Download for iOS, Android, or Windows 10

Photoset

Tiny Houses and Keeping the Magic with @tinydoorsatl

To see more of Karen’s tiny, public installations, follow @tinydoorsatl on Instagram.

Magic happens every time artist Karen Anderson (@tinydoorsatl) creates one of her miniature scenes in Atlanta. “I love the potential for art to build community,” says Karen. “And I especially love how impactful that art can be when it’s free, public and accessible to everyone.”

Karen’s love for all things miniature began when she played with dollhouses growing up, and continued in art school and through her first tiny door installation a few years ago in Atlanta. She was immediately struck by the community response: anonymous donors would leave their own tiny contributions to the scene. “I’ve found so many neat things since then,” says Karen. “I don’t take them — I let them interact with the community. Ownership of this project has been so rewarding and gratifying. Sometimes, I feel like I’m just the protector of the magic.”

photography, tinydoors, miniature, Atlanta, Georgia, Karen Anderson, instagram,

Photoset

Finding Inspiration in Greek Waters with @demo_zer

To see more of Demo’s landscape photography, follow @demo_zer on Instagram.

Part of Demo Zervoudakis (@demo_zer) has always been drawn to the water. “I’ve never lived in a place where there wasn’t a beach or a river in close proximity,” says the Greek-Canadian architect, who was born in Montreal and spent his childhood moving back and forth between his two home countries, just recently settling onto the Greek island of Karpathos. “There’s something very soothing about the repetitive motion of the waves hitting the shore, the way they return every time,” says Demo. “I find it pretty hopeful and nostalgic.”

After starting to take pictures at an early age, Demo began to learn the technical ins and outs of the craft while he was in high school. “As I slowly got more into it, my take on photography — and the world — became a bit more abstract. I wanted to take a step back, to view the world from afar. I’ve never used a drone, so I try to emulate that aerial feeling in different ways; I usually find a spot where it looks otherworldly, like how a bird or a sea creature sees the world. I hope that people see my photos as a form of escape — a sunny, blue escape.”

Starting today, you can choose landscape and portrait formats when sharing multiple photos and videos in one post.

photography, Greece, Canada, Demo Zervoudakis, landscape, Karpathos, ocean, instagram,

Photoset

Weekend Hashtag Project: #WHPimagine

Weekend Hashtag Project is a series featuring designated themes and hashtags. For a chance to be featured, follow @instagram and look for a post every week announcing the latest project.

The goal of #WHPimagine was to bring your wildest dreams to life through surreal photos and videos. Each week, we feature some of our favorite submissions from the project, but be sure to check out the rest here.

weekend hashtag project, WHPimagine, video, photography, Instagram,

Photoset

Creating a Digital Short Film with @madhatterzero

To see more of Natalia’s life as a film student, follow @madhatterzero on Instagram.

As a student at the Moscow Film School, it only made sense that Natalia Gurkina (@madhatterzero) enter the #TIFFxInstagram Shorts Festival, a digital short film competition. “I couldn’t imagine a reason why I wouldn’t participate,” says Natalia, whose 60-second film “Confession” — a love story within a story — was the Jury’s Choice Award winner from the Toronto International Film Festival @tiff_net). Her inspiration came from the theme of love — and the reality of shooting on a mobile phone. “The idea just appeared in my head, like I’d seen the whole movie already and we just needed to film it,” says Natalia. When it comes to making a film for Instagram versus the big screen, the difference is clear: “You need to say everything you want in a short time,” says Natalia. “It should be clear and bright.”

photography, TIFFxInstagram, short film, Confession, Natalia Gurkina, Moscow, Russia, Moscow Film School, Instagram,

Video

Music, New Albums and Afropunk with @sza

To see more from SZA at Afropunk, follow @sza on Instagram.

SZA (@sza) grew up surrounded by music, but it wasn’t until her early 20s that she knew she wanted to be a musician. “My dad had a super wide range of eclectic tunes,” says the artist, who grew up in New Jersey. “Music was definitely in my house and around me, but never by me.” Fast forward a few years, and that’s all changed — SZA has just released her debut studio album, Ctrl, and is in Brooklyn, New York, this weekend to perform at Afropunk (@afropunk).

“Afropunk is the culmination of every strain of influence I’ve ever encountered in my life bottled into one huge expression,” SZA describes of the festival, which began in 2005 as a documentary about the African-American punk rock scene, and has since expanded internationally, celebrating black music, art and activism around the world. Though she’s attended and performed at Afropunk before, “I still have so much room to grow,” says SZA. “I’m excited to give people what they deserve on an emotional and sonic level.”

photography, sza, afropunk, ctrl, brooklyn, music, instagram,

Photoset

Going Behind the Scenes at the VMAs with @fifthharmony

To see more action from the Video Music Awards, follow @fifthharmony on Instagram.

