Paint
for the Planet Exhibit and Auction Comes
to New York on 23 October
New York/Nairobi, 7 October 2008 - Young
artists from around the world are lending
their support to global efforts to combat
climate change through Paint for the Planet,
an exhibit and auction of children's art
in New York.
Launched today, the
Paint for the Planet website (www.unep.org/paint4planet)
features a selection of stand-out entries
from the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) International Children's Painting
Competition.
Showcasing children's
fears and hopes for the planet, the paintings
are a powerful plea from children for leadership
on climate change before it is too late.
Paint for the Planet
will be the launch pad for the 'UNite to
Combat Climate Change' campaign to support
the call for a definitive agreement at the
climate change talks in Copenhagen, Denmark,
in December 2009.
Five young artists from
Burundi, Colombia, Malta and the United
States will come to New York for the event
to share their message for the planet with
decision makers, corporate leaders and the
media.
They will officially open the exhibit at
UN Headquarters in New York on 23 October.
This is the first time the original artwork
- chosen from a collection of nearly 200,000
paintings - has ever been displayed.
On 25 October, a selection
of paintings will be auctioned at the Harvard
Club of New York City to raise emergency
funds for children affected by climate-related
disasters. The proceeds will be donated
to UNICEF, the United Nations Children's
Fund.
In addition to the live
auction, the art will also be sold online
on eBay.com in partnership with LiveAuctioneers
to enable people around the world to participate.
Pre-bidding for the auctioned paintings
will also shortly be available on eBay,
liveauctioneers.com and www.unep.org/paint4planet.
After New York, the
exhibit will travel to various climate-related
events and meetings around the world, culminating
in Copenhagen.
The curatorial partner
for Paint for the Planet is the Natural
World Museum (NWM), which presents art through
innovative programs to inspire and engage
the public in environmental awareness and
action.
Paint for the Planet
is made possible through the generous support
of Bayer, Nikon and the Foundation for Global
Peace and Environment, which have been UNEP's
key partners for the International Children's
Painting Competition and other children
and youth initiatives for many years.
Notes to editors:
Media are invited to both the exhibit and
the auction. There will be opportunities
for interviews with the young artists as
well as with Achim Steiner, the Executive
Director of UNEP.
Paint for the Planet - Important dates:
1. Exhibit opening and press conference
on 23 October, 12.30 - 2 p.m. at the Main
Lobby of United Nations Headquarters in
New York. The exhibition, running from 23
October to 18 November, will be open to
the public.
2. VIP reception and auction on 25 October,
7 - 9 p.m. at the Harvard Club, New York.
An online auction will be organized in conjunction
with the live auction. Media are invited
to the Harvard Club to cover the event.
About the art and the
artists:
Maltese student Andrew Bartolo is a keen
environmentalist and Scout. He says: "I
have painted a scene that, though slightly
extreme, gives an insight into a possible
future, one where animals lose their homes
and are forced to migrate to unfamiliar
territories."
Katherine Liu is a fifth
grade student at Foothill School, Saratoga,
California, USA. She says: "If everyone
did their part in preventing global warming,
we might be able to stop climate change."
Katherine does hers by recycling, turning
off lights whenever she leaves a room, and
taking short showers to save water.
Gabrielle Medovoy is
an honour student in Springman Middle School,
Glenview, IL, USA. Through her painting
of penguins on the move she asks "Where
are they going? That will be the question
when there is no decent place for the penguins
to live."
Fourteen-year-old Daniela
Melendez goes to Colegio Hacienda Los Alcaparros
in Bogotá, Colombia. She explains:
"In my painting I was showing today's
reality, that we TOGETHER are doing it,
together we can work it out. We know it's
not who, what or where we are, but what
we do that counts."
Guy Jayce Nindorera
from Burundi says that his painting was
inspired by the situation in his country
but also by reading various articles around
the world "where people are dying of
hunger and other catastrophes such as the
Tsunami, floods and deserts, due to human
actions. As a result human beings become
victims of their own interventions."
For more information, visit www.unep.org/paint4planet
or contact:
Lucy Jasmin, Head of Special Events
Nick Nuttall, UNEP Spokesperson/Head of
Media
