We are so thrilled for and proud of our Director of Art Residency, Leslie Foster—who was also our very first artist-in-residence back in 2017. Leslie recently announced that his short film “Heavenly Brown Body” will be shown at Outfest this year, and this week, he was shortlisted for the prestigious Hopper Prize.

During his 2017 residency with us, Leslie created 59, a gallery show centered around an anthology of 11 unique films created through artistic collaboration. Each film lasts only 59 seconds, but Leslie and his series of collaborators fill every frame with tender, powerful imagery and provocative ideas about faith, gender, and sexuality. Since then, in his position as our Director of Art Residency, Leslie has been key to the creation and growth of our annual artist residency, which is currently in its fourth year. He’s also continued to produce stunning and challenging experimental film installations, and he has curated several gallery shows for Level Ground, including last May’s Self-Center and last August’s Dream Logic.

Outfest’s 2020 virtual festival will include Leslie’s experimental 2019 film “Heavenly Brown Body” in its shorts programming. The film will be available online beginning August 27 as part of the Transcendence shorts program, or you can see the film LIVE (yes, really!) at Outfest's drive-in screening event in Malibu on the 22nd.

Originally created for an installation at Torrance Art Museum’s “Adjacent, Adjacent” show, Leslie describes his film as “a difficult ritual for difficult times.” You won't want to miss it!

In addition, this week, Leslie was shortlisted for the Hopper Prize. The Hopper Prize was established to increase recognition of the work of visual artists. and advance these artists’ careers by providing unrestricted financial support in the form of individual artist grants.

You can see the full list of prize winners and finalists at the Hopper Prize’s website.

Join us in giving some serious rounds of applause to Leslie for all his hard work over the years! We’re so glad to see his work receiving these honors and cannot wait to continue supporting him in his ventures.