Human Rights Foundation Partners with Fountainhead on Art in Protest Residency
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - February 27, 2024 - Miami, FL. The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is proud to announce the third cohort of the HRF Art in Protest Residency program through a new partnership with Fountainhead Arts, a nationally recognized artist residency program based in Miami. The Art in Protest Residency empowers dissident artists to expand their art practices while cultivating a community of support.
“Art has a transformative power for democratic change,” HRF President Céline Boustani said. “It is essential that we support dissident artists, who are routinely targeted and harassed by dictators for their nonviolent, creative dissent. We are thrilled to collaborate with Fountainhead and connect our resident artists with Miami’s global arts community.”
The 2024 Resident artists are:
Kevork Mourad (March 2024)
Born in Qamishli, Syria, to a family of Armenian heritage, visual artist Kevork Mourad now lives and works in New York City. Mourad employs a unique technique of live drawing and animation in concert with musicians, developing a collaboration in which art and music harmonize. He has been a resident teaching artist at several universities, is part of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, and is featured in the film “Music of Strangers.”
Nadia Hernández (May 2024)
Nadia Hernández’s multi-disciplinary practice reflects a process of bearing witness to the loss of home and the symbolic power of memory and memorialization. Informed by her experience as a Venezuelan woman living in Australia and positioning herself both within and outside the Venezuelan diaspora, Hernández makes art as a means to connect with a sense of place that exists beyond geographic boundaries.
The program will propel artists’ careers by facilitating connections with arts professionals, patrons, and broader audiences. During the month-long residency, artists gain one-of-a-kind mentorship, resources, insight, and perspectives on their work; the residency culminates in a public event that welcomes visitors into artists’ studios to meet them and explore their work.
“Fountainhead was founded on the belief that art has the power to change hearts and minds,” Kathryn Mikesell, Fountainhead co-founder and executive director, said. “Oftentimes, artists reveal what we are unable to see, feel, or articulate with words alone. They are storytellers who inspire others to open their perspectives and contemplate a different way forward. We believe this partnership with HRF furthers our mission to support the changemaking power that artists hold.”
The Residency will culminate in an art exhibition at the 2024 Oslo Freedom Forum in Oslo, Norway, showcasing the artists’ work produced during their residency.
The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies.
Founded in 2008, Fountainhead elevates the voices, visibility, and value of artists in our society and makes their work accessible in a welcoming and inclusive environment. Learn more at fountainheadarts.org.
The Art in Protest program is HRF’s answer to the repression of creativity that authoritarian regimes impose. By promoting artists who embody the spirit of creativity and dissent, Art in Protest opens a dialogue about human rights and free expression and aims to bring to a diverse audience the work of artists who are making an impact in the global struggle against authoritarianism. Follow Art in Protest on Instagram at @artinprotest.
For questions about the residency program or interview requests, please contact artinprotest@hrf.org.
