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Description
The project is about capturing, developing, and exploring basic human rights through Art. The goal is the creative friction and production of remarkable creative work, highlighting the swamp of choices in today’s society, using the universally accepted language of Fine Arts; particularly, adopting the post-contemporary era of visual representation, which under the circumstances is misinterpreted.
Thus, in this orientation, sketchbooks will be given to fifty artists, who are invited to design in a simple, yet realistic way of portraying, lacking, distorting or depicting their own perspective, the acquisition of basic human rights today. The majority of the artists will be chosen from marginalized social groups, such as refugees, while the rest will be renowned artists.
Based on the joint action with the artists, four online sessions will take place for the purposes of spreading awareness and targeted information, pointing out the subject matter as a thesis, in order to achieve the experiential background of this goal; correlating theory and practice in everyday life. In this journey, the artist will be guided through these online sessions and exchanges with NGOs to explore women''s rights, racism and other contemporary challenges that fragment our society, triggering art that promotes social inclusion.
The creative work on sketchbooks, as the artists information too, will be public - published on a targeted for this project internet site. The completed sketchbooks will trigger an art exhibition of one depiction per sketchbook, in an exhibition space downtown Athens. A short video will be created and edited, combining all of the artists sharing their motto on the project, and a 3D virtual reality exhibition will enrich the website.
Art Hub Athens will integrate this project in the existing SketchBook 4 SDGs which is the first global project that creates a library with sketchbooks of artists with themes inspired by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Summary of project results
First, a social impact campaign was launched to raise awareness on the various aspects of human rights in daily lives. The campaign allowed for the recruitment of 54 artists and overall reached more than 600 people. Then, the special sketchbooks were distributed, reaching all participants even in remote areas. With creators having sketchbooks in their hands, the training seminars were announced, in collaboration with NGOs. 54 artists received training on human rights. The seminars were experiential, with participants recognizing daily violations of human rights, as well as their own positive repercussions through their art. The seminars were open to the public, while through digitization they turned into asynchronous training tool. In parallel, the artists began depicting in the sketchbooks their thoughts on the issues addressed in the seminars (racism, gender-based violence, LGBTQ+ issues etc). They were evolving into activist artists. The process was captured in social media, continuing the initial campaign, while allowing the artists to reach a wider audience as a group. Once fully used, the sketchbooks were recollected to proceed with their digitization and upload them to the project''s website as flipbooks. With the material created, an interactive art exhibition was held in a central gallery of Athens. The event lasted 10 days and was warmly accepted by the public. The 499 visitors browsed through the sketchbooks, in compliance with all health protocols, and took part in the several interactive installations that raised awareness on human rights. Overall, the project exceeded its initial expectations. Opportunities for its further promotion in and out of Greece have been presented.