The Fragments Exhibition 2007 Season United Kingdom
The first season of the Fragments campaign to raise funds for landmine clearance has been a resounding success. During 2007, the Fragments series of limited edition bronze sculptures were shown in various locations in the UK. In each location, chronicled on this website, Fragments dramatically raised the profile of the problem of landmines and unexploded ordinance and the profile of our partner charity organization, No More Landmines.
As regular visitors to our website may already know, 75%-80% of Blake's sales of sculptures went directly to No More Landmines and we are happy to report that the sales of sculptures raised over £80k ($160,000) for No More Landmines in 2007.
During the weeks of exhibitions we were asked many times if landmines are still a problem. It seems that the work of the late Princess Dianna ten years ago to raise awareness of the issue has faded from public consciousness.
Visitors to the Fragments exhibitions were surprised to find out that an average of 15 people die everyday from encounters with landmines or unexploded ordinance. They were surprised to learn that there are still tens of millions of landmines in the ground and that these landmines inhibit the development of millions of poor people across the globe. The sheer scale of the problem escapes most people as it really is hard for us to comprehend suffering regular civilian casualties years after conflicts have ended. The Fragments exhibition brought these lessons home for many people. Its this kind of level of awareness that will urge people to support charities like No More Landmines to do more to remove unexploded remnants of war and to provide assistance to survivors.
As an artist, I felt that it was very significant that I could say my sculpture was working art. While holding on to one of the sculptures I was able to explain that "One of the edition of this work cleared a minefield in Vietnam, this one here has surveyed a minefield in Angola and this piece will clear that minefield in Angola." By being able to actually show the public the sculpture that had funded the work I was able to show our visitors that these sculptures do so much more than just comment on our society. They are actually part of the solution. I can't tell you how wonderful I felt when I heard a client tell their guest at the show "This is the piece that I bought and we will fund clearance activities in Cambodia with it, I will receive the report indicating exactly where the cleared land will be.... Perhaps I will go and visit it just to see for myself."
This truly is art for life's sake.
As the Motive-art team prepares for another series of exhibitions in the UK and in New York City in 2008, the work will continue to raise awareness and funds for the cause.
I would like to thank all those who helped out with the UK campaign, the generosity of those who have been involved has been indeed overwhelming.
Thank you
Blake
Art for good
This web site recognizes and showcases the work of artists who donate their work to benefit registered charities. If you know of an artist who you believe should be featured on this site, please email us with a short summary (250 words) followed by written biography of the artist, several j-peg images of their work, a description of the charity including its registered address and registration number, and a link to their website where the artist is described. While we applaud all artists who use their talent to benefit charities, we showcase artists who donate at least 30% of the proceeds from the sale of an item to a registered charity. We encourage all visitors to this site to support the artists listed here. For more information on how to register as a featured artist or to purchase Motive-art, please contact Randall by email on randall[at]motive-art.org.