This year’s MTV Video Music Awards (@vmas) are already underway, but the women of Fifth Harmony (@fifthharmony) find it hard to believe they’re really here. “It still doesn’t feel real. This is such a monumental moment for us,” says Dinah Jane, one-quarter of the group with fellow musicians Ally Brooke, Normani Kordei and Lauren Jauregui. The singers have come a long way since they got their start as contestants on “The X Factor” in 2012 — and are proud of it. “We have gotten our power, and love music more than ever,” says Normani. “We earned our place.”

This year at the VMAs, “Down,” featuring Gucci Mane, the lead single from Fifth Harmony’s third studio album, won “Best Pop” and was also nominated for “Best Choreography”. “We hope our fans really connect with the new album,” says Ally. Adds Lauren, “We want our fans to turn to our music for messages of empowerment, inclusion and dope energy all around.”

photography, VMAs, Video Music Awards, Fifth Harmony, music, MTV, instagram,

Photoset

The Week on Instagram | 299

News

Get Involved

Around the Community

instagram, solareclipse, WHPimagine, wwim16💌,

Photoset

Weekend Hashtag Project: #WHPimagine

Weekend Hashtag Project is a series featuring designated themes and hashtags chosen by Instagram’s Community Team. For a chance to be featured on the Instagram blog, follow @instagram and look for a post every week announcing the latest project.

Time travel, outer space, a parallel universe — the goal this weekend is to bring your wildest dreams to life through surreal photos and videos, like this one by Ginebra Siddal (@ginebrasiddal). Wherever your reveries take you, here’s how to get started:

  • Create dreamlike compositions with textures such as gauzy curtains, or seek out otherworldly settings, like a foggy morning or a reflective pond.
  • Does fantasy inspire your makeup and fashion choices (or even those of a pet)? Show off your most imaginative styles, or create a new personality and a look to match.
  • Start in your Instagram Stories camera to experiment with transforming the world around you with tools like stickers and face filters, and then share your favorite creation to your feed.

PROJECT RULES: Please add the #WHPimagine hashtag only to photos and videos taken over this weekend and only submit your own visuals to the project. If you include music in your video submissions, please only use music to which you own the rights. Any tagged photo or video taken over the weekend is eligible to be featured next week.

weekend hashtag project, WHPimagine, video, photography, Instagram,

Photoset

How Artist Kayla Briët Creates Her Own Narrative

To see more from Kayla’s life and work, follow @kaylabriet on Instagram.

“I was raised in a multigenerational home, under the same roof with my mom, dad, aunt, uncles and grandparents,” recalls Kayla Briët (@kaylabriet), a 20-year-old filmmaker, composer and artist from Southern California. “On my mother’s side, I’m Dutch-Indonesian and Chinese. My father is Anishinaabe, a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation of Kansas. One weekend, my grandma would be teaching me how to fold dumplings, and the next weekend, my mom would be sewing me a traditional outfit to wear at a powwow. My dad would teach me different dance steps; I loved being immersed in the sounds of the singers and the heartbeat of drums.

“But growing up with these different backgrounds was really confusing. I never felt like I was enough — I was not Chinese enough, Indonesian enough or native enough. I lost my voice because I didn’t really fit in anywhere. To form my own narrative, I learned the stories of my heritage and culture and connected them together. The first medium that gave me a voice was music — I could create my own worlds through soundscapes and songs. Then I taught myself filmmaking, because I wanted to explore the power of a visual form. Through storytelling, I’m able to explore identity and how fluid it is. We’re all ever-changing, like chameleons.” #WhereIComeFrom

photography, artist, filmmaker, Native American, Anishinaabe, Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, Kansas, Kayla Briët, WhereIComeFrom, instagram,

Photoset

Piera Gelardi Inspires Women’s Creativity with Refinery29

To celebrate the upcoming #WWIM16[heart envelope emoji]’s theme of #KindComments, we’ll be featuring voices spreading messages of kindness within the Instagram community.

Piera Gelardi (@pieraluisa), the co-founder and executive creative director of Refinery29 (@refinery29), is here to empower women through creativity. “Our mission is to be a catalyst for women to claim their power,” describes Piera, who started the online lifestyle magazine in 2005 with three friends in a New York apartment. “We celebrate inclusivity and imagination, and we want our readers to be inspired, to feel great in their own skin and to find channels in their own lives to pursue their passion.”

With a strong online presence and dedicated readership comes responsibility, especially when it comes to the idea of #KindComments. “I so appreciate this mission to create a kind community, because there is so much trolling and negativity that can exist online, especially for women,” says Piera. “The world needs more messages of love and kindness, and just needs more kindness overall. We really try to put out optimistic storytelling that makes women connect with the world and with each other.”

photography, Refinery29, Piera Gelardi, female empowerment, Wordlwide Instameet, wwim16💌, KindComments, instagram,