In 2019, for the first time AFIELD launched an open call for the mentorship program to support 3 individuals engaged in social and artistic experimentation.

The mentorship consists in a seed grant of $1.500 and a 18-month long support from one of the AFIELD network members – fellows or advisors – who gives direct advice on the project.

For the 2019 open call, we were very happy to receive more than 130 applications from 40 countries. We were amazed, both by the number of applicants and by the quality of their projects. It was very inspiring to see how many people are trying to tackle complex issues in their communities and to learn about their different artistic and creative approaches.

The selection was made collectively by the AFIELD fellows, the AFIELD advisors and the Council team.

The candidates and initiatives elected were:

Sweet Pe’a Services, Maui Island (Hawaii, USA)
Mentee: Arielle Lehuanani Simon
Mentor: Fernando García-Dory (Fellow 2016)

Following the 2017 closing of a sugarcane plantation on the island of Maui after 150 years of industrial agricultural practices, “Sweet Pe’a Services” ¹ administrated a creative placemaking project (2017-2018) related to the transition of Maui’s local agricultural system.

Laboratory the Invisible Ones, Mexico City (Mexico)
Mentee: Jael Orea
Mentor : Pedro Reyes (Advisor)

Laboratory “The Invisible Ones” ² is a space of artistic practices within a prison, the Community of Integral Diagnosis for Adolescents (CDIA), that investigates through various artistic explorations such as drawing, writing, sculpting or photography the concept of freedom while promoting critical thinking, conversation, affection, aesthetic appreciation, poetic thinking, and imagination.

Kono Gnaga, Bamako (Mali)
Mentee: Souleymane Sana
Mentor: Lia Rodrigues (Fellow 2014)

“Kono Gnaga” ³ is a local Malian association aiming at preserving traditional music and dance and to create opportunities for local West African artists and assist communities in Mali. The initiative achieves this mission through its three objectives: cultural preservation, arts education, and arts for development.

The candidates pre-selected were :

Workshops at I:project space
Shaonan Xi, Beijing (China)

Corporación del Pueblo Selk’nam en Chile
Hema’ny (Nancy) Molina, Chile

LOCUS✳
Ana Campillos Sanchez-Camacho, Vallecas, Madrid (Spain)

URONTO Residential Art Exchange program
Sadya Mizan, Bangladesh

MARSH (Materializing & Activating Radical Social Habitus)
Esther Neff, Carondelet, St. Louis, MO (USA)

The Surplus of the Non-Producer
Eve Chabanon, France

Empower Parents
Laura Donis, Spain & New York