About Us
CONGRATULATIONS IACA CYLE #28
MINI-GRANT RECIPIENT, MARKEITH CHAVOUS!
The following are excerpts from Chavous' grant proposal:
Originally an abstract and occasionally semi-abstract painter, I shifted to video abruptly in 2008-2009, prompted by my deepeningly spiritual explorations, and I've carried those close-held painterly inclinations and aesthetic shorthands into all of my subsequent moving image works. Since then I've been a media artist and poet, and my work takes form as individual projects necessitate: as single channel videos, experimental documentary films, multimedia installations, collaborative projects, short form poetry, and as various combinations and permutations of those varied forms. An interest in the relationship between text and image has gradually taken shape as well, and since 2013 I've incorporated poetry alluding to both Eastern and Western traditions into my work while also having poems widely published in international journals and anthologies.
against the wind
the slightest
witness
Taken whole, my work plies at the edges and inquires into the emotively visceral space between tensile dichotomies and polarities—between religion and spirituality; inner life and social responsibility; narrative and experimental documentary; painting and film/video; abstraction and realism; receding and becoming; stillness and change; sacred and profane; humanism and transcendence. Through all of this the hope is that my work functions as a sort of 'living document', precariously and compassionately positioned; resonant, yet wary of its own fading articulation. Perhaps, for some, that resonance will be communal, social, and personal—a challenge to question indwelling assumptions and engage in a more active, empathetic perception with the work and, possibly, their own environments and communities.
herein
the blue descent remains
cells, stems
I've been working on my current project, 'the waves and the mantram, part 1' since late 2019, and am nearing the final stages of its completion. The funds will go towards travel and pick-up shots along the Maine coast during the summer, as well as additional media storage for post-production of a final edit. I'd like to debut the piece in the late summer or fall, either locally or internationally depending on the venue.
I'm at a critical juncture in my artistic practice and career... As I've worked on myself, mentored, supported and taught, my interests gradually converged, resulting in 'the waves and the mantram'. This project is thus a culmination and a crucial step toward the next stage of my artistic career, too-long deferred.
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There is no specific type of artist that we focus on or primarily support. Creative expression comes in a wide variety of artistic disciplines and genres. We are looking for passion and excellence in your craft. Tell us why your work is important to you and how you hope it will impact others.
Where Eagles Soar (Isaiah 40:31)
Integrity: Arts & Culture Association is honored to approve Chavous' funding request and we wish him continued success in his creative endeavors.
A nurse, my uncle, lives on an island on the easternmost edge of the United States, committed to the growth of his family, his community and himself. He offers up a glimpse, a glance from memory, in faith, in doubt.
'Thousands' explores the vestiges of personal story and historical narratives of religion sifted through fleeting perceptual and emotive thresholds and polarities.
