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.

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.

In 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.

Exhibitions and Projects

1996, Bajo el Volcàn Under the Volcano), Exconvento de la Nativitad, Tepoztlan, Mexico

1996, Robert Rauschenberg in San Lazzaro, Armenian Monastery, Isle of San Lazzaro, Venice, Italy

1997, Méditations (Meditations), Medersa Ibn Youssef, Marrakesh, Morocco

1997, Concert by Michael Galasso, Mocenigo Palace, Venice, Italy

1998-99, The Edge of Awareness, travelling exhibition, Geneva, New York, Sao Paulo, New Delhi, Milan

1999, The Children's Museum in Guadalajara by Philip Johnson, Zenobio Palace, Venice, Italy

2000, Playgrounds and Toys for Refugee Children, travelling exhibition, Geneve, Switzerland

2000, Art et Réalités Sociales (Art and Social Realities), Geneva, Switzerland

2000, Alfredo Jaar. The Silence. The Rwanda Project 1994-2000, Geneva, Switzerland

2001, The Overexcited Body. Art and Sport in Contemporary Society, travelling exhibition, Milan, Sao Paulo

2002, Playgrounds and Toys, travelling exhibition, Lugano, London

2002, Building of the Playground designed by Fabiana de Barros for a gypsy camp near Athens, Greece

2002, Building of the Playgrounds designed by Fabrice Gygi, Joseph Kosuth and Edgard Soares, Deepalaya School in Kalkaji, New Delhi, India

2003, Building of the Playground designed by Andreas Angelidakis, John Kirakossian School, Yerevan, Armenia

2004, Video Installations by Sarkis, New Delhi, India

2005, Femme(s), Carouge, Geneva, Switzerland

2005, Santa Fe by Jannis Kounellis, Isola Madre, Borromeo Islands, Lake Maggiore, Italy

2005, Donna Donne (Woman Women), Strozzi Palace, Firenze, Italy

2005, Playgrounds and Toys, travelling exhibition, Hangar Bicocca, Milan, Italy

2005, Building of the Playground designed by Margherita Turewicz Lafranchi, Deepalaya School, Haryana - India

2006, Balkan Erotic Epic by Marina Abramovic, Sao Paulo, Brazil

2006, 2nd Edition of Contemporary Art on the Lake Maggiore Isola Madre, Borromeo Islands, Lake Maggiore, Italy

2006, Vito Acconci, Conference, Milan, Italy

2006, Balkan Epic by Marina Abramovic, Milan Italy

2007, Urban Manners. 15 Contemporary Artists from India, Milan, Italy

2007, Joseph Kosuth. The Language of Equilibrium, Island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni, Venice, Italy

2007, Collateral. When Art Looks at Cinema, Milan, Italy

2007, Mulher Mulheres, Sao Paulo, Brazil

2008, Stories on Human Rights by Filmmakers, Writers and Artists, A Collective Film Project

2008, Voom Portraits-Robert Wilson, Sao Paulo, Brazil

2008, Collateral 2. When Art Looks at Cinema, Sao Paulo, Brazil

2009, Stories on Human Rights by Filmmakers, Artists and Writers, A Collective Film Project

2009, La Prua by Marta dall'Angelo, Milan, Italy

2010, Urban Manners 2, Sao Paulo, Brazil

2010, Danser la musique, Playground by Chen Zhen, Shenzhen, China

2010, Una domenica al Parco Sempione(One Sunday at Sempione Park) by Flavio de Marco , Milan, Italy

External links

ART for The World website

ART for The World's blog