Bridging the arts, humanities, and science, HASAN (501(c)3) provides a highly interdisciplinary approach to the preservation of cultural heritage throughout the world.
HASAN designs high-impact projects engaging underserved communities around the world. Through direct partnership, our field team of media professionals also mentors up-and-coming storytellers. HASAN’s long-term vision is to build sustainable informational infrastructures so the local community can continue each project’s momentum and own its narrative on a global platform.
HASAN was established by Dr. Kelley Fanto Deetz and Justin Fornal in 2018. Our co-founders met while working with National Geographic on a documentary on Nat Turner, during which Fornal successfully located and repatriated the presumed skull of Nat Turner to his descendants. Fornal, an award-winning filmmaker, world explorer, and host of Unexplained and Unexplored (Discovery/Science Channel), and Dr. Deetz, a renowned scholar, archaeologist, and historian of the African diaspora, established HASAN to partner with community stakeholders to bring restorative justice to culturally sensitive projects.