At the request of a dear friend, here’s a stab at more thoughtful storytelling on the socials. In 2014, I received a post on my Facebook wall about a commission from @agent_glaser - I immediately thought that he wanted his dog or family painted. Much to my surprise, he was the founder and CEO of @laislanetwork - an NGO dedicated to research, support and advocacy for agricultural workers suffering from Chronic Kidney Disease of undetermined cause. This global disease has killed hundreds of thousands and left just as many sick and without work, treatment or support. @agent_glaser had seen #themontaukportraitproject via artist @dustinyellin and wanted something similar to be created in Nicaragua. This was the beginning of a long friendship and collaboration with @t_laffay & @edkashi - we have traveled this work from the fields to galleries to universities and back again. What makes this iteration so special @artprize w/ @the_westside_project is that #grandrapids is the home base of LIN & this is our truest collaboration to date. The amazing thing about projects like these is the amount of support through adversity that everyone has to give for it to succeed. This project was rife with incredible challenges and it makes me so proud to know that we hurdled them together. Thank you to everyone who helped churn #fragmentsfromforgottenfields out - @richardapp @thesovengard #rockfordconstruction & #freyfoundation - we are so grateful for your vision and support. Extra love to Linda Glaser for pushing and pinning till the end. Love this team and proud of our work together. Scroll through to see portraits of everyone (except @edkashi ) in the installation. . . . . . . #artprize #artprize10 #collaboration #installation #artinstallation #team #teamworkmakesthedreamwork #michigan #laislanetwork #laislafoundation #ckdu #grandrapids #nicaragua #agriculture #advocacy (at Grand Rapids, Michigan) https://www.instagram.com/p/BoKdD_9HrUn/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=49q32kc4g6r0
