American artist Kelly White will be producing 12 exclusive artworks inspired by the Safe and Legal Routes campaign to support MOAS activities throughout the world
SALE starts 1st December, Giving Tuesday
29th OCTOBER 2020. Seattle-based artist and MOAS ambassador Kelly Be will be creating 12 pieces of art, each designed to raise awareness about reducing the need for people to take dangerous journeys in search of safety. 7 of these pieces will be inspired by the specific examples of Safe and Legal Routes advocated in MOAS’ campaign and will represent a different legal pathway of migration including:
Family Reunification Visas, Student Visas, Work Visas,
Medical Visas, Humanitarian Visas,
Humanitarian Corridors, Private Sponsorship.
The artist named the collection Kaleidoscope of Solidarity, with the intent of advocating, educating and raising money to support MOAS. Each piece is carefully hand crafted using recycled materials, mixed and combined with acrylic paint. Sharper details are obtained using various household items such as knives, rules and straws.
The prominent metaphor of Kaleidoscope of Solidarity is butterflies, who are used to represent the people affected by the migration phenomenon and their strengths: Hope, Courage, Transformation, Endurance and Resilience. Created from tinted, poured resin and cut by hand, butterflies are placed in different scenarios of distress and freedom. They are intended to soften the interpretation the viewer may experience and cultivate empathetic association.
Materials such as shattered tempered glass, shards, and barbed wire represent the barriers and the challenges that the migrants face, and which force them to undertake dangerous journeys in search of safety. Kaleidoscope of Solidarity shows the life-shattering reality of millions of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in the world, many of which have fled their countries due to persecution, war, or violence, risking their lives in perilous crossings by land and sea.
Kelly White, Artist in Residence and Ambassador for MOAS, said: “It is my profound honour to collaborate with MOAS as Artist in Residence and being inspired by their Safe and Legal Routes Campaign. It is an immense responsibility – representing the work of MOAS and the migrant communities we are supporting. As a deeply dedicated MOAS Ambassador and through artistic expression, I aim to raise awareness, inspire hopefulness, and empower action until every person has the ability and resources to access safe and legal routes in order to live safely and soundly.”
Regina Catrambone, MOAS Director, stated: “Art, like butterflies, overcomes all barriers and lifts the soul. We are extremely grateful to our MOAS ambassador Kelly White for undertaking this initiative to raise awareness about saving lives and alleviating the suffering of some of the world’s most vulnerable people. When we look at the migration phenomenon, we are not faced with a migration crisis, as many say, but rather a crisis of humanity in which these events are viewed from an unempathetic perspective. Border control cannot be the only solution, we need to implement safe and legal pathways of migration so that people will not be forced to undertake dangerous journeys and put their lives at risk. Through this initiative, MOAS aims to promote a change of perspective and place the audience into the shoes of vulnerable people searching for a better future. Like love, art has no borders”.
The artwork will be available for purchase from December 1st, Giving Tuesday.
Reservations are now open, just send an email to: [email protected]
Proceeds will support the MOAS missions around the world and their to help vulnerable communities.
More info on the project and art gallery: https://www.moas.eu/moas-and-kelly-be-artist-in-residence/
ABOUT SAFE AND LEGAL ROUTES
Safe And Legal Routes is an advocacy campaign to urge governments and international organizations to better manage the migratory phenomenon. By “Safe and Legal Routes” we mean all those regularized measures and pathways that can ensure a safe passage for migrants, that do not force them to put their lives at risk to reach their country of destination. Furthermore, it is also a mechanism through which is possible to establish a robust reception and integration system on arrival, something often not possible for those arriving through irregular channels. Without safe and legal access to protection, migrants are at the mercy of smugglers and human traffickers, being victims of exploitation, violence and pushed to risk their lives on ever more dangerous journeys over land and sea, which many do not survive. Furthermore, safe and legal routes allow for better monitoring and management of cases pre-arrival and, consequently, for a faster integration, with the possibility of better tailoring to the migrants’ need and reduce waste of resources. MOAS has started this campaign to ensure that most vulnerable people can access these systems more widely, as well as benefit from the resulting, more tailored and appropriate, integration mechanisms, while simultaneously reducing the suffering and death often suffered through the use of unconventional routes. This long-term advocacy campaign is focused on a global context.
To sign the petition: https://www.moas.eu/safeandlegalroutes/#sign-petition
PRESS ENQUIRIES:
Francesca Pierpaoli
PR & Communications Officer
Tel. +356 79900097
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About MOAS
MOAS is an international humanitarian organization founded by the Catrambone family in 2013 and dedicated to providing humanitarian assistance and services to the most vulnerable communities around the world. Since its inception, MOAS has reached hundreds of thousands of people through its activities. After several Search and Rescue missions in the Mediterranean Aegean and Andaman seas, MOAS expanded its operations to Bangladesh, to assist Rohingya refugees fleeing violence in Myanmar and the local host community. Today MOAS is currently also involved in several missions in Yemen and Somalia assisting the most vulnerable communities by delivering nutritional and medical aid. MOAS also operate in Malta with various projects to assist migrant communities. With the #SafeAndLegalRoutes campaign, MOAS is advocating to governments and international institutions to fight exploitative and dangerous migration routes and human trafficking by increasing safe and legal pathways of migration that exist on paper but are not sufficiently supported practice to allow the most vulnerable people to safely reach the countries of destination. MOAS has consultative status of Ecosoc and is member of the Malta Refugee Council.
Info: www.moas.eu