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Bill Shipsey

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Bill Shipsey
Born (1958-06-22) 22 June 1958 (age 66)
Waterford, Ireland
EducationCastleknock College, University College Dublin, Honourable Society of Kings Inns
OccupationBarrister
Organisation(s)Founder of Art for Amnesty and Co-Founder of Art 19

Bill Shipsey (born 22 June 1958) is an Irish human rights activist, barrister (retired), artist event promoter, producer and consultant. He is the founder of Art for Amnesty, Amnesty International's global artist engagement programme, and the co-founder of Art 19.[1] In November 2022 Art for Amnesty changed its name to Art for Human Rights. Shipsey remains its Executive Director. Art for Human Rights brings together artists of all disciplines in a collaborative effort to support human rights organisations including Amnesty International through the medium of the arts.

Since 2018 he has lived in Paris.

Art for Amnesty

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Music projects

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Shipsey joined Amnesty in the late 1970s, inspired in part by the activism of entertainers, who performed at the Monty-Python-esque 'Secret Policeman's Ball' benefit show. As founder of Art for Amnesty, Shipsey has brought together a number of world-renowned artists for music, literary, visual art and other artist lead projects that benefit Amnesty:

  1. Shipsey was co-executive producer of 'Instant Karma', Amnesty's multi-star benefit album of John Lennon compositions. So far the album has raised over $6m in royalties for Amnesty. The album hit number one on iTunes stores around the world and was nominated for several Grammies. Shipsey said the idea was "to allow Amnesty to engage with the iPod-listening, music-downloading, 16-to-26-year-olds. [The album] enabled us to reach out and engage young kids in a way we hadn't for years."[2]
  2. He devised and produced the Small Places Tour, a 2008 music concert project which partnered with over 800 concerts in some 40 countries worldwide.[3]
  3. From 2009–2019 he has overseen the participation of Amnesty on U2's global tours.
  4. In October 2010, he partnered with German entrepreneur Jochen Wilms and their mutual musician friend Carl Carlton to create a commemorative song for Amnesty's 50th Anniversary. This led to the groundbreaking Art for Amnesty Band 'Toast to Freedom' song with contributions from nearly 50 singers from all over the world. 'Toast To Freedom' was launched worldwide on 3 May 2012.[4]
  5. Shipsey also promoted and produced 'Electric Burma', a concert held on 18 June 2012 in honour of Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi featuring Bono, Damien Rice, Lupe Fiasco, Bob Geldof, Angelique Kidjo and many others.[5]
  6. He co-executive produced 'Bringing Human Rights Home' a concert for Amnesty USA held on 5 February 2014, benefitting Amnesty USA in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.[6]
  7. In May 2015 he produced and directed two concerts and several other artist events in Mexico City for Amnesty entitled 'Desde Aqui' to mark the opening of the Amnesty International regional hub for the Americas in Mexico City. One of the concerts featured renowned Venezuelan pianist Gabriella Montero and the other Saul Hernandez, Caifanes and Lila Downs.[7]
  8. In 2017 he launched "Eleanor's Dream" a one-year artist lead project to mark the 70th Anniversary of the UDHR and to celebrate the achievement of Eleanor Roosevelt in its creation and adoption. Internationally acclaimed singer/songwriter Damien Rice performed a sell-out acoustic concert in the Olympia in Paris on 11 December.[8]

Ambassador of Conscience Award

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Shipsey conceived and created the Ambassador of Conscience Award. The Award Ceremonies were produced as Art for Amnesty events from 2003 to 2015. The Award has been bestowed on such diverse activists as Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai, Harry Belafonte, Václav Havel, Joan Baez, Ai Wei Wei, Peter Gabriel, U2 and most recently Greta Thunberg.[9][10][11][12][13] The Ambassador of Conscience Award was inspired by Irish poet Seamus Heaney, a supporter of Amnesty for over 30 years. Heaney dedicated a poem to Amnesty entitled "From the Republic of Conscience" [14] in 1985.

