COP22's International Youth Photo Competition reminds legislatures that climate change is everyone’s problem, encouraging comprehensive and inclusive action.

As heads-of-state, environmental ministers, UN members, and various other governmental and diplomatic agents meet in Marrakech at this year’s COP22 to discuss how to best implement the conditions set forth during last year’s COP21—where the now-infamous Paris Agreement was outlined—a group of young folks ranging from 7-18* years of age are exhibiting their own take on the effects of climate change.

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NOTE: I wrote this piece long before I received any education on the reality of the settler-colonial state of Israel. Throughout the years of my expensive, elite, and private education, only once did I learn about the cruelty, colonial violence, and ethnic cleansing campaigns that founded – and the continued settler and state violence and militarized, US-backed apartheid that upholds – Israel: in my Black Lives Matter class, taught by Frank Leon Roberts, during my senior year at NYU Gallatin.

From where I stand today, I would not participate in such a piece. I believe it de-fangs a violent and unjust “status quo,” wherein Palestinian families and communities are displaced and/or massacred in order to make room for settlements, and that it inadvertently legitimizes these settlements. I also mean no direct disrespect to Arazi, with whom I no longer have contact, and whose position on the matter I do not know, by making such a statement here.

That said, the piece exists, and I will not attempt to erase parts of my past that no longer represent the person I am today and the beliefs I now hold. Many, many thanks to the numerous educators, organizations and comrades who have aided in my continued political and spiritual education and liberation.

This is an article that was published by Vice's Creators on March 12, 2017. The original article and the accompanying photos, on which the article is featured, can be found here. 

Photographing a region as contentious as the West Bank would assumedly manifest as an attempt to document divisions between the many sides and ideologies defining the territory—from the Palestinians who have inhabited the land for thousands of years, to liberal Israelis hoping for a two-state solution, to more extreme individuals on either side of these divides. Photographer Michele I. Arazi, however, takes a very different approach in his most recent body of work, Homestead. In it, Arazi focuses less on identifying which side is "right," opting instead to produce a visual record of his experiences amongst a specific set of individuals: the conservative, committed, and self-described "nationalistic" Israelis occupying the Jewish settlements along the West Bank.

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This is an article that was published by VICE's Creators Project on June 18, 2017. The original piece can be found here with the accompanying photographs. 

Amsterdam’s Circus Family brings 'TRIPH,' an immersive and responsive light installation, to Northside Festival. 

Last week, Northside Festival unveiled an entirely new sector of the festival, which until this year had revolved around music and celebrating Brooklyn's je ne sais quoi. This new element was entitled "Innovation," and—plot twist—all of the events in this division were somehow connected to creativity aimed at the future. Artists, journalists, filmmakers, politicians and all those in between could be found dotting the ballrooms and presentation spaces of various BK hotels and hotspots, including the Williamsburg, Wythe William Vale hotels, the Brooklyn Brewery, and McCarren Park. Within one of these spaces, conversations about diversity in the media, the future of virtual reality, and how women are shaking things up were complemented by a trippy new art installation, called TRIPH, put on by Amsterdam's Circus Family. 

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This article was published by VICE's Creators Project on May 28, 2017, and can be found here with the accompanying images.

Remembering some of our favorite pranks in the art world and beyond. 

So, someone left a pineapple on a rather decorative display stand at an exhibition at Aberdeen's Robert Gordon University, and everyone thought it was art. Two students placed the tropical fruit there as a joke, but when they returned, the pineapple was not only still there, it had been moved to a display case, protected by plexiglass. Naturally. No one at the museum has fessed up to any involvement with this fantastically ridiculous occurrence, but as we appreciate this, uh, incident, we can't help but recall the other art pranks that have taken place in recent history. In honor of Marcel DuChamp, a.k.a. R. Mutt's, Fountain, and to commemorate the recurring inclination to fuck with the art world elite, we at Creators have decided to journey down the rabbit hole of everyday objects mistaken for art. 

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This is an article that was published by VICE's Creators Project on May 20, 2017. The original article can be found here with the accompanying photographs. 

Ian Burkard transforms vintage toys into totally unique hybrid creatures.

Everyone's got their favorite toy from way back when. For me, it's a stuffed cat with a missing eye from my teething phase. For others, it's action figures of their favorite superhero, or plastic figurines of one of the 101 Dalmatians. But it's almost impossible to imagine what for Ian Burkard's favorite toy is. The artist's tumblr, Genus Toys, showcases the literally one of a kind creations he crafts from pieces of other toys. "I always frequent local discount stores," Burkard says, citing his love for "vintage bootleg toys," which are apparently hard to find amongst crappy knock-offs and remakes.

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