ART FOR DARFUR
Spring Fundraiser
ART * MUSIC * DANCE * SPOKEN WORD
home donated works press releases postcard
·
Artists auction and sell their
artwork
·
Houston
,
While much of the world stands by and watches the atrocities committed against the people of Darfur, I have vowed not to be infected by such complacency. I call on my friends, family, and people I don't even know to do the same. Whether it is through spreading the word, donating time, donating artwork, or donating money, each person has the power not to allow history to repeat itself once more. For my part, I have decided to create a fundraiser in which all proceeds will go to an NGO working in the region that I feel is making a difference and setting a positive example.
The idea for the fundraiser is simple. In the first phase, I, along with other artists, auctioned off and sold pieces that represented our conception of what is happening in the Sudan. I have focused on women of Darfur. I invited any artist who wanted to participate in the tri-city fundraiser to contact me at maya.smith@gmail.com. In addition to visual art, there was music, dance, spoken word and any thing else people wanted to donate and share at these events. The three fundraising events in April 2007 were put on by members of the various communities who have decided to dedicate much of their personal time. We are now in the second phase, the online sale. The remaining pieces are available for purchase and can be sent anywhere in the U.S. A more popular option is often the sale of prints. You can order any print from the Darfur Collection. More information can be fond on the donated works page. I hope that individuals and corporations alike will take part in this endeavor. All donations are greatly appreciated.
Spread the word and get as many people involved as possible. Let's show the people of Darfur that they have not been forgotten and that we sympathize with their struggles.
Sincerely,
Maya
Details
link to art work that will be displayed and auctioned
Short documentary on the situation in Darfur: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zViGbEtRSg
Short interview from 2004 about my work as an artist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpLIx9p0umE
Although the events are over, I am not done yet. First, I would like to thank everyone who helped make these events possible and for those who showed their support by coming out and donating. I am happy to announce that as of May 1st, 2007 I have raised over $11,000. Now begins the online phase. Any artwork that has not sold is for sale through the website. If you see a piece you like, contact me. If you see a piece you like but don't have the money for it, let me know and I can make a print of it for much much less.
Fundraising events
These events aimed to raise funds as well as awareness. I asked local artists to create works that reflected their view of what is happening half a world away. In addition, I had hoped to incorporate an educational component by working with programs that cater to high school and college students, informing these students of genocide in Sudan and beyond, and having them create and submit illustrations for the fundraiser. My hopes were to have a wide range of artwork from the most inexperienced novice to the most renowned artist. All works were accepted. I also looked for musical artists who wanted to perform at the events and activists who wanted to speak about genocide and why it is a global problem that affects everyone.
Houston
The first event was in Houston, TX on Sunday April 15th, 2007 from 2-5pm in Trammell Commons of St. John's School (2401 Claremont at Westheimer). A preview show was held at the Branch School, 1424 Sherwood Forest, on March 31-April 1, where a few pieces and information about the main event were part of the Annual Spring Art Show. I am happy to report that we raised over $3700. John Montgomery, president and director of Bridgeway Foundation, which provided us with the $5000 matching grant, stopped by and purchased some artwork. We are very thankful to him and all that his company has done for this cause.
The Bay Area
The following weekend, on Saturday April 21st, was the Bay Area event. The event was held at Heller Lounge in the MLK Student Union on the Berkeley Campus (at Telegraph and Bancroft). Berkeley's chapter of STAND (A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition) helped to put on this event. After a very successful regional conference on Darfur the weekend of February 2, the group was energized and we wound up raising over $1100.
New York
The NYC event was held on Sunday, April 29th from 3-6pm at the Lower East Side Girls Club (www.girlsclub.org / 56 E. 1st St). I was in town speaking about the plight of women in Darfur at the Lower East Side Girls Club's 6th annual Global Girls Congress for International Women's Day on March 8th. I had the opportunity to also hold an art workshop for teenage girls whose work contributed to the fundraising event. For the main event, there were established artists in the NY art community who donated work, including Ken Hiratsuka (www.kenrock.com), Carlos Pinto (www.jcarlospinto.com) and J. Conrad Williams, staff photographer at Newsday. Matt Miller, a NYC Lawyer who specializes in Genocide and is writing a book on the topic spoke about the legal implications and what it means to the International Community. We also had the musical stylings of Jordon Rothstein on keyboard and vocals (http://www.jordonrothstein.com/site.html). I suggest buying his CD Mascot's Distance. It's great!
