oloNala - Combining Art and Conservation

By Safina Center Fellow Alain Rasolo

As I finish my third and final year as a Safina Center Fellow, I think back on all that I’ve been able to do with the support of the Center and the encouragement of the other Fellows. Over the last three years, I opened up my own art gallery and studio at the entrance to Ranomafana National Park, had the honor of being invited to present my work in New York City twice, expanded my art portfolio and relationships with conservation organizations in Madagascar, and connected with numerous other artists and creators abroad.

Now, I am excited to start a new adventure—one that wouldn’t have been possible without the help of the Safina Center. At the end of 2024, I co-founded oloNala, a nonprofit whose mission is to combine art and conservation to promote education, sustainable development, and environmental stewardship in Madagascar and other biodiversity hotspots. The name oloNala comes from the Malagasy word for people, or olo, and forest, or ala. One of our main goals, apart from providing art-based environmental education programs and supporting community-led conservation initiatives, is to host Madagascar’s first environmentally-focused art residency program. My Fellowship enabled me to start construction on the studio space for this project in October 2024. Once it is complete, it will be a space for Malagasy artists to explore environmental issues and solutions through artistic expression, and will not only grant them the opportunity to immerse themselves in Ranomafana National Park, but to connect with the researchers and conservation organizations working in the area. This exposure made it possible to turn my wildlife illustrations into my career, but for many other Malagasy artists, the lack of space, materials, or financial means can make it difficult to pursue their art full-time. The oloNala Art Residency and the international network it creates will provide them with support in this area.

Through oloNala, I will also continue to build on the relationships I created and projects I started through the Safina Center. Our art-based environmental education programs will take place at the Ranomafana Nature Center, which was created by Safina Center Fellow Erik Callender in 2016. Earlier this year, I helped VOI Mitsinjo, the local community managing a protected forest in Ranomafana, build a bridge to improve the accessibility of the forest for tourists. oloNala will continue supporting them and other VOIs in Madagascar to expand their ecotourism infrastructure.

I am deeply thankful to all the supporters and friends of the Safina Center for granting me the opportunity to explore and share my creative path to conservation in Madagascar and abroad.