As we look back on the hundreds of remarkable initiatives, works of art, discoveries and events we captured in 2024, we are continually impressed by the creative work we get to write about every day. It’s a privilege to share so much creativity with you, and we thought we’d put together a list of our favorites.
Below you’ll find eight picks (two from each of us) that showcase just a few of the notable projects we’ve published over the past twelve months. Many of these articles provide deeper context, delving into personal experiences through interviews and highlighting important stories that may have gone under the radar.
You might also enjoy our readers’ picks of the year’s top articles and Colossal’s favorite books of 2024. Enjoy reading!
—Christopher, Grace, Kate and Jackie
Jackie’s choice: In ‘Las Pelilargas’ Irina Werning celebrates the flawless long hair of Latin American women and girls
For the past 17 years, Irina Werning has traveled across Latin America photographing women and girls for her ongoing series, Las Pelilargasor The Longhairs. Shot in color and black and white, the portraits document a distinct cultural practice through an incredibly attractive, even surreal lens.
Grace’s choice: The home studio of late artist LV Hull has been added to the National Register of Historic Places
Kosciusko is a small town in central Mississippi with a population of just under 7,000. Known as the birthplace of Oprah Winfrey, Kosciusko was also home to the late artist LV Hull (1942-2008) who devoted her life to painting and assembling found objects.
Kate’s choice: Art and science set sail in the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Artist-at-Sea program
“There are many ways to tell a story or document and share research and discoveries,” says artist Ellie Hannon, one of 54 artists who have embarked on a unique residency organized by the Schmidt Ocean Institute. From cast porcelain and painting to 3D printing and virtual reality, the storytelling possibilities are endless in the Artist-at-Sea program, which invites artists to collaborate with scientists on weeklong expeditions to some of the least explored areas of our world. oceans.
Christopher’s choice: Nadya Tolokonnikova on Pussy Riot, life as performance art and how anonymity is its power
“People often don’t realize how important someone is who has a photo and video camera. The action can be beautiful, but if you don’t have a good photographer to capture it, it just won’t work.” —Nadya Tolokonnikova
Nadya Tolokonnikova created Pussy Riot in 2011, partly in response to Vladimir Putin’s declaration that he would continue his rule over Russia. In 2012, when she and her collaborators undertook their now famous performance at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, she was infamously sentenced to two years in prison, propelling the art collective to international fame. Colossal Editor-in-Chief Grace Ebert spoke with Nadya via Zoom on a Saturday in February, more than a decade since Pussy Riot’s founding, her imprisonment and her release.
Grace’s choice: For mourners, the global ‘Wind Phone’ movement is a lifeline
Garden designer Itaru Sasaki lost his cousin to cancer just months before a magnitude 9.1 earthquake destroyed his town, the small fishing village of Otsuchi. In an attempt to process his grief, he decided to create a mourning space in his backyard, a space that would provide peace and a symbolic connection with his loved one. He mentioned it Kaze no denwaor ‘Telephone of the Wind’.
Amy Dawson’s searchable map features photos and stories from its creators and tracks more than 300 ‘Wind Phones’ around the world, each individually installed and maintained.
Jackie’s choice: With few glimmers of hope, the World Press Photo Contest documents war, migration and destruction
From Israel’s ongoing attack, leaving the people of Gaza in dire poverty, to a record-breaking surge of migrants at the US-Mexico border, the past year has seen incredible devastation around the world. The 2024 World Press Photo competition assembles a profound and illuminating collection of images that approach countless crises with compassion and clarity.
Kate’s choice: Marilou Schultz weaves computer processor patterns into traditional Navajo rugs
What does Intel’s Pentium computer chip have in common with Navajo textiles? More than you might think. For artist Marilou Schultz, the ancestral practice of weaving merges with an unexpected contemporary source of inspiration. By merging analog loom methods with the patterns found in the cores of computer processors, Schultz interweaves the history of the Navajo people with modern technology.
Christopher’s choice: Todd Antony describes the ‘Cholitas Escaladoras’ climbing America’s highest peak
Originally intended as a pejorative term, cholita has been embraced by Aymara and Quechua women, who have adopted the name as a sign of pride. Photographer Todd Antony met a group calling themselves the ‘Climbing Cholitas’, and a breathtaking series of photographs emerged in Cholitas Escaladoras.
