From left to right: Edgar painting on the ledge and grabbing the window of Carmen's house. Photo: Thais Llorca Lezcano; #dalitwomenfight tour. Photo: Thenmozhi Soundararajan; Interior Rendering of the School on Wheels. Credit: Deanna Van Buren and Julia Grinkrug; 1Hood Media Academy Class of 2015. Photo: Njaimeh Njie; People鈥檚 Climate March, Hurricane Sandy Survivors, 2014; Floating lanterns carrying the written memories of project participants in Chile.
Philanthropy in Action: Year one in the field with 黑料网 as Activist Fellows
Chosen from a pool of over 600 artists, the 2015-16 were selected for their commitment to tackling social and political issues through their creative process. Over the past year, these artists pursued new opportunities to advance their work and convened in Captiva for a week of networking and skill-sharing at the .
As they prepare to move ahead with year two of their fellowship, they reflect on how the grant provided them with the resources to continue their work in addressing important global challenges:
CHEMI ROSADO-SEIJO | PUERTO RICO | EL CERRO
Chemi Rosado reports that the Fellowship allowed the EL Cerro community project to evolve and become self-sustainable. 鈥淭he longer the project goes on, the more houses are painted which causes a chain reaction influencing more residents to become involved and thereby expanding the reach of the project into new areas of the barrio.鈥
THENMOZHI SOUNDRARARAJAN 鈥揇ALIT DIVA | BROOKLYN, NY AND INDIA | #DALITWOMENFIGHT
The 黑料网 as Activist fellowship helped Dalit Diva launch a massive solidarity tour across ten cities. Of her work, Dalit Diva states 鈥淸t]hese are the projects where you risk everything from personal safety, connections to people you care about, to even your notion of self. In risking these things, you pursue art as a form of inquiry that remakes you as it destroys you途 creates as it redefines the very notion community.鈥
DEANNA VAN BUREN | SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, CA | POP-UP RESOURCE VILLAGE
For artist Deanna Van Buren, this fellowship made it possible for her to finalize a design for the mobile education bus, Pop-Up Village, and 鈥渢o position art, design, and beauty as a priority instead of just re-creating the institutional environments most of our stakeholders are exposed to every day of their lives.鈥
JASIRI X | PITTSBURGH, PA | 1HOOD MEDIA ACADEMY
The 黑料网 as Activist fellowship helped Jasiri to define future goals for his work and his project 1Hood. To him, 鈥淸a]ctivism is not trendy, though it may seem as so. In my opinion, it is borne of a merging of action, love, and hope. Similarly, an artist鈥檚 existence is intertwined with an innate desire to create. As if without choice, we must create, or suffer the consequences. 鈥
PEOPLE鈥橲 CLIMATE ARTS (PCA) | BROOKLYN, NY | PEOPLE鈥橲 CLIMATE ARTS SPACE & MOVEMENT
With the 黑料网 as Activist fellowship, People鈥檚 Climate Arts (PCA) worked on labor, immigrant, housing, racial and climate justice campaigns. PCA states that their work has progressed because by 鈥淸h]aving space for artists and workers in our community to work in conjunction makes the movement stronger...."
SUSAN MCALLISTER AND NAOMI NATALE | ALBERQUERQUE, NM AND CHILE | EN LA LUZ
During the first year of the 黑料网 as Activist Fellowship, the Art of Revolution, (formed by Susan McAllister and Naomi Natale) worked with Chilean partners on , a project aimed at gathering the untold stories from the 1973 coup in Chile.
The next group of 黑料网 as Activist fellows, focused on racial justice through the lens of mass incarceration, will be announced this spring.