Heat Fellows Experiment with Climate Narratives in Oaxaca Workshops

Project presentation by Zumrad Mirzalieva. Photo by Tif Ng.

That’s a wrap on the second cycle of our Heat Fellowship! Following two in-person workshops in Oaxaca, Mexico, we are pleased to celebrate the work of our 2024-25 Photography Expanded: Heat Fellows during their fellowship terms.

Focusing on the theme of heat, this initiative sought to expand the ways that photography can bring attention to the devastating and wide-ranging impacts of climate crisis. Like so many urgent global issues, climate change is a topic that is simultaneously widely covered yet persistently tuned out. With programs like this one, Magnum Foundation makes space for photographers who are shedding light on the profound impacts of these issues in their home communities to come together, experiment with new approaches, and deepen the impact of their work. Rather than only depicting the immediate impacts of environmental catastrophe, the fellowship emphasized the development of projects that offer alternative ways of seeing—grounded in the histories, perseverance, and connection to land held by communities rooted in these shifting landscapes.

Workshop participants look at work by Andrea Hernández Briceño. Photo by Tif Ng.

With work on topics including climate-based migration, pollution-driven health disparities, and indigenous origin stories and collective memory, this international and interdisciplinary cohort not only offers intimate windows into the deep and wide-ranging impacts of the climate crisis, but also inspires pathways towards recovery and repair. Over the course of the initiative, fellows developed and deepened their projects while coming together as a creative community in exploration and collaboration under the guidance of mentors Eric Gottesman, Nandita Raman, and Newsha Tavakolian.

This cycle included two in-person workshops in Oaxaca, Mexico, produced in partnership with Centro de las Artes de San Agustín (CaSa) and Magnum Foundation alums Citlali Fabián and Yael Martínez.

Grounded in somatic and ecological practices, the first workshop focused on creating space for fellows to center themselves as artists and community members, build connections and internal resources to push deeper into their practices, foster community engagement, and inspire authentic connection to themes and concerns that their projects explore. During the second workshop, the fellows shared experimental presentations of their work, received feedback, and planned for future activations of their projects.

Both workshops focused on deepening connections to climate based projects from the region and the Oaxaca photography community. As part of these collaborations, we were able to provide additional grants to Adriana Chávez and Julio Barrita, two Oaxaca-based photographers working on climate-related projects.

To see completed projects by the 2024-25 Heat Fellows, visit this link. For highlights from the fellowship — see below!

Ofoe Amegavie shared his plans for community engagement during the first workshop. Photo by Isadora Romero.

MF alum Citlali Fabián looks at in-progress work by the Heat Fellows. Photo by Isadora Romero.

Guided by volunteer community park rangers, the fellows visited the Cave of Guila Naquitz where there are fossils of domesticated corn dating back 10,000 years. Past Grantees based in the region, Yael Martínez, Isadora Romero, and Citlali Fabián used the cave as a site to introduce the fellows to their work and their practice highlighting the ways in which their work is grounded in place and tradition. Photo by Isadora Romero.

Heat fellows visited “Ben’n Yalhalhj” an exhibition at Centro Fotográfico Álvarez Bravo presenting the work of Magnum Foundation grantee Citlali Fabián, that uses intervened photography and objects to chronicle the connectivity among Zapotec diaspora and touches on themes of resistance, healing, motherhood, and migration. Photo by Isadora Romero.

Fellows and MF team members look at work by Giya Makondo-Wills. Photo by Isadora Romero.

Fellow Fatma Fahmy presents her project. Photo by Isadora Romero.

Heat Fellows visit an exhibition at Centro de las Artes de San Agustín (Casa), Toledo Ve, that showcases the vision of Casa’s founder, artist and designer- Francisco Toledo via presentation of his artworks alongside pieces that inspired his creations. Photo by Isadora Romero.

Mentor Newsha Tavakolian leads a discussion that includes topics such as generating authentic aesthetic strategy, creating context for photography installed within communities, and harnessing emotion as motivation for producing work. Photo by Isadora Romero.

Heat Fellows participate in somatic exercises led by program mentor Nandita Raman that included reflections on belonging, vulnerability, and power. Photo by Isadora Romero.

Florence Goupil shares her project in a short presentation series with the Oaxaca photography community. Photo by Tif Ng.

Fellow Ofoe Amegavie works with mentors Nandita Raman and Eric Gottesman and program coordinator Jessica Murray. Photo by Tif Ng.

Fellows install a collaborative mural speaking to global climate issues at the Biblioteca de la Fundación Bustamante Vasconcelos. Photo by Tif Ng.

Ofoe Amegavie shares his experimental project activation during the second workshop. Photo by Tif Ng.

Participants engage with work by Heat Fellow Andrea Hernández Briceño during the second workshop. Photo by Tif Ng.

Visiting the Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca (IAGO). Photo by Tif Ng.

Julio Barrita, a Oaxaca-based photographer who along with Adriana Chávez received an additional grant as part of our partnership with CaSa, shares his work with the fellowship cohort. Photo by Tif Ng.

Fellows at Centro de las Artes de San Agustín (CaSa) in Oaxaca. Photo by Isadora Romero.

Fellows, mentors, and members of the MF team in front of their collaborative mural speaking to global climate issues at the Biblioteca de la Fundación Bustamante Vasconcelos. Photo by Tif Ng.

Fellows, mentors, and members of the MF team at Centro de las Artes de San Agustín (CaSa) in Oaxaca. Photo by Isadora Romero.