named programs · 1 · from sources
What they call their work
Protodispatch
Monthly digital publication featuring artists' dispatches on the life conditions that necessitate their work, serving as a platform for cross-cultural dialogue and reflection
activities · 7 groups
What they do
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Site-Specific Artistic Installations and Performances 1 activity
- Commission and present site-aware art installations globallyPresents contemporary, site-aware art installations in diverse global locations to foster cross-cultural dialogue and mutual listening, with exhibitions hosted in public spaces and cultural institutions such as ISS Storefront for Ideas in New York and the House of Electronic Art in Basel.
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Mentorship and Professional Development Programs 1 activity
- Operate Protocinema Emerging Curator Series (PECS)Runs a mentorship program providing emerging curators with hands-on training and professional development in all phases of exhibition-making, from concept to deinstallation, including public programming and critical writing, as demonstrated through exhibitions like "Parable of the Planes."
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Film Festival and Screening Programming 1 activity
- Organize public programs and screening seriesCurates and hosts public programs, film screenings, and symposia that connect geographically dispersed contexts through artworks addressing planetary crises, tyranny, and oppression, including events like "Under the Tree: Taxonomy, Empire, and Reclaiming the Commons" and screening programs spanning Cambodia, India, Palestine, Iraq, and Nigeria.
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Literary and Cultural Publishing 1 activity
- Produce Protodispatch digital publicationProduces a monthly digital publication featuring original artist commissions, dispatches, and reflections on socio-political conditions shaping artistic practice, including themes of colonial erasure, Black histories, planetary crisis, and political repression; distributed freely via website and partner channels, co-commissioned with Lux Magazine in some cases.
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Artist and Curatorial Publications 1 activity
- Produce exhibition-related publications (Protozine)Produces a zine catalogue for each exhibition—such as Protozine: Mulberry Bend and Protozine: Parable of the Planes—featuring original critical texts by emerging curators and serving as a printed companion to the exhibition.
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Artist Residencies and Studio Programs 1 activity
- Support artist residencies and long-term researchHosts artists in residence at Sakiya and supports long-lead artistic research and production, such as Jumana Emil Abboud’s remapping of water springs and folktales and Shaima Hamad’s exploration of traditional recipes using heritage trees.
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Uncategorized 2 activities
- Conduct interdisciplinary research and knowledge infrastructure projectsDevelops research-driven, mobile infrastructures such as a traveling book scanner and a moving garden in collaboration with technologists and artists to support knowledge collection, archiving, and dissemination in relation to art, science, and agriculture.
- Develop and manage Sakiya — Art|Science|AgricultureOperates Sakiya — Art|Science|Agriculture as a residency program, research hub, and farm in Ein Qiniya, West Bank, established in 2017, supporting land-based artistic and ecological projects, including urban agriculture, permaculture education, and knowledge preservation.
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financials · form 990 · fy2025
revenue
Total revenue$62K
Contributions & grants$62K100%
Program service revenue$00%
Investment income$00%
Other revenue$0
expenses
Total expenses$44K
Program expenses100%
Admin / overhead0%
Fundraising0%
Salaries & benefits$0
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineProfessional Fees
balance sheet
Total assets$49K
Cash$39K
Investments$0
Liabilities$0
Net assets$49K
Liquid reserves10.6 mo
6 years on record · 2020–2025 · YoY revenue -54.8%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2025
Who runs it
board members · 4
- ARI MESULAM — PRESIDENT
- DILLON COHEN — VICE PRESIDENT
- JASON HEARD — TREASURER
- SHELDON LA PIERRE — SECRETARY
relationships · 62
Who they work with
- Alserkal Arts Foundation, Dubai Funder — Foundation that has supported Protocinema
- American Chai Trust, New York Funder — Foundation that has supported Protocinema
- Ana María Millán Partner — Contributor reflecting on living within tyranny.
- Anonymous collective from Iran Partner — Group contributing analysis on archiving social media content from the Women’s Revolution.
- Art Council Korea, Seoul Funder — Foundation that has supported Protocinema
- Artnet.com Partner — Publication partner that distributes Protodispatch commissions to its audience of over 5 million monthly users.
- Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abu-Rahme Partner — Artistic duo contributing video work combining poetry, music, and movement.
- Canal Street Research Association Partner — Collaborates on the Mulberry Bend exhibition through site-responsive research and community engagement.
- Cassils Partner — Trans artist reflecting on trans experiences amid hostile U.S. political conditions.
- Christopher Y. Lew Partner — Mentor in the Protocinema Emerging Curator Series, offering curatorial mentorship.
- Consulate General of the Netherlands, Istanbul Funder — Foundation that has supported Protocinema
- David L. Johnson Partner — Participating artist in the Mulberry Bend exhibition, contributing sculptural interventions derived from hostile architecture.
- Dr. Shela Sheikh Partner — Co-produced the 2016 symposium "Under the Tree: Taxonomy, Empire, and Reclaiming the Commons" with Sakiya.
- Dr. Thomas Huber Partner — Collaborated with Protocinema on a genetic engineering art project in Basel.
- Dylan Seh-Jin Kim Partner — Emerging curator for the 2025–2026 Protocinema Emerging Curator Series, curating the Mulberry Bend exhibition with mentorship.
- Embassy of Mexico in Turkey, Istanbul Funder — Foundation that has supported Protocinema
- Goethe Institut, Bangkok Funder — Foundation that has supported Protocinema
- Graham Foundation, Chicago Funder — Foundation that has supported Protocinema
- Hagop Kevorkian Center NYU, New York Funder — Foundation that has supported Protocinema
- Helen and Peter Warwick Funder — Support Protodispatch.
- Himali Singh Soin Partner — Artist exploring translucency as a method to expand imagination around planetary crises.
- Hong Gah Museum Partner — Co-organized the exhibition Shadow Dancing: Where Can We Find a Silver Lining in Challenging Times?
- House of Electronic Art Partner — Hosted a collaborative art and science project in 2018.
- ISS Storefront for Ideas Partner — Host venue for the Mulberry Bend exhibition, providing a space for community inquiry and creative exploration in Chinatown.
- ISS Storefront for Ideas Partner — Host venue for the exhibition.
- Institut Français de Turquie, Istanbul Funder — Foundation that has supported Protocinema
- Italian Cultural Institute, Istanbul Funder — Foundation that has supported Protocinema
- Jane Hait Funder — Supports Protodispatch.
- Jessica Kwok Partner — Mentor in the Protocinema Emerging Curator Series, supporting emerging curatorial practice.
- Jim Thompson Art Center Partner — Co-organized the exhibition Shadow Dancing: Where Can We Find a Silver Lining in Challenging Times?
+ 32 more
strategies · 5
How they approach the work
Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.
- Art as Civic Intervention and Urgent Practicemethodology: art_as_urgent_civic_actionBy treating art as an aesthetic action and civic function, we respond to present-day social struggles and model desired futures now, because enacting "the Not Yet" through art creates space for reflection, gathering, and immediate transformation rather than deferring change.
- Artist-Centered Narrative as Contextual Inquirymethodology: artist_centered_narrativeBy centering artists' first-person narratives and lived conditions, we connect artistic practice to the socio-political and ecological realities that shape it, because personal testimony grounds abstract struggles in tangible experience and fosters critical understanding.
- Cross-Cultural Connection Through Empathy and Shared Narrativesmethodology: empathy_through_shared_narrativeBy using film, personal storytelling, and transnational programming, we bridge experiential gaps and generate empathy across geographies, because emotional resonance fosters awareness, activism, and solidarity in response to planetary conditions of oppression.
- Ecological Rewilding as Decolonial Pedagogymethodology: rewilding_pedagogyBy integrating agrarian traditions, garden classrooms, and artistic interventions into a "rewilding pedagogy," we decolonize imagination and reconstruct narratives about land and the commons, because reconnecting cultural and ecological memory enables alternative ways of being and knowing.
- Site-Aware Art for Cross-Cultural Dialoguemethodology: site_aware_artBy presenting art that is responsive to its physical, social, and political context, we foster equitable cross-cultural dialogue and mutual listening, because shared spatial and experiential grounding enables deeper engagement across difference.