Memorial projects

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Tapestries

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Since 2012 Shipsey has conceived and commissioned fourteen monumental memorial tapestries. They have mainly been funded by artist supporters of Amnesty International including Bono and Edge of U2, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Yoko Ono, Paul Simon and John Legend, and honour, among others, Václav Havel, Seamus Heaney, Nelson Mandela, John Lennon and the people of Colombia and Greece.[15][16][17][18] These tapestries are to be found at various airport and museum locations around the world. Eleven of the tapestries, the Amnesty-Sís-Pinton Tapestries, were designed by New York-based Czech artist Peter Sís. The tapestry for Colombia, "The Musicians", was designed by Fernando Botero.[19] The tapestry for Greece, "I love Greece", was designed by Sophia Vari. The tapestry for Mexico, "El Holocausto", was created by Manuel Rodríguez Lozano. All but one were created by weavers at Ateliers Pinton in Felletin-Aubusson, France.[20]

Bronze statuary

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Since 2014 Shipsey has commissioned and promoted six bronze busts of Václav Havel, six of Eleanor Roosevelt and two of Chinese dissident and Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo in cities and universities around the world.

He has also been instrumental in promoting and placing several 'Havel's Place' memorial benches, designed by his late friend Bořek Šípek, in Dublin, Barcelona, Venice, The Hague, Lisbon and Ljubljana, to honour the late Czech President, playwright and dissident Václav Havel.[21]

Azulejo murals

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In 2018 he began to work with internationally recognised Azulejo maker Viuva Lamego in Lisbon to produce Azulejo murals, the traditional Portuguese majolica glazed tiles.

Bill Shipsey and Peter Sis partnered with the City of Lisbon to create a large Azulejo mural to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The 15 square meter mural of Sis' drawing "Si morg" was unveiled on 10 December 2018, on Human Rights Day, by Katerina Vaz Pinto, the cultural counsellor of the city de Lisbon.

In February 2019, Peter Sis was commissioned to design another Azujelo mural to mark the 30th Anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. This 70 metre long and 3.6-metre high mural is completed and awaits installation in Prague.

In 2020, a 10 square meter Ana Juan designed Azulejo mural, entitled "Solidarity", was commissioned by Shipsey for the city of Paris. It too has been created and is awaiting installation in Paris.

Book projects

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Anything Can Happen: A Poem and an Essay

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Anything Can Happen: A Poem and an Essay, is a unique poetry book by Irish Poet Seamus Heaney. Based on Horace's Odes, Heaney reflects upon the relevance of art in the political context of the twenty-first century. It was translated into 23 languages, in association with Art for Amnesty and for the support of Amnesty International.

Windows On Elsewhere: 60 Refugees, 60 Views

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A collaboration between Art for Amnesty, and Turin-based artist and architect Matteo Pericoli [22] which began in March 2018 gave rise to a unique project: Windows on Elsewhere, 60 Refugees, 60 views. The window view drawings of 60 refugees from around the world and their short stories of their journeys from 'elsewhere'.

This project was completed and launched in Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin in May 2021. It comprises a book in Italian published by Il Saggiatore and a limited-edition box set of drawings and stories by each of the 60 refugees in Italian, English, French and Spanish sponsored by the Lavazza Fondazione. The drawings and stories have been exhibited in Turin in 2021. Lugano in Switzerland in 2022 and is currently being exhibited in Casa Seminario 12 in Mexico City since February 9th 2023.

Art 19

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In 2018, together with German friends Mike Karstens and Burkhard Richter, and fellow Art for Amnesty activist Jochen Wilms, he co-founded Art 19 GmbH to raise money for Amnesty International from the sale of artwork by the world’s leading contemporary artists.

