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"All they asked is that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do." Galatians 2:10
Create to Advocate
Organise your own Create to Advocate exhibition
Although there will not be a national Create to Advocate exhibition in 2009, we are encouraging groups and individuals to run with this amazing vision and organise their own Create to Advocate!
Want to make it happen locally? Join with churches, shools and other groupsin your area and run a local Create to Advocate Art Exhibition. Find avenue, exhibit your artworks and invite your local Member of Parliamentto attend.
We've compiled some resources to help you with this:
Create to Advocate Running Guide (PDF)
Sample media release (DOC)
Sample Artist Entry Form (PDF)
Create to Advocate invites artists to express a vision toend global poverty and to reflect on and speak out on achieving the Millennium Development Goals ,including access to clean water, reducing child mortality, achievingbasic health care, empowering girls and action on climate change.
Speak up for the poor through art! Speak out for justice toour government leaders.Create to Advocate isa creative, emotive and powerful way to engage, inform and inspire ourpolitical leaders, artists and the general public.
Backgound :
In 2000 all members of the UnitedNations, including Australia made a commitment and an action plan tohalve world poverty by 2015. Yet today around the world, one billionpeople still live in extreme poverty.
2007 marked the half-way point to this goal, so it's high time governments deliver on their promises. Let's use our creativity, encourage our leadersand raise our voices in support of achieving the Millennium DevelopmentGoals.
Art work themes:The theme for Create to Advocate artworks is the Millennium Development Goals:
The goals, which all have a target date of 2015, are:
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development
Click here for more information on the goals.
How artworks explore the theme of the Millennium Development Goals is up to your imagination! You could reflecton:
• The need for fair trade, effective aid and debt cancellation andhelp for poor countries to keep their governments accountable
• the issues of climate change and water in developing countries
• biblical passages & scriptures on poverty
• stories of campaigners and prophets who have changed the world
• inspiring quotes and speeches on justice and poverty
•stories of poor communities and how they have been empowered andchanged through their own advocacy and the calls of Micah Challenge andMPH
• broader themes connected to poverty: powerlessness, wealth, consumerism of the west, slavery..
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Create to Advocate 08
Visualise, Imagine, Create, Explore a world where poverty is history…
Create to Advocate 08 was yet another wonderful success, with more than 60 artworks hung in Parliament House and various Politicians attending the exhibition opening including the Minister and Shadow Minister for the arts.
Some of the artworks are now for sale. Click here to view a catalogue of the works.
Congratulations and thank you to all of the artists! Create to Advocate 08 was the best Create to Advocate Exhibition so far. It was a moving and highly successful exhibition.
Create to Advocate 08 was the third annual Create to Advocate exhibition at Parliament House, Canberra. A selection of 60 artworks from artists from all around Australia were displayed in a public exhibition for the month of October. Painting, photography, drawing, graphic design, textiles, sculpture and even quilts formed a very engaging and popular exhibition. The originality and quality of the works was impressive! Artists were invited to reflect on the themes of the Millennium Development Goals and were to express a vision of world without poverty. The exhibition represented a variety of artists including emerging artists, professionals, and students. Minister for the Arts Peter Garrett, and Shadow Minister Steven Ciobo opened the exhibition, marking the first day of Anti-Poverty Week. Around 16 MPs attended the Official Opening, & 23 artists travelled from around Australia to see the exhibition and meet their MPs.
The People's Choice Winners for Create to Advocate 08 were:
First Prize: Terry Hunter, VIC, 'Feed My Lambs.'
Second Prize: Kim Neil, NSW, 'A Mother's Anguish'.
Students First Prize: Kirri Bowser, NSW, 'Sitting, Wishing, Waiting',16 years old.
Students Second Prize: Belinda Goh, NSW, 'Living Water'13 years old,
Honorable Mentions: Rachael Peters, VIC 'Waiting For the Basics' and 'The waiting of the Voiceless', Pamela Horsley, NSW, 'On our Doorstep, and Andra Krummins, NSW, 'Guns Girl'
Artists, Voices for Justice participants and MPs mingled, and MPs had the opportunity to meet artists from their electorate. Artists had photos with their MP and a number of artists also had stories printed in their local media. Artist, Nel Potter created an amazing painting on the theme of The House of Partnership, and 50 MPs from both parties signed the canvas to show their support for a global partnership to end extreme poverty. The canvas was presented to the Prime Minister, and Mr Rudd plans to present it to the Parliament.
As a result of the Voices for Justice lobbying and events there were 28 speeches made by MPs in Parliament, including motions and questions in support of achieving the Millennium Development Goals and halving world poverty by 2015! Create to Advocate was also mentioned a number of times in the speeches. Many of the MPs were moved and impressed by the exhibition. The Hon Judi Moylan MP, Member for Pearce, said this:
"On Tuesday I had the privilege of attending an art exhibition called Create to Advocate by Micah Challenge… I commend the artists and organisers for [presenting] this exhibition to try to raise greater public awareness and particularly awareness in this place amongst those of us who have real power to help eliminate extreme poverty…Exhibiting artists presented a powerful visual portrait, etching in our memory portraits and scenes that remind us that, despite our best efforts, we are nowhere near ending extreme poverty and reminding us of the devastating impact of extreme poverty on the lives of millions of people.
I pay tribute to the artists and to all who join them in committing their time and talent to Make Poverty History and remind this place that this coming week, starting tomorrow morning at 6 am, is one where we stand up and take action on extreme poverty."