Design Miscellany: Wield Brushes, Not Arms

What happens when an international superstar of the art world joins forces with the United Nations, as it's most unique ambassador, to combat slavery, child-trafficking and unspeakable atrocities?

Ross Bleckner, in a campaign against modern day slavery and violence inflicted on innocent civilians, traveled to northern Uganda in 2009 to introduce art therapy to the children there as a way to recover from terrible forces that have forever changed their lives. The pilot program, that eventually will be launched in other countries, seems to have touched lives in a positive and concrete way.

former child soldier proudly displaying his work

According to Antonio Maria Costa from the UN Office on Drugs and Crimes "For about 10 days, Ross relentlessly taught the children the rudimentary skills of painting. How touching it was to see girls, used by the LRA as sexual slaves before they could be women, and boys, trained to kill before they could read, how touching it was to see them represent past sufferings and future hopes with brilliant colours and vivid shapes. Lots of naïveté of course, simple drawings as well - but what could one expect from children kidnapped between the ages of 8 and 12, after seeing their parents maimed or burned alive in their straw huts?"

“What this mission accomplished is what I call microcreativity,” Mr. Bleckner wrote in a catalog of the children's work. “It is a personal interaction which gives someone the tools to create something that they can be proud of, and which can help them on the arduous path to restoring their dignity and sense of self-worth.”

We, at EHD, pride ourselves on offering art curation and installation as part of our design services because we have always maintained that authentic works of art add soul to a space. So we were particularly thrilled to be able to purchase at a benefit in NY and place four amazing paintings in a commercial space in Atlanta.