The name ‘Art 19’ is a play on Article 19 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights which declares that: "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression."[23]

Art 19 Box One was launched in November 2019 and was exhibited at the meCollectors Room Berlin, MAMCO in Geneva, the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art in Prague, and at The Grand Palais in Paris.

Education

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After attending National School in Dunmore East, County Waterford Shipsey's secondary education was at Castleknock College in Dublin. He gained his Bachelor of Civil Law degree at University College Dublin (1976–79),[24] and Barrister at Law degree from King's Inns Dublin (1979–80).

Bill Shipsey is the recipient of the 2022 UCD Alumni Award in Law[25]

Professional memberships

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  • Bar of Ireland, 1981
  • Bar of England & Wales, 1987[26]
  • Bar of Northern Ireland, 1989[27]

Professional experience

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  • Junior Counsel Irish Bar, 1980–1994
  • Senior Counsel Irish Bar, January 1994 – 2018

As a Barrister, Shipsey appeared for Amnesty International before the Court of Justice of the European Union. He has consulted widely with other human rights organisations around the world seeking to partner with artists in the promotion of human rights campaigns.

Organisations

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References

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  1. ^ Cogan, Višnja (2008). U2: An Irish Phenomenon. Pegasus Books. p. 118. ISBN 9781933648712.
  2. ^ "Vineyard Gazette - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  3. ^ "Republic of Loose headline Amnesty International's 'Small Places Tour'". Munster Express Online. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  4. ^ "Bill Shipsey | Toast To Freedom". toasttofreedom.org. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  5. ^ Electric Burma Concert Teaser Video, retrieved 20 August 2019
  6. ^ Pareles, Jon (6 February 2014). "Words Spoken and Sung in Service of Freedom". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  7. ^ "Artists and activists join inauguration of Amnesty International's Americas regional Human Rights Centre in Mexico City". www.amnesty.org. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  8. ^ "Damien To Play Acoustic Concert for Amnesty International". damienrice.com. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  9. ^ "Mandela honoured as an Ambassador of Conscience". Independent.ie. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  10. ^ "Amnesty International announces 2013 Ambassador of Conscience Award". www.amnesty.org. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  11. ^ "Czech Republic: Havel Is Amnesty's First 'Ambassador of Conscience'". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  12. ^ O'Carroll, Sinead. "'This will be one of the unforgettable days of my life': Aung San Suu Kyi in Dublin". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  13. ^ "Amnesty honours U2 as Ambassador of Conscience". Independent.ie. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  14. ^ "Remembering Seamus Heaney". www.amnesty.org. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  15. ^ Heller, Steven (21 January 2013). "Tapestry in the Airport". Print Magazine. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  16. ^ Seamus Heaney Honoured at Dublin Airport, retrieved 20 August 2019
  17. ^ "Mandela memorial tapestry unveiled at Cape Town airport". www.aa.com.tr. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  18. ^ "John Lennon Honored With 'Yellow Submarine' Tapestry at Ellis Island". Billboard. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  19. ^ "Colombia: Amnesty unveils first ever Botero tapestry Bogotá airport". www.amnesty.org. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  20. ^ "Paul Simon Praises Irish Poet, Unveils Amnesty International Tapestry at Dublin Airport (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  21. ^ http://www.dublincity.ie/main-menu-services-press-and-news-read-press-release-press-releases-2013-press-releases-december-2 Archived 7 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ "Matteo Pericoli". matteopericoli.com. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  23. ^ "Universal Declaration of Human Rights". www.un.org. 6 October 2015.
  24. ^ "Celebrating Success and Exceptional Achievement". UCD Connections. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  25. ^ "UCD Alumni Awards 2022". UCD Alumni Awards. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  26. ^ "Members of Chambers continue to support the Social Mobility Foundation". Essex Court Chambers. 12 December 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  27. ^ "Search - Law Library of Ireland - The Bar of Ireland". Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  28. ^ "The Vaclav Havel Library Foundation". Retrieved 20 August 2019.
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