Bio

Felipe Castelblanco is a multidisciplinary artist and researcher working at the intersection of participatory, film, and Media Art. His work explores institutional forms, creates platforms for inter-epistemic dialogue, and engages and unlikely audiences in remote places. Felipe holds an MFA from Carnegie Mellon University (USA) and earned a Ph.D. from the Kunstuniversität Linz (Austria) and the Make/Sense Graduate School (Basel HGK), exploring avenues for epistemic justice in the Colombian Pan-Amazon region. In 2015 he served as a Cultural Emissary for the U.S State Department to the Philippines, through which he developed an ambitious participatory project around inter-cultural diplomacy at seaFelipe has been the recipient of several international awards, including the Starr Fellowship at the Royal Academy Schools in London, a Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Residency, and was the 2021 finalist for the Breakthrough Awards from the Breaking Walls Foundation in Berlin for his efforts towards biocultural peacebuilding in Colombia. Recent shows include the 2019 Quebec Biennial, Helmhaus Zurich (Switzerland), Seasons of Media at ZKM in Karlsruhe (Germany), and the Queens International at the Queens Museum in New York.

Activities:
Felipe Castelblanco has collaborated with participants from 10 countries to turn the world upside-down (Norte Es Sur, 2011 – 2016); sailed around the world in the smallest makeshift boat (Driftless, 2012-2019); initiated a Media Collective with refugees living in Cologne (Borderless TV, 2016 – 2021); and assembled a team of Latino day labourers to paint houses “on canvas” in the streets of Philadelphia (We Paint Houses, 2013).  

His work has been shown internationally, including the Royal Academy of Arts in London (UK); Helmhaus in Zurich (CH), the Queens Museum in New York (USA), the San Diego Museum of Art in California; Columbus Museum of Art (USA); FAD festival in Belo Horizonte (Brazil), FIVAC festival in Camaguey (Cuba); Practice Gallery in Philadelphia (U.S); the Valenzuela Klenner Gallery in Bogotá (Colombia) and numerous international new media and film festivals. Felipe’s work has been included in public collections such as the Royal Academy of Arts, London (UK) and the city of Cologne’s Art Lending librady collection (Germany). 

Among his collaborative endeavours is The Para-Stite School, an alternative free educational platform for artists-migrants, operating (independently and anonymously) at the heart of official universities in the U.S and Europe. THE DRIFT,  a floating platform for creative projects that explored the rivers and waterfronts within the city of Pittsburgh through performances, lectures, and buoyant interventions. Felipe was also the co-founder of VISIVA Foundation, a non-profit organization that between 2009-2012 promoted Art + Design and Cultural development in Colombia and Latin America. Also, he is a former member of  The Venice Biennial of Bogotá, a biennial urban art event produced in a marginalized area of  Bogotá called Venice neighborhood, which invites local and international artists to produce site-specific projects in the area.

As an educator, Felipe has taught undergraduate and graduate level courses at Carnegie Mellon University (2013 USA), Ohio State University (2014 USA), Drury University (2016 USA) and the Academy of Art and Design Basel HGK (2018-2021). His public lectures, workshops and artist talks include venues like Tate Britain (2015, London); The Venice Biennale (as part of Creative Time Summit 2015, Italy); the South London Gallery (2015, London); IAM Weeken (2018, Barcelona) Taiga Collective (2016 St. Petersburg ) and the CAA Annual Conference (2017, New York City) among others. 

Felipe is represented in Europe by Wild-Palms Gallery in Dusseldorf since 2020.