Nomad Project｜Building Art Bridges in Honduras

1. Introduce yourself

Hi, my name is Shina.

A 23-year-old fugitive college student majoring in design, an art creator, and the founder of a decentralized community.

Design is a process of solving problems, and every design is a solution. A good-looking design is useless if it doesn’t focus on a core issue.

At the same time, I am eager to create, hoping to personally experience folk culture that crosses national boundaries.

So I caused some trouble to the Academic Affairs Office of the Academy of Fine Arts and temporarily decided to suspend my studies for one semester. I hope to find the problems I really want to solve by traveling around the world to investigate and capture universal problems.

I saw too many friends in school who were more talented and capable than me, but they chose to stick to the old ways because of poor information and different visions.

I hope to be the voice and bridge for the Chinese community in the blockchain and decentralized communities, share what I see and hear, and inspire more creativity.

2. Where do you want to go and why?

Roatan Island, Honduras, Prospera Autonomous Community.

The Caribbean has always been a mysterious representation. Due to the language barrier and cultural differences, it is generally difficult to imagine that you will have the opportunity to go there.

Roatán Island in Honduras, located in the heart of the Caribbean, is a paradise-like existence

There are spectacular coral reefs here, no less impressive than the Amazon rainforest, hiding countless biological mysteries. Crossing the paths and rivers covered in the shade of red trees, you feel as if you have stepped into a world untouched by modern civilization. The residents here inherit the diverse cultures of the Caribbean. They are hospitable and interpret pure island life in their own way.

The island of Roatán is notable for its unique political and economic system.

Prospera is a special economic zone within Roatan, a highly autonomous social and political experiment. Prospera has its own legal and regulatory system that is largely independent of Honduran national law. This system promotes economic freedom, attracts foreign investment, and encourages entrepreneurship and technological innovation. These include using blockchain to experiment with new decentralized financial models and setting up biomedical projects to research future medical technologies.

From January to March 2024, a group of entrepreneurs active in blockchain, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology will hold a two-month "pop-up city" - Vitalia in prospera. While exploring cutting-edge technology and life sciences, we will experiment with new community governance models with local governments and residents.

Wherever there is technology, art is indispensable as a bridge of communication.

I was fortunate enough to be chosen as one of the organizers and will lead the arts residency programme.

3. What are your specific nomadic plans? (Suggestions include itinerary, theme, budget, etc.)

I am responsible for inviting artists to participate in the Vitalia Art Residency Program. Before traveling to Vitalia, I work with local folk artists (Luis and Kristian) and wandering musicians (Shaka) to design an art studio and prepare materials. After arriving, we will hold art workshops together (teaching participants painting, crafts, art therapy, etc.), do public art (collaborative murals or installations), and use artistic creation to express the "pop-up city" culture, becoming a technology and humanities bridge.

The round-trip air ticket to Vitalia is about 3.5-4K USD, and daily expenses are about 1k USD per month. Although there is a certain accommodation subsidy as an organizer, the amount is far from the full amount.

5. If possible, how would you like to interact with the local area?

Vitalia's purpose is to work with local communities to build future cities, so most of its activities will have high-frequency interactions with the local area.

Among them, there are already 2 local folk artists in the art residency program, and I will work closely with them in Vitalia.

I also plan to hold art workshops in local schools to share my knowledge and skills while learning about local culture and art.

I remember that in Chiang Mai, Thailand, I organized the decentralized community to visit the trust house AVA House. We prepared pizza for the kids that they had never had before, taught them how to juggle and DJ. The interaction with the children impressed friends who are engaged in the financial and technology industries and have relatively well-off conditions. Subsequently, AVA House received continued funding from them.

I hope to bring the same impact to the local community in Roatan that needs help. Participants who come to Vitalia come from different backgrounds and conditions. I am ready to launch a donation project or crowdfunding to reasonably redistribute community wealth.

6. How do you plan to document the entire trip? (It is recommended to include form and narrative perspective)

I will document this journey through words, photos, videos, and artwork.

Many times, when I was wandering, I would give up a lot of creative time because I needed to earn living expenses. This time, I hope to get some funding so that I can create as much as I want and repay everyone's support with complete works of art.

I believe that the final display result of the entire art residency program (which may include an exhibition or an independent large-scale public artwork) is actually the best way to record the entire journey.

I will also regularly update vitalia’s activities on matters, focusing on the artists in residence, their creative processes and the workshops held.