About Us
CONGRATULATIONS IACA CYCLE #23
MINI-GRANT RECIPIENT, OLIVIA ENG!
Click here to learn about Cycle #23 grant winner, Chao Tian.
The following are excerpts from her grant proposal:
I am a multi-disciplinary artist, with a dance background of 15 years rooted in modern, house, West African (Senegal /Guinea), ballet, hip-hop, salsa, and Afro-Brazilian dance.
My project S.C.A.R.S. (Strength, Courage, and Resilience of the Soul), combines dance, poetry, storytelling, music, photography, art, and cross-cultural exchange to foster healing, empowerment, and elevate marginalized voices through a series of dance films. It is inspired by my own experience of healing from 4 surgeries addressing a congenital spine defect, the Buddhist concept of "turning poison into medicine", and Kintsugi, a Japanese pottery technique in which broken objects are repaired with gold lacquer; symbolizing that we can create an even stronger, more valuable piece of art by embracing our flaws and history.
The creative process involves sharing our "scar" stories, and the ways in which ethnic influences, individual choices, practices, and other tools have helped us to heal. This includes recorded interviews, "Kintsugi" photography in which our scars, or representation of invisible scars, are highlighted in gold paint, and conveying our experiences through dance, music, and poetry.
I am working on the second film "Let Me Be," which is inspired by my own and other BIPOC experiences of accepting and celebrating the ethnic traits that we used to be bullied for. I am collaborating with 3 other artists, and including other community members, who will be interviewed and engaged in the Kintsugi body paint concept. Sound bytes of these community stories, photos, and videos will be weaved into the film.
The funds will be used to cover most of the fee to purchase a professional version of the multi-media editing software Davinci Resolve 17. This upgrade would allow me to work with a more diverse range of editing capabilities, and produce a higher quality film.
You may be the next grant winner! Click here to apply.
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 Eng's funding request and we wish her continued success in her creative endeavors.
SCARS FILM SAMPLE 1
This is a section of the first S.C.A.R.S. film, highlighting one of the artists, Samad Raheem Guerra (USA-African Diaspora)
SCARS FILM SAMPLE 2
This is a compilation of other sections from the first S.C.A.R.S. film, highlighting the following artists: Fatou Niang (Kaolack, Senegal), Ricardo Acosta Duarte (Michoacan, Mexico), Olivia Eng (Usa- Hong Kong), and Hanan Hameen (USA- African Diaspora). The last section shows another aspect of the project in which Hanan's "Kintsugi" photo and a brief section of her interviewed are featured.
