Wednesday, 1 July 2015

Children's Art for Social Issues

From boredpanda and kids4action.

Loizza Aquino, has created an online art project to give kids a voice about the social issues that matter most to them. Here are just a few of the powerful and insightful images that have been contributed so far.

Through #kids4action, children all over the world now have a digital gallery to share and interact around artwork based on stuff they care about. The creations can be on any topic such as bullying, animal cruelty, ecology, or human rights, and in almost any medium. When enough artwork has been collected Loizza, and other young artists, will use it to send a message to leaders and organisations to drive real change.

“I like helping others in any way. Age doesn’t really matter, whether you are young or old. Whether you do something big or small, everything matters. When I come home from school, I tell my family about my ideas and they support me with everything that I do. I usually go to my teachers and classmates for their input and opinions, so we plan initiatives together and try to find ways to get as many people involved as we can.


With the Children's Global Art Project, I hope to inspire other children across the world to speak up about child rights. I hope to see other young people engage and fight for human rights for our friends across the world."  - Loizza Aquino, creator of the Children's Global Art Project.

SydneyE, 15, cares about the environment
“I think it’s important that kids get to grow in a healthy environment and have a brighter future”
DJ2015, 13, wants children to be protected from war
“I don’t believe that children should have to go to war if they are under 16. I think this is important. Children should not be forced to fight and risk their lives.”
Loizza, 15, cares about mental health care
“Far too many children suffer around the world and have experiences, both emotionally and physically that they do not deserve to feel. Lives can be cut short because of a lack of attention, whether it is mental or physical. It is simply unfair to let our children feel sick and not give them the best resources we have to help them get better. No child should have to go through depression alone and untreated, no child should go through any illness alone and untreated." 
JuliaB, 13, thinks people everywhere should have access to education
“In some countries children can’t go to school and won’t get the proper education they need. Even some adults have never been to school. This is wrong. Everyone around the world has a right to education.”
Ezra, 12, wants to end slave labour
“I believe that you have the right to choose your own religion and beliefs. Who would want to live in a world where you could die if you don’t believe something you don’t know, or think is true? Children face discrimination every day for believing in their own religion.”
EllaA, 12, wishes people everywhere were free to worship in their own way
“I believe that you have the right to choose your own religion and beliefs. Who would want to live in a world where you could die if you don’t believe something you don’t know, or think is true? Children face discrimination every day for believing in their own religion.”
AmikaA,12, believes everyone should be loved for who they are
“My picture shows a group of people together inside a heart. I drew this to represent love and equality between people”
IvyL, 16, has something to say about human rights
“Why is ‘the right to be alive’ on the list of human rights? Shouldn’t that be obvious? There are many kinds of people in the world who have been killed just for being themselves – for belonging to a different culture, for believing in a different religion, for having a different shade of melanin in their skin. Their lives are snipped short just for being born the way they are. The blossoming, vibrant flowers are a metaphor of the diversity of us human beings. We all deserve to grow out our petals and bloom into our own full potential. We all deserve to be alive."
HanaG, 8, illustrated the human right to an identity
“I made this creation because I wanted to show that I have a right to the identity of Canada and Japan”
SaraG, 6, made a creation about her right to be with her parents
“In the picture there’s a tree, and a dog, and me and my mom and my dad.”
MariaG, 14, wants to end human trafficking
“I decided to illustrate selling through the girl’s dress – by drawing it as a bar code. The girl has a price tag choking her neck, not only to show that she is being sold, but to show that she is being trapped. The colours flowing out of her eyes are the light and happiness within her, which are being drained. She is faceless to show that she has no identity or value – and to show that this could be any girl – anyone taken advantage of.”


Solar Panels in NYC Schools


Solar-panels on NYC public school roofs are giving students the opportunity to get hands on with science.


 Teacher Vicki Sando founded PS 41’s roof garden in 2003; 2 million dollars and 10 years later, they had a solar array installed.


“We made connections between plant study,” Sando told Capital New York. “Plants are little solar cells. I had my fifth graders take apart a solar calculator and show them how it worked. We don’t have a stand-alone curriculum on solar, but we’ll do projects where we’ll fold it into it.”



According to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, 23 million dollars will bring solar panels to 24 public schools by the summer of 2016. In the meantime, Sando’s students will continue gardening and learning about the world through their roof-top green-space.


This “allows students to see first hand what cleaner energy looks and feels like, which will be increasingly important as these grade schoolers grow up”.




Dyslexia Typeface



I am Daniel Britton, a creator of the “Dyslexic Typeface”. I have always thought this was a strong piece of work but I had no idea it would receive so much attention in such short time.

The project itself is about creating awareness of dyslexia, I did this at University (The London College of Communication) as a self-incited project. As I am dyslexic, I saved some hours on the research stage. My problem with dyslexia is that it is a greatly misunderstood topic, there is no understanding of the condition.

All of the existing material was and still is very basic, it didn’t convey any emotion so I wanted to recreate the feeling of reading with dyslexia, to try and put someone else in our shoes. Therefore, I created a typeface that would be almost illegible so that it would slow down the reading pace of a non dyslexic person to the speed of a dyslexic and in return recreating the frustration, the embarrassment of reading with the condition.

When I first done the piece I was happy with it. When I showed it to a few friends they looked at it and they were like “Ahh I get it now.” After all of these years of trying to explain myself, I show a poster and it does the work for me, I was so happy people were finally getting it.

So now as it is still gaining media attention I am getting more and more requests for information, how to over come it? How do you deal with it? What is it? So I have decided I am going to create a Dyslexia Awareness educational pack to send out to schools on request that will educate the parents and the teachers on what the issue is and how best to treat it.


More info: danielbritton.info

Comfort/Discomfort

Artist Sarah Duyer creates ceramic pieces which mix the everyday with the slightly uncomfortable.

'In my work I explore the dichotomy of comfort and discomfort. Through altering certain elements in that formula, such as surface texture and form, I hope to jar the viewers and force them to feel discomfort. Teeth and fingernails and skin sculpted from stoneware and glazed with a glossy finish create a confusing and sometimes grotesque take on a clean silhouette. By using natural, organic forms and playful themes in combination with harsher imagery, I attempt to create work that takes a closer look at anxiety and the human condition. I try to combine my personal, more lighthearted, style with more serious themes in order to present my individualistic interpretation of my environment.'











Hand Tailored

Here is an ad for Brioni Master Tailors with the creative use of a hand as a suit model.

The video is very funny and surreal with prompts for discussion on advertising and surrealism.

98 Perfect Cube Foods

Dutch artists Lernert and Sander cut raw food into 98 perfect 2.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 cm cubes, creating a tantalizing geometric display. This viral photo was commissioned by Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant for their their food-themed documentary photography special.


source








Melt the Chocolate Bunny


Dutch artists Lernert and Sander started collaborating on art-related projects in 2007, and their first film together explores different ways to melt a chocolate bunny.

The video is morbidly funny and would provoke a lot of interesting conversations with older students.