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 SAVE LIVES; FIRST GLOBAL STREET ART CAMPAIGN TO END AIDS! / via obeygiant.com)
A group of the world’s most talented street artists, including Add Fuel, Bisco Smith, BRUSK, DALeast, Faile, Faith XLVII, Hera, How and Nosm, the Inside Out Project, Karabo Poppy Moletsane, Ludo, Olek, Ron English, Shepard Fairey, Stephen Powers, Trevor and Cosmo, and WK Interact create (RED)-inspired street art to support funding for the AIDS fight.
PAINT (RED) street art auction on Artsy to generate further support for
The Global Fund
Campaign supported by Museum of the Street, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Merck
Launching today in Washington D.C., PAINT (RED) SAVE LIVES is the first global street art campaign created to drive urgency and action in the fight to end AIDS.
Shepard Fairey said; “I’m always inspired by organizations that aim to minimize suffering and cater to those who need help the most, rather than the affluent or powerful. I don’t believe compassion should have borders. I also admire the model of encouraging businesses to give back and do good things for the world. That philosophy is reflected in my own art and business practice. In my artworks for (RED), I used symbols that I hope apply universally and appeal to the best side of people’s nature. I never want anyone to die prematurely or fail to receive the treatments that can help them. AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis are all huge problems, so I’m happy to be a small part of what needs to be a huge effort to treat them.”
A group of the world’s leading street artists will create (RED)-inspired artwork to engage people and encourage political leaders to properly fund the AIDS fight, ahead of The Global Fund’s Sixth Replenishment Conference, hosted by President Emmanuel Macron on October 10th in Lyon.
Key sites in London, New York, Washington D.C., Berlin and Paris will be transformed by artists during September and early October 2019, culminating in Lyon as the world’s leaders gather to pledge funding to the Global Fund for the next three years. A successful replenishment will help save 16 million lives and cut the mortality rate from HIV, TB and malaria in half.
In addition to physical street art, (RED) has collaborated with a number of artists to create custom augmented reality Snapchat lenses, bringing new art into the digital space and allowing Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter users to show and share their support for the fight.
Highlight artist statements:
Shepard Fairey
Hackney, London & Snapchat AR lens
‘We Shape the Future Rose Shackle’
“The We Shape the Future Rose Shackle
symbolizes our ability to overcome difficult circumstances by using creativity,
compassion, and whenever possible collaboration. We all understand our own pain
and can hopefully understand and empathize with pain in others, so the
challenge is to not let pain diminish your compassion but use it as fuel to
push for better solutions for all of humanity.”
‘We Shape the Future Angel’
“The angel holding the flame is a symbol of the best part of the human spirit…compassion, resilience, and resolve to shape the world to meet your ideals.”
Ludo
Ile Saint Louis, Paris
‘L’union fait la force’
“There is a French quote saying ‘L’union fait la force’ (Unity is strength). Inspired by this, I began reworking a very classic piece from classic art history. The piece is about union, acceptance and respect.”
Bisco Smith
The Union Market District, Washington D.C
‘Together to
Gather’
“The idea of ‘Together to Gather’ is to stimulate the critical thinking of the viewer. Aims to strike the (usually numb) nerve that every one of us has, the one that says “help your fellow human being”. We’re all part of one world, one world that can be made better if we’re all just a little bit less selfish.”
Curated by Museum of the Street and its founder, Scott Lawin, with support from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Merck, (known as MSD outside the U.S. and Canada), the campaign will build in the month leading up to the critical Global Fund Replenishment Conference. Attended by political leaders from around the world, the conference will see countries pledge financing for the fight against AIDS, as well as Tuberculosis and Malaria, over the coming three years.
An auction of pieces donated by many of the campaign artists, plus other leading street artists, will be available for premier on Artsy on October 9th, with the bidding opening on October 14th. Fifty percent of all sale proceeds will go to the Global Fund.
“Street art is the original social media. Public artwork transforms the urban environment and serves as a visual communication platform that connects people to ideas and movements. The PAINT (RED) SAVE LIVES campaign brings amazing artists from around the world together to create powerful new works linked through the common visual language of the color red to captivate viewers and engage them in social change and support for the fight to end AIDS. I’m thrilled that Museum of the Street could help bring the PAINT (RED) SAVE LIVES campaign to life, and I hope these works will inspire other artists and activists across the globe to get involved in improving their communities and creating art with a positive message and impact.” said Scott Lawin.
Jennifer Lotito, Chief Operating Officer, (RED), said; “PAINT (RED) SAVE LIVES has been made possible thanks to the creativity, culture and generosity of the street art community. As world leaders and the private sector prepare to pledge financing for the Global Fund to fight AIDS next month in France, these unique murals and augmented reality art activations will help to remind the world that AIDS is still a crisis but ending this disease is something we can and must do.”
To learn more about PAINT (RED) SAVE LIVES, access lenses and join the campaign, visit RED.org or follow @RED.
