How an art competition empowered youth voices on human rights
Art is a creative language that mirrors the happenings in societies in hopes of raising concerned voices that in the end bring about changes.
In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Nafasi Art Space through the support of the European Union (EU) conducted an art competition that saw young artists aged between 12 years and 25 years express their understanding of human rights through their artwork.
This competition was arranged to analyze youths’ understanding of human rights in its entirety as well as their knowledge of the human rights state in Tanzania and the world at large.
Six winners whose artworks highlighted different issues that altogether touched on the importance of the protection of human rights.
This competition was wrapped up in an event at Nafasi Art Space on December 14, 2023, that gathered art stakeholders. This was followed by an exhibition that showcased all artworks of all artists who submitted their work for the competition.
Intriguing artworks were displayed at Nafasi Gallery alongside other paintings that were showcased on the 16 days of activism on December 10th this year.
“Young people are the future, however, that future we often talk about has to be prepared for at the moment. This competition came with questions that asked the participants about their understanding of their rights as well as their thoughts on the state of human rights in both Tanzania and the world at large,” says Lilian Hipolyte, Managing Director at Nafasi Art Space.
Based on the responses of the artists who participated in the competition, they categorized winners into two age groups; 12 years to 17 years and 18 years to 25 years.
EU ambassador to Tanzania, Christine Grau who was the guest of honor at the event connected the dots between most of the artworks that were showcased with the happenings around the world.
“I was very excited to grace this event. Almost all the participants have communicated about interesting issues that confirm that they are also impacted by different issues that happen in our societies. They have touched on things they consider dangerous and what things are not regarding human rights. From the artworks showcased, you can hear the voices of the artists behind them as they voice out things how they see fit. Their voices through their work is among the things that make this entire event even more authentic and important,” explains Ambassador Christine.
She unveils that it was important for art to be used as a means to emphasize the protection of human rights in the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the human rights declaration because human rights advocacy is an infinite activity that does not have a timeline.
“We chose to work with young people because, for something that has been celebrated for 75years, we had to understand their knowledge and experiences along the lines of human rights. This has helped us to understand things that need an emphasis in addressing and spreading awareness about,” she stresses.
On her part, Political, Press and Information Officer at EU, Sarah Torp, the involvement of young people in this competition was influenced by the fact that youth are the new deciders of tomorrow.
“The 75th anniversary of the human rights declaration is a big milestone for the EU because every work that we do is based on the human rights-centered approach. In celebration of these years, we wanted to do something that people can be of in a manner that we could have dialogues about human rights and the direction that we should be taking in protecting human rights,” she says.
Sarah who was also one of the judges unveils that the winners were selected based on the originality of their artworks as well as the interpretations of human rights through the artworks submitted.
The first winner from the second age group is a photographer named Rebecca Mungo. She details that she did not expect her work to come first in the competition and that this achievement has encouraged her to even work creatively harder to advocate for human rights through her work.
“I have been a photographer for four years and this was my first exhibition. I took this picture of a man on stage talking to an attentive audience to show that disability does not align with a lack of freedom of expression. Like every other person, people living with disabilities deserve to freely speak their mind and do anything that is done by other people,” she says.
The second winner from the younger age group is Paolina Albertini who has drawn a picture of a woman in handcuffs with a sign ‘sold’ in front of her that.
“This piece is about child slavery and highlights the importance of the society to come together to put an end to this ongoing misery. Women deserve to lead a life that allows them to be free,” the young artist says.
Another winner from the young age group named Sanvi Ganatra drew a piece about freedom of expression that was inspired by the incident that led to George Floyd’s death.
“My artwork was about freedom of speech because I think that is the most important thing in the world I do not believe that any person can exist without expressing their values and beliefs. The first thing that came to mind before I drew it was protesting and how the death of George Floyd made the entire world stand up to fight racism,” she unfolds.
UDHR day’s observance is slated on December 10 every year and it is the time that winners of the coveted contest were announced.
Nafasi Art Space
Eyasi Road, Light Industrial Area Mikocheni
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
