About 3 — Unseen California

Unseen California is an arts research initiative cofounded by Karolina Karlic, Associate Professor of Photography at the University of California Santa Cruz and Joseph Gallegos, Assistant Professor of Film at California State University Los Angeles. Karlic is creative director/lead artist researcher. Working along side Gallegos, they intend to engage diverse audiences and foster urgent dialogue by producing these short documentaries, featuring the voices and work of Unseen California artists.

Unseen California is a multi-pronged research initiative intended to engage arts research utilizing the public land resource, the UC Natural Reserve System, and does so through site specific research performed by a collaborative artist cohort, generating opportunities for field-based arts teaching and learning, public programming, and the creative creation a short documentary series which serves as an accessible archive and vehicle for a wide public audience to engage with the research, process, and resulting artworks.

The goal is to generate a visual platform, featuring arts research inquiries and findings, providing unparalleled access to the artist’s voice to diverse audiences around the world, using the power of digital media to introduce millions of people to new contemporary art and artists.

The research initiative launched in 2021 with invitations of a diverse first cohort of women photographers to collaborate in research investigating issues related to landscape and California histories.

2021-2023 Inaugural Artist Cohort

Lead Artist Researcher: Karolina Karlic, Associate Professor University of California, Santa Cruz

Artist Researcher: Mercedes Dorame, Visiting Professor CalArts

Artist Researcher: Dionne Lee, Visiting Professor Stanford & Ohio State University

Artist Researcher: Tarrah Krajnak, Associate Professor Pitzer College

Artist Researcher: Aspen Mays, Associate Professor California College of the Arts

Open Call for Applications 2024-2026

The next cohort of artist researchers, 2024-2026, will be selected through an Open Call Application Process . The inaugural cohort will review applications, along with the Unseen California Board and help guide the future of the research project, making their own integral contributions to the discourse of contemporary arts research in California.