Empowered Women International

We the People 2010: Art for Human Rights Project

The first ever Amnesty International Human Rights Art Festival will be held in Silver Spring, MD (just outside of Washington D.C.) from April 23-25, 2010. This multi-venue, multi-media event will bring together over 400 artists, local businesses and politicians to use socially transformative art to raise awareness of human rights and justice issues, as well as the important work of Amnesty International.

The festival will run from 4 pm to late night Friday, and then 10 am to late night Saturday and Sunday. The event will raise awareness of the important work that Amnesty undertakes, as well as the quintessentially American values that they espouse.

EWI has put together its own festival inside the Human Rights Arts Festival, We the People 2010: Art for Human Rights Project , and will present a series of programs, workshops and discussions with immigrant women, artists, activists and educators, all working to promote issues of social transformation, multicultural understanding and community building.

Be sure to vote in the People’s Choice Award for this year’s We the People project, as well as look at the EWI Schedule of Events for the weekend.

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD – Vote Now!!

A special feature of We the People Project 2010, is the work of four artists, Fatana Baktash, Mekbib Gebertsadik, Naomie Belayneh and Sheldon Reiffenstein, all members of the EWI who have volunteered to produce a series of artistically embellished life-size artworks representing human rights activists, suffragist women, women journalist activists and peacemakers. All artists will participate in a panel of discussion on Sunday, April 25, 4-5:30 pm at The Performing Arts Center, Montgomery College, Room 203.

Community members and event participants are invited to vote on best installation piece by sending email, or dropping off at our booth the form, VOTE We the People 2010: Art for Human Rights at our booth during the event. EWI will offer a prize of $500 for the People’s Choice Award (voted best in show by community members) and 3 honorable mentions.

To vote, email the title of the piece you’ve selected to Juliana at juliana@ewint.org, with the subject line “People’s Choice Award.”

“Heroic Emmeline Pankhurst” by Naomie Belayneh

36×50, Acrylic on Wood

“Even in the 21^st century, no country on earth can guarantee equality; that would be utopia. Nevertheless, the struggle for this goal continues around the world. The right to vote – especially women’s suffrage – has a long history, and one of its early advocates is Emmeline Pankhurst, the late 19^th and early 20^th century English suffragette. She is a heroic woman who devoted her life to advocating for women’s equal rights.

Without her and her supporters, I would not probably have been able to secure the ability to vote, even in this great country of ours, the United States. Emmeline was listed in Time Magazine’s recent 100 Most Influential People of the 20^th Century. Her great transformational struggle for me and all women around the world to have the right to vote – one of the greatest rights, in my view – influenced me to spare my time to say something about her in my own language: painting.”

“United Salsal” by Fatana Baktash

60×28, Mixed Media

(recycled brown cardboard, styrofoam, plastic, acrylic paints, collage)

The United Salsal installation introduces the humanitarian heroes of Afghanistan who dedicated their lives to bring comfort, peace, and freedom to the people of their country and the generations that would follow. “Salsal” is the original name of the Buddha’s statue that stood at the heart of the Hazarajaat Mountains in the center of Afghanistan since the 3^rd century AD; it was seen as a symbol of strength. The Taliban destroyed the Salsal statue in 1997, but it is still remembered in the minds of the Afghan people.

Featured in the piece: Rabi’a Balkhi, Nadia Anjuman, Queen Soraya Tarzi, Dr. Habiba Sarabi, Ayesha Durani Yaqub Ali Khan, Makhfi Badakhshi, Queen Gawhar Shad, Dr. Sima Samar, Farida Sahak, Lina Rosba, Layluma Azimi, Malalai Afghan, King Amanullah Khan, Mahmud Tarzi, Bahar Sayed Elhan, Naheed Sahid, Ahmad Zahir, Fazel Ahamad Zekria (Naynawaz), Amina Fdawyee, and Khaliullah Khalili Ustad.

 

“The Silent Sentinels” by Sheldon Reiffenstein

78×44, watercolor and ink on paper and cardboard

One wonders at the fortitude of those who don’t appear to know the meaning of “quit”. These are people with a driving force to see through to the end what they have chosen to take on, despite overwhelming odds, formidable opposition, and even physical torture.

American suffragist, Alice Paul, was such a person. She spent her life from the age of 24 to 92 fighting for the rights of not just women, but of oppressed people everywhere. Her story is about courage, persistence and dedication, three traits that define people who make change happen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Birtukan Mideksa” by Mekbib Gebertsadik

97×25, Mixed Media

(acrylic, watercolor, and collage on paper and canvas)

Birtukan Mideksa was born in Addis Ababa. She has a law degree from Addis Ababa University and was a judge in federal court.

She has been doing all that she can to get justice, freedom, and human rights for the Ethiopian people. I am very inspired by her kind spirit, humanitarianism, and all her activities.

Due to her involvement in politics, the ruling party imprisoned her in 2005 and convicted her of trying to overthrow the constitutional order; she was sentenced to life in prison. Though Birtukan was pardoned two years later, her pardon was revoked in 2008; she was once again imprisoned and remains in prison to this day.

She loves her country and suffers in prison for her beliefs. I, along with a lot of the Ethiopian people, wish to get her released. People have demonstrated in support of Birtukan and protested against her imprisonment; they are doing their best and by depicting her here, I’m doing my best.

I want to stand with the people who are fighting for freedom and for justice and with this piece, I hope to promote awareness among the people living in this area about what is happening back home, so that we can all work together to stop this situation. I don’t want this to continue for another generation; I’ve seen enough.

