Art and poetry often communicate in deeper ways, reaching our inner lives to bring truth and realization. They also release new strength for respect, care and compassion
Professor Andrew Tomkins, Institute of Child Health, University College London
Art for Humanity is a non-profit organisation based in Durban, South Africa which specialises in producing fine art print portfolios, exhibitions, billboards and research projects that advocate human rights issues within South Africa and internationally. The Art for Humanity website serves as an online resource for those interested in human rights, art and social development.
Throughout history art has acted as a form of expression and provided the means for artists to raise controversial issues, bring light to an unspoken topic and been the source of critical debate.
Art For Humanity has produced the following fine art print portfolios under the direction of Jan Jordaan, Director of Art For Humanity:
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). 1999.
Break the Silence. 2000.
Women For Children. 2006.
PimaTM Print Portfolio. 2009.
Dialogue Among Civilizations. 2010.
Art & Poetry Human Rights and Social Justice Community Workshops
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) Print Portfolio,1999
On 10 December 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Following this historic act, the Assembly called upon all member countries to publicise the text of the Declaration and to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded. It is a matter of historical record that many member states of the United Nations that endorsed the Declaration, have fallen far short of these standards in their own countries.
1998, saw the fortieth anniversary of the UDHR. In celebration of this occasion, Art for Humanity (AfH) launched the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) International Print Portfolio and catalogue in 1999. It represents an artistic commitment to the spirit and values espoused in the principles of international human rights.
It is AFH's second human rights portfolio with artists participating from all over the world - South Africa, Peru, India, China, Egypt, Australia, Senegal, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Israel, Iraq, and so on. The prints are drawn from a variety of cultural and historical perspectives yet send a universal message of human rights.
The UDHR portfolio has been exhibited globally and endorsed by a number of intellectuals, artists and human rights activists, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Kofi Annan, Nadine Gordimer, Helen Suzman, Albie Sachs and Edward Said.
Break the Silence Print Portfolio, 2000
Art for Humanity initiated the Break the Silence HIV/Aids print portfolio in 2000, with the purpose to instill a greater sense of social responsibility towards the pandemic and to those who are infected and affected by the disease. The project was designed by AfH director Jan Jordaan in collaboration with Vedant Nanackchand and Dr. Nigel Rollins. 31 artists - 21 South African and ten international - have contributed original fine art prints to the HIV/AIDS initiative.
The Break the Silence print portfolio is part of the following permanent collections: Durban Art Gallery, South Africa; UCLA Fowler Museum, Los Angeles, California; United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland; Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies, Matubatuba, South Africa; Department of Arts and Culture, Pretoria, South Africa; Namibia National Art Museum, Windhoek; MTN Arts Foundation, Johannesburg, South Africa and others.
Furthermore, the portfolio has been exhibited at various national and international institutions including the Botswana National Gallery in Gaberone, the National Gallery in Cape Town, South Africa, the Barcelona AIDS 2002 Conference in Spain, the University of Dundee in Scotland, and the University of Stellenbosch Art Gallery, South Africa, DUT Art Gallery, Artist for Humanity, Durban, SA, Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver, Colorado, US and others.
Women For Children International Print Portfolio, 2006
Art for Humanity has initiated the Women for Children project to raise awareness around the issue of children's rights and to inspire a sense of "moral ownership" and social responsibility towards the rights of children.
Children's rights, as with the voice of women in South Africa and within many communities throughout the developing world, remain invisible. Art for Humanity and their partners, invited twenty five artists and twenty five poets, all women primarily from South Africa and the developing world, and from within the international community, to work in collaborative teams to create art and poetry with the intention to inspire moral ownership of the rights of the child. Each poem will be translated into a South African language, to promote multilingualism and diversity.
PimaTM Print Portfolio. 2009.