Where do the funds go?
I decided to work alongside The Genocide Intervention Network (GI-Net) because I have been impressed with their mission and the work they have already done. All check donations will be made out directly to them, and since they have 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status (tax ID #20-2278405), these donations are tax deductible. The donor can specify how these funds will be used by GI-Net. I will be collecting all money and keeping a tally of how much we raise because I hope I can find many corporations willing to match funds.
We are pleased to announce that Bridgeway Charitable Foundation has committed to a $5000 challenge grant for the three fundraising events. We encourage other corporations to match this!
Genocide Intervention Network (www.genocideintervention.net)
The following information can be found on their website.
Launched in the fall of 2004, GI-Net seeks to empower individuals and communities with the tools to prevent and stop genocide.
GI-Net aims to build an educated political constituency. GI-Net’s programs and policy goals will be consistent with the principles of the “Responsibility to Protect” (R2P) report. This report offers guidelines for international intervention when governments are unwilling or unable to protect their own citizens from preventable, widespread violence. Using the R2P report as a guide and consulting with the authors of the report and other experts, our efforts will enable citizens to support the most responsible and the most effective means of civilian protection in the face of genocidal crises.
The Genocide Intervention Fund (GIF) offers an unprecedented opportunity for private donors to contribute to a peacekeeping mission capable of increasing security for civilians endangered by genocide. This non-profit organization will combine fundraising for the UN-supported African Union Mission in Darfur (AMIS II) with efforts to pressure governments and the UN to pursue a comprehensive strategy to end the genocide in Darfur.
http://www.genocideintervention.net/about/mission.php (link to original proposal)
Background on Darfur (found at http://www.genocideintervention.net/educate/darfurinfo/)
About the size of Texas, the Darfur region of Sudan is home to racially mixed tribes of settled peasants, who identify as African, and nomadic herders, who identify as Arab. The majority of people in both groups are Muslim.
Government neglect has left people throughout Sudan poor and voiceless and has caused conflict throughout the country. In February 2003, frustrated by poverty and neglect, two Darfurian rebel groups launched an uprising against the Khartoum government.
The government responded with a scorched-earth campaign, enlisting the help of a militia of Arab nomadic tribes in the region against the innocent civilians of Darfur.
Since February 2003, the Sudanese government in Khartoum and the government-sponsored Janjaweed militia have used rape, displacement, organized starvation and mass murder to kill more than 400,000 and displace 2.5 million. Violence, disease and displacement continue to kill thousands of innocent Darfurians every month.
Long-term peace in Darfur requires that the government of Sudan, the Janjaweed militia forces and the rebel groups of Darfur find a way to resolve their political and economic disputes. The international community managed to broker a peace deal in May 2006, but violence in Darfur actually increased in the wake of this deal.
A United Nations resolution in August 2006 authorized the deployment of a force of over 17,000 UN troops to Darfur. However, the UN has insisted on securing the "consent" of the Sudanese government for such a force. For its part, the government of Sudan recently launched another attack in Darfur, in violation of the May peace agreement, and continues to adamantly refuse the deployment of an effective force.
Thousands of innocent civilians continue to die from murder, disease, and starvation every month. Today, millions of displaced civilians living in refugee camps are in dire need of international support as the violence continues.
At this time, human security is the highest priority for the people of Darfur. The world has left the responsibility of providing security to the African Union peacekeepers in Darfur. As Sally Chin of Refugees International has noted, the world has given the African Union “the responsibility to protect, but not the power to protect.” We must now work to ensure that the world fulfills its responsibility to protect the civilians of Darfur.
Acknowledgements (thus far...)
A special thanks to Bridgeway Foundation for helping me get the ball rolling and for committing to the $5000 challenge grant.
Houston: Emily Smith, Director of the Branch School; Laurence Unger and the entire Unger Family; Houston Holocaust Museum
New York: Lower East Side Girls Club; Jonathan Smith; Carlos Pinto; Anthony Giordano; Ken Hiratsuka; J. Conrad Williams; Chris Maiurro; Jordon Rothstein
Bay Area: Berkeley STAND; Ivan Vidangos