Artists Advocating Human Rights

Artists Advocating Human Rights
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Artists for Human Rights (AHR) is a Durban-based non-profit voluntary
association that promotes the international cooperation of artists
and human rights organisations. Its objectives are the mobilisation
of artistic expertise in the promotion of human rights, and the pro-
fessional empowerment of artists and cultural workers seeking the
promotion of human rights.

AHR pursues these goals by means of advocacy, fact-finding missions,
research and publications, education and special projects, such as
the 'Break the Silence' HIV/AIDS Portfolio, the UDHR International
Print Portfolio, and the Images of the SA Bill of Rights Print Port-
folio.

AHR has developed expertise on a variety of subjects, such as art and
advocacy, artists/cultural workers rights, art and contemporary me-
dia. In 1996, AHR produced its 'Images of Human Rights' Print Portfo-
lio and catalogue based on the South African Bill of Rights with the
participation of 28 South African artists. Each artist contributed a
fine art print one of the 28 articles of the Bill of Rights, which is
collected in a portfolio that has been exhibited throughout South Af-
rica.

This project celebrates the adoption of the South African Bill of
Rights and advocates human rights through art to society. AHR
launched another human rights print portfolio and catalogue in 1999,
this time based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
Artists from all over the world - South Africa, Peru, India, China,
Egypt, Australia, Senegal, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Israel,
Iraq, etc. - participated in this portfolio, which has been exhibited
globally.

The UDHR project has been endorsed by a number of intellectuals, art-
ists and human rights activists, including His Holiness the Dalai
Lama, Kofi Annan, Nadine Gordimer, Helen Suzman, Albie Sachs and Ed-
ward Said.

Two years later, in 2001, AHR published yet another portfolio in an
attempt to help breaking the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS. The portfo-
lio is called 'Break the Silence' and has catalogues, posters and a
countrywide billboard campaign attached to it.

The intention of the project was to use visual art as a medium
through which the stigma surrounding the disease can be overcome and
broken. Art prints transposed to large billboards have been erected
in communities throughout South Africa in order to promote greater
awareness of HIV/AIDS and its effects on individuals, their families,
and their communities, and to encourage open discussion about it.

Arts and culture in our country have an important role to play in our
social development. AHR has taken up the cause to create and help to
mount an effective awareness campaign that, eventually, will contrib-
ute to changes in lifestyles and behavior and to promote care and
support for those living with HIV/AIDS.

In order for us to succeed in turning the tide of this epidemic we
have to be reminded of the power of the collective. We are all part
of communities and unless we work together with our communities to
ensure a sustained mobilization against behaviours and practices that
perpetuate the HIV/AIDS epidemic, we will not succeed.

As so powerfully depicted by the AHR exhibitions, the first step in
the right direction is to talk about it and help those who, in our
societies, struggle on a daily basis to break the silence around this
issue.

Presently, AHR is developing two new Pan-African human rights initia-
tives: (a) 'Dialogue among Nations' and (b) Women Artists and Poets
on 'Children's Rights'. African Artists and Poets will promote moral
ownership by employing their art and poetry to promote dialogue
throughout the African continent. The resultant art and poetry will
be publicly exhibited throughout Africa in the form of billboards,
exhibitions and posters.

What is missing in many African and international development pro-
jects is recognition of public/cultural participation and 'public/
moral ownership'. 'Moral ownership' encompasses a number of basic hu-
man rights - including what one might refer to as a person's 'iden-
tity'. If the basic rights of a community and the individuals in that
community are not recognized, development projects will fail. The
community will not feel that the project belongs to it.

Art is a primary expression of cultural and human identity. Artists
and poets are central to cultural production and representation. Art
is an instrument, which can be used to induce a sense of 'moral own-
ership' of a society's values.

Historically, cultures and nations not only identified themselves
primarily through their art, but also introduced themselves to the
other through their art. Art is understood across cultural, national
and geographical divisions. AHRs projects allow for the shared vision
of 'moral ownership' to be implemented in a 'universal' sense.

In Africa, national identity and ownership of land and other re-
sources is deeply contested, largely as a result of the continent's
colonial history. The need for art to advocate these issues and to
promote ownership by the people of Africa of their culture, land and
resources, is now paramount.

Nelson R. Mandela said "Art and sport have the power to change the
world, the power to inspire, the power to unite people in a way that
little else can. Art and sport speak to people in a language they un-
derstand. Art and sport can create hope where there was once only de-
spair. They are instruments for peace, even more powerful than gov-
ernments. Together they break down racial barriers. Art and sport
laugh in the face of all kinds of discrimination".

It is in this spirit that AHR promotes art as an advocacy tool, par-
ticularly as an instrument advocating humanist practice.

AHR has developed a model for the use and application of high quality
art as an effective public advocacy tool. The history of our projects
and the recognition received from all sectors of society for the
portfolio projects to date support our belief in the important role
art has to play in the promotion of human rights. AHR has also devel-
oped an extensive network of recognized and committed artists who
support its work. This network grows with every project as we aim to
involve more artists in every new initiative.

We see AHRs initiatives as an important contribution to the empower-
ment of cultural identity.

Implementation is for 2004 and we would call for any interested
organization or individuals, who would want to contribute in any way
they see fit. Contributions could be in the form of broadening the
network, fund-raising, putting forward potential artists and accessing
the artists, forming partnerships, etc.

To view our latest newsletter double click the link below:
http://www.ahr.org.za/news072003/index.html

To review the above project proposals please contact
Kristin Palitza
AHR Development Manager
mailto:[email protected]

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Artists for Human Rights
c/o Fine Art
Durban Institute of Technology
City Campus, Box 953
Durban 4000, South Africa
Tel: +27-31-203-6694
Fax: +27-31-203-6644
mailto:[email protected]
http://www.ahr.org.za