PimaTM Print Portfolio was created in partnership with Inverness Medical and the KZN non profit organization. Art for Humanity, the PimaTM Print Portfolio, is a groundbreaking collaboration of innovative medical technology and art advocacy. Through the artistic contributions of four talented, up-and-coming South African artists, the Pima project looks at the emotional response and impact a portable CD4 analyser has on those with HIV. As one would expect from the talent assembled for this project, the resulting artwork presents a fascinating perspective on the impact Pima may have on the communities and people it serves. "Art and Poetry inspire dignity, respect, pride, and freedom of expression, imagination, recognition of the individual, creativity, excellence and human rights," Jan Jordaan.
Dialogue Among Civilizations (DUT) International Print Portfolio, 2010
"Dialogue Among Civilisations" forms the basis for a new initiative by Art for Humanity. It involves collaboration between artists and poets from Africa and those countries who participated in the 2006 Soccer World Cup. The participants will be invited to create work on the theme of identity, land, object and belief.
The aim is to inspire the viewer with moral ownership' -- through engaging with the creative works, for the public to internalise the values espoused by the art and poetry. These values include creativity, freedom of expression, human rights, excellence, dignity, pride, inspiration, reflection, cultural heritage as well as respect for individual rights and independence. The ultimate objective is to elicit and challenge the South African public's views on xenophobia, racism, refugees and foreign visitors in and to South Africa. These views are presently couched in an endemic magnitude of racism, xenophobia and victimisation of those individuals and families seeking refugee status in South Africa or as visitors and amongst South Africans themselves.
The art and poetry resulting from the project will be exhibited in public spaces throughout South Africa in the form of billboards, banners, exhibitions and posters. A publication will document the art and poetry and contributions from internationally recognised human rights personalities and specialists in the field of sport, xenophobia and refugees. Endorsements of the project will be solicited from the above individuals and the organisations they might represent.
Art & Poetry Human Rights and Social Justice Community Workshops
As a direct extension of Art For Humanity's projects ‘Women for Children'; ‘Break the Silence' and ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights International Print Portfolio,' Art For Humanity and their partners have facilitated and hosted community workshops.
The workshops address issues of human rights, HIV/AIDS, women and child abuse, with communities, school learners and teachers to raise awareness about human rights and to explore methods of protection and the skills to treat those affected with dignity and respect.
Inspired by the ‘Women for Children' project, The Durban University of Technology Fine Art students and poets from the Bat Centre collaborated to explore with learners and teachers, how art can play an important role in overpowering HIV/AIDS and the violence against women and children.
Some examples of the children's poetry:
"Me and My Rights," by Darshan Naidoo (Grade 8F)
Today I woke up feeling glad
Why do I find most of my friends feeling sad?
Is it me? My teachers or who?
Why then is the world like this?
Killing, fighting, robbing, raping
We all have rights and 'me', I think
Today I woke up feeling glad
Why do I find most of my friends feeling sad?
Do I even have rights? So I speak...
In the end I find out, I do have rights
Food, shelter, clothing and medical care are some
Of them, then why do I see kids on the street
What kind of lives do they live? Try and use your
Rights wisely and try and help those around you.
"I Am Me," by Jessica Ximba (Grade 9C)
I am me
There will never be anyone like me
I am special because I am acquired
I am stardust and dreams
I am light, love and hope
I am swells of blue, green, red, purple
And colours you cannot name
I was the past but now it turns out
That I am the future
I was born during the days of apartheid
But now it shows that I am living in the days of democracy
And I am still me, and there
Will never be anyone like me.
"I Am Confused and Worried," by Nicolene Pillay (Grade 9D)
I am confused and worried
I hear the world crying
The sounds are so loud
I wonder why they suffer
When they are innocent
I think about why the innocent children
Of our world suffer when they did not ask for it
I am confused and worried
I hear the world crying
But I wonder why they are!
I feel the pain but
When we try to help
I'm confused why they pull back!
I am confused and worried
I hear the world crying
The sounds are so loud
I wonder why they suffer
When they are innocent!
