Through his ICI Fellowship in 2021, Brandon Alvendia researched the artist-run culture of experimental alternative spaces, radical creative collaboratives, and other independent DIY initiatives along the Mississippi River and its tributaries, mapping an archipelago of art worlds in the middle of the United States.
Independent curator, artist and educator Brandon Alvendia (Curatorial Intensive, New Orleans ‘15) received an ICI Curatorial Research Fellowship in 2021, to encourage independent research study into independent art spaces and initiatives in the Midwest.
Alvendia lives and works in Chicago, where he founded several alternative art spaces, including most recently, Silver Galleon Press (2008-present). He regularly collaborates with artist-run initiatives around North America to develop site-specific community-driven exhibitions, events, and publications that create space for experimentation, discussion, and collaboration. Through his ICI Fellowship in 2021, Alvendia conducted research trips to cities in the Midwest to explore and learn from the culture of experimental, artist-run, or alternative spaces in the region, as well as radical creative collaboratives and other independent DIY initiatives along the Mississippi River and its tributaries, mapping an archipelago of art worlds in the middle of the United States.
This Fellowship is made possible by a grant from the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation, with the additional support of ICI's Board of Trustees.
