Fine Art nominee

Set design, photography and lighting design by a.r. havel. each portrait is a collaborative process with the posing models, who all did their own hair and make-up styling. all made with 120 film, mamiya c33 and mamiya rb67. shot in Kat Sotelo's Private Practice studio.

1. "Divinatrix" with Xiamara Chupaflor.
2. "Vintage Monet" with Monet of Casual Burn.
3. "Cake and Kerosene" with Grant Higginbotham.
4. "Silly Straw Genet" with Owen Ever and Jacob Rickert.

a.r. havel is a multidisciplinary artist originally from Payaya land, San Antonio, Texas. there, in collaboration with radical theater ensemble Jump-Start performance Co. and following the lead of the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, he learned a community-activated form of artistic practice. before moving to New Orleans, he studied at Hampshire College in Massachusetts. throughout much of his work, he remains intensely fascinated by the power of queer and radical community resilience. He attributes his interest in photography to his grandfather, a professional wedding photographer who gifted him his first a camera, a Mamiya 645.