Shrimp Boat Projects


Eric Leshinsky

Artist Bio

Zach Moser

Artist Bio

Shrimp Boat Projects is an investigative process designed to resolve the distinct concerns of ecology, economy and culture into a unified understanding of the Houston region. To embody this understanding, the founders of Shrimp Boat Projects, artists Eric Leshinsky and Zach Moser, engaged in a form of labor wholly dependent on the native landscape of the region, shrimping in Galveston Bay on their boat the F/V Discovery. The project has taken several years, and included phases of research, production and communication. In its research phase, Shrimp Boat Projects has been leading explorations of the bay, organizing events to discuss the issues and values of the project, engaging in the economy of bay shrimping by restoring a boat, learning to set the nets, deciphering the geography of the bay, marketing their catch, and, finally, inviting artists and others to participate in their daily shrimping expeditions. In 2014, Eric Leshinsky withdrew from the project.


Award Year
2012
Status

Completed

Leshinsky-Eric

Eric Leshinsky

Houston, TX

Eric Leshinsky is an artist, designer and design educator engaged in collaborative projects at the intersections of architecture, art and advocacy. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University in Political Science-Economics and a Master’s of Architecture Degree from Rice University. In 2005, he founded the Museum for Missing Places as a short-term experimental institution in Houston, TX, to initiate dialogues about the city’s less acknowledged public places. In 2008, he co-founded D:center, Baltimore and the Baltimore Design Conversations, both as vehicles to foster greater design culture in Baltimore. In 2009, after many years of working collaboratively with other artists, architects, landscape architects, planners and advocates, he founded GRAPH, an environmental research and design office, as a way of furthering these collaborations. Eric has held teaching positions at The George Washington University, Morgan State University School of Architecture & Planning, Delaware College of Art and Design, University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning Preservation and, in 2011, was an Artist in Residence at the University of Houston Mitchell Center for the Arts.


Collaborator

Zach Moser

Moser-Zach

Zach Moser

Houston, TX

Zach Moser is an artist based in Houston, TX. Through his artistic practice, he attempts to facilitate collaborative and interactive investigations. His work focuses on pursuing knowledge, alleviating the critical effects of injustice and participating in creative communities. He received a BA in studio art from Oberlin College in 2002 and attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. In 2001, he founded and facilitated the Big Parade of Oberlin, OH, and in 2003, he co-founded the youth development organization Workshop Houston. He has exhibited at the Contemporary Art Museum of Houston, the Glassell School of Art and Diverseworks Art Space. Moser received the Compton Mentor Fellowship in 2003, the Artadia Award in 2006, the Idea Fund in 2008 and, in 2011, was an Artist in Residence at the University of Houston Mitchell Center for the Arts.


Collaborator

Eric Leshinsky