I am Nelson Guda
… and this is my blog.
I am an artist who was also once a scientist. I am a writer and activist. My work has taken me around the world from remote wilderness to international conflict zones.
My core philosophy is that life is a canvas for art. Because of that, in addition to my work I’ll post about anything that peaks my interest or inflames my passion. All from my odd perspective as someone who has lived several very different lives.
Scroll down to see back posts. Go to nelsonguda.com to see my work. ATX UnBound is my podcast and online publication about creators in Austin. Send me a message if you have a question or something interesting to share.
Most Recent Post
Earth Day
The idea of earth day is funny when you think about it. Shouldn't we always be thinking about the earth? After all, it's the place where we live. The only one. This is it. Can't upgrade or move to a new neighborhood. I used to be clueless about all that. I was an...
Goodbye Rashid
This winter, just after Christmas, I found out that my friend Rashid Dongola had passed away. I met Rashid in Kashmir when I was working on my Enemies Project in that mythical seeming land that lies on the border of India and Pakistan. Rashid was one of the many...
A School Called MYTO
On my first trip to Kenya for the Enemies Project, I went to the Mathare slum of Kenya to meet people who had been affected by the tragic post-election riots that swept through Kenya in 2009. One of the people I met in Mathare was Benard Ochieng who had started a...
Dances Over Water
An abstraction on dance and water. I created this video after working with with dancers Morgan Teal and Rachael Hulse the founders of Dance Waterloo, whose mission is to cultivate, create, and perform interdisciplinary methods of dance for the community through...
Best Christmas Gift Ever
This holiday season I got one of the most amazing gifts I've ever received, and I want to share the story. The week before Thanksgiving, I found out that I have two adult children that I don’t know anything about. I’ve had a lot of excellent conversation starters in...
We Are Clouds
This was a projection installation I did for an exhibit in Hot Springs Arkansas. When two people stand in front of the exhibit, the video changes every time they touch one another.
Read more“Scientists please use the door to the left. Artists please enter through the door on the right.”
Left Brain, Right Brain, My Brain
or... "Pardon me officer, but did you happen to see which way my brain went?" There have been many times in the past when I've hesitated after someone asked me about what I have done in my life. This may be silly, but our society puts a premium on focus and...
Tibetan buddhism, happiness and an analytical world view.
A couple months ago I had picked up a book by the Dalai Llama about achieving happiness. There were several things that struck me from that book, and I'll probably write about those later. The one thing in particular that struck me was the very analytical approach...
Thoughts on Resilience from Kenya over Sunset
On April 1st I leave to go back to Africa for a short two week trip. The main purpose of the trip is to photograph the work of the African Prisons Project - an amazing small non-profit run by Alexander MacLean, who I met in Dallas last fall. I will be traveling to...
International Women’s Day
This past Saturday was International Women's Day. I posted a handful of images to facebook, but I didn't have time to post them here. Women have been an important part of this project - it has been easy to see that they play a vital role in the finding of...
Good Night 2013
Your nights of silence
have roared past my ears…
Dances Over Water
An abstraction on dance and water. I created this video after working with with dancers Morgan Teal and Rachael Hulse the founders of Dance Waterloo, whose mission is to cultivate, create, and perform interdisciplinary methods of dance for the community through...
We Are Clouds
This was a projection installation I did for an exhibit in Hot Springs Arkansas. When two people stand in front of the exhibit, the video changes every time they touch one another.
ENEMIES TEDx Talk Online
Hi everyone, My TEDx talk about ENEMIES has finally been posted online. Here it is. I am also speaking about ENEMIES and other works at the TEDx in Napa Valley on March 30. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5o9w5s3AsM&feature=youtu.be I am working on a...
OBSESSIONS: Life as a Canvas for Art: My recent talk about ENEMIES.
How to meet warlords and militants, or... 20 steps to avoid if you want a simple life http://youtu.be/USiBoXOJKH0 I gave this talk last week for Pecha Kucha, Austin. I was asked to talk about my ENEMIES Project, and as I was writing the talk I kept finding more...
McLeod Ganj Walk
I've been in McLeod Ganj longer than I planned - going on two weeks now. A couple weeks ago China closed Tibet to foreigners, so I decided that this is a good place to photograph at least half of the Tibet-China issue. Among Tibetans here there is a huge...
Street Slam – kickin it in the slums
Slum artists - acrobats, rappers, b-boys... It's been a long time since my last post... I've been busy - in Rwanda and the slums. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uM6gKjw3D8 I was going to write more, but I think these two videos say most of it. The day I first...