“ShiBire Desalegn” by Mekbib Gebertsadik

64×24, Mixed Media

(acrylic, watercolor, and collage on paper and canvas)

ShiBire Desalegn was only 21 years old when she was murdered on June 6, 2005 during a peaceful demonstration by Addis Ababa University Students against the Ethiopian government. ShiBire was born and grew up in an area very close to where I’m originally from, and so I felt very affected by what happened and found it very painful.

She was the first person killed during the protest and was shot and killed while helping other students. Six bullets pierced her chest, neck, and head. By participating in this demonstration, she was not doing anything wrong, but instead was only trying to stand up for her rights.

I do not want to see my people endure these horrible crimes; I want to stand with the people who are fighting for freedom and for justice. With this piece, I hope to promote awareness among the people living in this area about what is happening back home, so that we can all work together to stop this situation. I don’t want this to continue for another generation; I’ve seen enough.

SCHEDULE OF EWI’S EVENTS

Sunday, April 24-25, 11 am – 7 pm

The Performing Arts Center, Montgomery College, Room 203

7995 Georgia Ave. Silver Spring, MD 20910

EWI Booth, Workshops, Demo and Artists Marketplace:

• Sharing Family Stories in Books with Artist and Writer Sushmita Mazumdar
• Beading and the Art of Henna with Artist and Educator Sharmila Karamchandani
• Paint Silk Poetry with Artist and Educator Rabia Naeem Pervez
• Cattitude for Human Rights with Artist Sheldon Reiffenstein

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Sat., April 24, 1-2 pm

Montgomery College Cafritz Arts Center, Room 101

930 King Street, Silver Spring MD 20910

Tales of Courage, Hope and Transformation: Extraordinary Journeys of Women Empowered Through Art, Panel of Discussion. Facilitator: Marga Fripp, EWI President

Guest Panelists: Hazami Barmada, Public & Cultural Diplomacy – US/Arab Affairs, Vera Oye’ Yaa-Anna, Artist, Storyteller and Activist, Sushmita Mazumdar, Writer, Designer and Book Artist

Hazami Barmada is a Public and Cultural Diplomacy professional, focusing on international collaborative development and interreligious and cross-cultural exchange, namely with the Arab/Muslim global communities.  Barmada works with numerous public and private organizations providing technical assistance on organizational management, strategy and programming.  She is a Program Advisor for the Aspen Institute Global Initiative on Culture and Society, co-founder and President of the Arab Empowerment Initiative, and Founder and Executive Director of the Iraqi Orphan Initiative.  Barmada is actively engaged in grassroots organizing and community development and is frequently invited to speak on issues of international diplomatic affairs, women and youth empowerment, civic engagement, faith relations and diversity.

Barmada is the Founder and President of the American Muslim Interactive Network (AMIN), a grassroots organization that hosts an array of social, educational, and volunteer initiatives that promote intra/interfaith understanding and dialogue. Additionally she serves as an advisor and board member of several non-profit organizations. In 2008, she was named a Muslim Leader of Tomorrow by the American Society for Muslim Advancement.  Her grassroots initiatives and events  have received recognition in major media outlets.

Vera Oye’ Yaa-Anna is a Liberian-born artist who transports her audience to Africa through interactive storytelling, dance and drumming. This is her seventh residency as a member of Smith Farm’s team of artists-in-residence. Using the transformative power of storytelling, she teaches inmates how to craft and tell their “illuminating and inspiring” life stories to ease their reentry into everyday life. Through dance, yoga and storytelling she engages cancer patients and their caregivers in uplifting the soul while dealing with the challenges of illness.

Sushmita Mazumdar is a writer, graphic designer, book artist, and founder of Handmade Storybooks.

She writes stories for children, based on her experience growing up in India, and makes them into books by hand. She teaches art education programs for children as well as adult groups, to encourage storytelling and to pass on cultural heritage from one generation to the next. She received her BFA in Applied Arts from Bombay University, India, and has been in the United States since 1999. Sushmita also volunteers as a docent with the Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler Galleries of Art in Washington. She lives in Arlington, Virginia, with her family.

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Sat., April 24, 2-3 pm

Montgomery College Cafritz Arts Center, Room 101

930 King Street, Silver Spring MD 20910

Art and Remembrance: Film Presentation and Lecture by Bernice Steinhardt and Rachel Glass. Illuminating the experience of war, oppression and injustice through the power and passion of personal narrative in art.

EstherNisenthal Krinitz’s haunting memories, nearly 40 years after surviving the Holocaust, led her to create extraordinary works of art using the techniques of embroidery, applique, and stitched narrative. Told in more than 30 remarkable panels with vivid colors and striking details, Esther’s story describes a young girl’s harrowing escape from the Nazis to freedom in America.

Meet Esther through a short film by acclaimed film director Lawrence Kasdan and a lecture by Bernice Steinhardt and Rachel Glass, Esther’s daughter and granddaughter.

Sat., April 24, 8:15-9:15 pm

Jackie’s Restaurant in Silver Spring, MD

8081 Georgia Avenue

Silver Spring, MD 20910

Petticoats in Politics – One Woman Show

With Producer, Actress and Activist

Kate Campbell Stevenson

Sunday, April 25, 4-5:30 pm

The Performing Arts Center, Montgomery College, Room 203

7995 Georgia Ave. Silver Spring, MD 20910

Panel of Discussion with EWI Artists, Creators of the Art Installation Project presented as part of the EWI We the People 2010: Art for Human Rights.

Artists: Fatana Baktash, Mekbib Gebertsadik, Naomie Belayneh and Sheldon Reiffenstein