The abundant layers and repetitive colors represent the excess of plastic that hungrily survives even after we have tossed it into our garbage cans and out of our minds. Along with the depth of representation, Gladieu’s portrait style captures the magnitude of each figure’s artistic presence. He attributes this accomplishment to the collaborative nature of the project.

“I was living with (the artists in Kinshasa). We chose the materials, and I helped provide the money to build a costume or to repair the ones that were damaged. Then we worked in the city to choose the backgrounds. And when I say it’s a collaborative project, it’s also in terms of income because there is a part of the money that I can send by doing speeches and books. It’s a wonderful experience, even if it’s not easy. There are 25 artists. So sometimes it’s a mess, but it’s quite fun.”

You can see more of Homo Détritus on Gladieu’s website, Instagram, or by pre-ordering his forthcoming monograph, which will be released in November.

 

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Dense Dotwork Adds Grainy Texture to Velco’s Lighthearted Monochromatic Tattoos

All images © Velco, shared with permission

Pereira, Colombia-born artist Velco stipples black-and-white tattoos that are patchwork compositions of dots. A densely inked patch might form a snoozing koala’s ear or human silhouette, while a fading gradient composes the steam emanating from a moka pot. Lighthearted and often evoking the surreal, the works are derived from conversations with clients and the artist’s interactions with the world. “The window frames that I’ve been designing and tattooing have been exactly that, a portal to another reality. And it’s beautiful to know that there are now multiple portals wandering around the world providing us with glances to other universes,” he shares.

After beginning his tattoo practice by working primarily with fine lines, Velco has shifted to the dotted style that now dominates his work. “The effect gave me the feel of the beautiful vintage, grainy texture in images captured with a film camera, and since then, I’ve been working on designs where I can integrate this effect,” he shares. “To create the graininess that we see on the tattoos, I swing/whip the machine at a slightly fast pace, yet very delicately, on the skin while using a fine line needle and lowering the voltage of the machine, causing the needle to come out at a slower rate.”

Velco works out of the Velours studio space in Montréal, which also has one of his prints in stock. Follow him on Instagram for his latest works and information on available bookings.

 

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Interview: Rael San Fratello Navigates the Boundaries of 3D Printing, Architecture, and the Impact of Division

“House Divided.” All images © Rael San Fratello, shared with permission

Virginia San Fratello and Ronald Rael of the eponymous studio Rael San Fratello (previously) foster a practice that’s difficult to categorize, which they speak to in a new interview supported by Colossal Members. The pair pursue projects that transcend the boundaries of design, art, technology, and craft: they continually address the implications of the U.S.-Mexico border wall, had a hand in the iconic Prada Marfa, and have constructed homes entirely through 3D printing. Although their interests are broad, Rael San Fratello is always committed to the material and structural, to recognizing everyone’s humanity, and to finding sustainable, practical ways to create a more hospitable future.

It was our hope that people would be able to relate to some of the spaces we created and would be able to understand and literally feel the bereftness, loneliness, and loss created by the division in the house. These are emotions that we all have and we all understand. With this project, we wish to communicate how the (border) wall is not only dividing places. It’s dividing people. It’s dividing families and how the unfortunate politics of the wall today is dividing children from their parents.

In this conversation, the pair speaks with Colossal managing editor Grace Ebert about applying their 3D-printing practice to larger projects, the role tradition plays in their works, and how, as educators, they encourage their students to embody the same innovative, endlessly curious mindset.

 

From the Frontier Drive-Inn project

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In Craig Walsh’s ‘Monuments,’ Enormous Projected Portraits Illuminate the Selective Histories of Public Art

Charlotte’s Descendents (2022) for Charlotte SHOUT! All images © Craig Walsh, shared with permission

In the mid-nineties, Australian artist Craig Walsh created his first projection at Woodford Folk Festival in Queensland. Made with photographic slides, the massive installation temporarily transformed a tree into a large-scale portrait, enlivening the canopy and initiating what’s become a 30-year project.

Now encompassed within the artist’s Monuments series, the digital works continue to animate landscapes and public spaces around the globe, and they’ve evolved in breadth and scope, sometimes incorporating live video and sound that allows viewers to interact with the illuminated characters. Blinking, yawning, and displaying various facial expressions, the emotive figures address both connections between people and their surroundings and conversations around whose stories are upheld and disseminated. “The work in the early days conceptually linked more to how the environment we exist in influences the human condition,” Walsh tells Colossal. “Surveillance was another interpretation.”

 

“Churaki Hill” (2017), three-channel synchronized digital video, projections, and existing trees, from Bleach Festival, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

Today, the responsive installations more directly address traditional narratives and challenge “the selective history represented in our public spaces,” he says. Many of the Monuments celebrate people who significantly impacted their communities, and yet, might be overlooked. His 2017 piece, “Churaki Hill,” for example, pays homage to Churaki, an Aboriginal man who was responsible for many successful water rescues in the Tweed region in the early 1900s.

Similarly, Walsh’s recent installation in Charlotte, North Carolina, honors the descendants of Mecklenburg County’s Black residents. Created for the annual Charlotte SHOUT! festival, the trio of works occupies Old Settlers’ Cemetery, the burial ground for the city’s wealthy residents throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. He shares about the project:

Much like today, Charlotte was a diverse city in its founding century…By 1790, the census for Mecklenburg County lists a total population of 1,608 enslaved African Americans or 14 percent of the town’s population. By 1850, enslaved African Americans accounted for 44 percent of the total population inside the city limits. While their graves are not marked, the north quadrant next to Church Street is the final resting place for the formerly enslaved members of Charlotte’s first one hundred years.

On display earlier this year, the installation features folk artist Nellie Ashford, filmmaker and counselor Frederick Murphy, and DJ and musician Fannie Mae. Honoring the deep family ties and legacies these three hold within the city, the portraits memorialize their continued contributions to local culture.

Walsh is currently based in Tweed Heads, New South Wales, and his latest project is on view at Victor Harbor, South Australia, through September 11. Explore more of the Monuments series on the project’s site and Instagram.

 

Charlotte’s Descendents (2022) for Charlotte SHOUT!

“Monuments”(2014), four-channel digital projection, at White Nights Festival, Melbourne Victoria, Australia. Photo courtesy of White Night

“Intension” (2011), three-channel digital projection, existing monument, trees, from Ten Days on the Island, Franklin Square, Hobart, Australia

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A Kayak Trip Sends a Father on Anxiety-Provoking Adventures in an Adorable Animated Short

Multiple scenarios that would give any parent nightmares actualize in the adventurous animation “Kayak.” What begins as a peaceful trip down the river for a father and baby becomes an endless slew of anxiety-inducing incidents as the child trips, ends up upside down in the water, launches into the air several times, and is even preyed upon by a hungry eagle. The short film, which teeters on the terrifying, is a graduation project by students at the French animation school École des Nouvelles Images.

 

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