OAKLAND, California, June 1, 2010 - A new online photography exhibition created for World Environment Day 2010 explores the critical connections between humans and biodiversity. The exhibition was produced for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) by the nonprofit group Art Works for Change.

World Environment Day, celebrated every June 5th, is coordinated by UNEP. The host city for 2010 is Kigali, Rwanda.

UNEP invited Art Works for Change to curate an exhibition on the 2010 theme: “Many Species. One Planet. One Future.” This theme focuses on “the central importance to humanity of the globe’s wealth of species and ecosystems,” according to UNEP.

Art Works for Change invited the Venezuelan photographer and biologist Antonio Briceno to photograph the people and land of Rwanda, focusing on the relationship between the country’s diverse landscape and the people who live there. The resulting exhibition, titled “Millions of Pieces, Only One Puzzle,” features 10 diptychs pairing the stories of individuals with the land upon which they rely for their sustenance and well-being.

“Antonio is a talented artist who has a deep appreciation for and understanding of indigenous populations,” says Randy Jayne Rosenberg, executive director and chief curator for Art Works for Change. “He has recorded the images and stories of the Maori in New Zealand, shaman in South American, the Sami in Finland, and other people around the world, helping connect their stories to the larger puzzle of humanity.”

Among the stories Briceno tells in both words and pictures are those of John Bosco Ukurikiyeyezu, the head of a cooperative seeking to find alternatives to deforestation in order to save honey harvesting; Jeannete Uwineza, who gathers her family’s daily use of water at a public fountain amid growing water stress; and Alphonse Nsengiyumva, part of an effort to use wildlife tourism as a means of protecting forests and the creatures that reside there.
“This work is a homage to the peoples of Rwanda,” says Briceno. “Despite of its dramatic history and the many problems it is facing, it bets for a green economy where nature’s respect and preservation will conduct to the best health and wealth of its population. We also bet for Her, as an example to the rest of the world.”

“Millions of Pieces, Only One Puzzle” will launch on June 1 on the UNEP and Art Works for Change websites, and is also being featured by the U.S. business magazine Fast Company. In 2011, it will join with additional artworks to form the exhibition “Nature’s Toolbox,” which will tour museums internationally for two to three years.

The exhibition was made possible with support from SC Johnson & Son and Contour Global. Both companies have a strong presence in the Rwandan and greater African community: SC Johnson & Son working with sustainable agriculture in the East Africa region to secure the botanical insecticide Pyrethrum, extracted from the chrysanthemum flower to create a natural pest control product; and Contour Global, developing and operating new applications of heating and electric power to high-growth and under-served markets throughout the globe-including Rwanda.

View the exhibition online.

About Artworks for Change

Art Works for Change www.artworksforchange.org, based in Oakland, California, produces contemporary art exhibitions to address social and environmental issues. It uses the transformative power of art as a vehicle to promote dialogue and awareness, inspire action and thought, and address systems for social change. It uses the storytelling power of art to raise awareness and foster learning opportunities among a diverse population.

Source: AFRICOM-L http://list.africom.museum/mailman/listinfo/africom-l_list.africom.museum