about Plein Ventures
Together Anna Ruth Yates and Julia Zakov started Plein Ventures through a shared interest in art that integrates speculative storytelling and post-capitalist imaginaries. They formed Plein Ventures as a traveling exhibition, climate fund, and collaborative forum to investigate what it means to flourish without consuming the world. They invite viewers and artists to reimagine their place in the web of life through exhibitions, conversations, and political action, and to envision ecosystems where coexistence and regeneration replace extraction and exploitation.
Anna Ruth Yates is an independent curator and director of a contemporary art gallery in New York. Through exhibition making, writing, and public programming, she explores how humans relate to their environment, with a particular focus on contemporary American regionalism. Her work examines the relationships between people and place, often employing collaborative approaches to tell these stories.
Julia Zakov is a sustainability expert with a background in Applied Economics, specializing in food and agriculture. She leads corporate sustainability strategy projects at a multinational agricultural corporation, integrating sustainability into core business practices. Her work explores themes of ecology, conservation, and the evolution of post-capitalist society.
PLEIN :
“En plein air” is a French expression meaning “in the open air” and refers to painting outdoors from observation.
Adjective: Full, Replete, Fraught, Plump
VENTURES :
Plural Noun; undertaking(s) involving chance, risk, or danger especially.
A type of financing for startup companies and small businesses with long-term growth potential, i.e. venture capital.
Plein Ventures co-invests in a climate fund that supports a selection of programming and conservation projects with thematically aligned climate goals. A percentage of up to 5% of sales is allocated to a portfolio of climate funds wherein Plein Ventures matches artists’ contributions 1:1 and facilitates the “climate fund” extending programming to artists, collectors and collaborators.
