Art for The World

ART for The World is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) associated with the United Nations Department of Public Information (UNDPI) [1]; it is based in Geneva, Switzerland and since 2005 collaborates with its sister association ART for The World Europa based in Milan, Italy. In 1995, Adelina von Fürstenberg founded ART for The World within Dialogues de Paix (Dialogues of Peace), an international contemporary art exhibition which she curated on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations.

ART for The World is inspired by the Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which proclaims creative activity as an essential part of people’s well-being (“Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts…”). Its mission is to create, through the universal language of art, a meaningful and enduring dialogue among people and cultures in order to encourage tolerance and solidarity and to foster education as a human right.

ART for The World works in close collaboration with the artists' community and with the institutions that defend and promote the principles of human rights: the United Nations, the World Health Organisation (WHO) [2], the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) [3], etc and the European Parliament [4]. It presents its projects in sites, which do not belong to the traditional contemporary art circuit, such as ancient monuments, monasteries, medersas, public buildings, schools, islands, parks, stadium and other open spaces. Art for The World organises exhibitions, lectures, conferences, publishes books and produces films.

Exhibitions

Among its main exhibitions, in 1997 Art for TheWorld organised Meditations, at Medersa Ibn Youssef, Marrakech, Morocco with a large number of international artists, such as Alighiero e Boetti, Shirazeh Houshiary, Ilya Kabakov, Kacimi, Anish Kapoor, Rachid Koraichi, Sol LeWitt, Maria Carmen Perlingeiro, Chen Zhen.

In 1998, on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of The World Health Organisation, it curated the international travelling exhibition The Edge of Awareness, in Geneva, New York, Sao Paulo, New Delhi and Milan.

In 2000, for the 50th Anniversary of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) [5], AfTW has created the project Playgrounds and Toys for Refugee Children, and, since then, it has built playgrounds designed by artists in India, Armenia, United Kingdom, etc.

In 2001, within the Program for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination of the UN, AfTW promoted The Overexcited Body, an international itinerant art exhibition on the role of sport in the contemporary world in Geneva, Milan and Sao Paulo, with artists such us Sylvie Fleury, Miltos Manetas, Tracey Moffatt, Hélio Oiticica, Nam June Paik, etc.

In 2005-07, for the 10th Anniversary of Beijing Women Convention, AfTW organised Woman Women, an international touring exhibition, in Geneva, Florence and Sao Paulo with artworks by Marina Abramovic, Shirin Neshat, Wang Du, Ghada Amer, Berlinde De Bruyckere, etc.

n 2008-09, to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , AfTW produced Stories on Human Rights, a long feature film inspired by the UDHR and composed by a series of short movies directed by 22 video artists (Marina Abramovic, Pipilotti Rist, Runa Islam, etc.) and independent filmmakers from all over the world (Sergei Bodrov, Hany Abu Assad, Abderrhamane Sissako,Zang-Ke Jia, etc.) and screened in more then 50 film festivals and events during 2009-10.

Complete list of exhibitions

1996

• BAJO EL VOLCÁN, Tepozlan, Mexico

  Artists: Miguel Angel Rios, Teresa Serrano, Gerardo Suter

• Anthony McCall - Les films de lumière solide
• L'intime, the collector behind the door

2005

• Luc Delahaye, photography
• Tadashi Yamaneko, Shinjuku
• Dieter Appelt, Cinema Prisma
• Arnulf Rainer and his collection of art brut
• Berlinde de Bruyckere, Eén (Un)
• Ann Hamilton, phora