A case study from the Asian Artists’ Fund 2025
Photographer Vinesh Kumaran had been dreaming up Gathered & Grown Here — a series of large-scale portraits of stall owners at the Māngere Markets — for more than a year when he received a Creative Project grant.
Developed over six months, the resulting exhibition evoked the markets themselves, with sixteen portraits hung from rows of gazebos, accompanied by a short film featuring interviews with each stall owner.
“It was validating,” he says. The grant gave Vinesh the encouragement to secure further partnerships and funding from other sources. Most importantly: “It gave me the time to build those relationships.” In return, he has gifted each portrait back to the stall owners — with many continuing to display his work at the markets today.
The Asian Artists' Fund (AAF) Creative Project grants offer artists funding to support the development and/or presentation of a creative project.
