UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and Artists Ross Bleckner & Tony Romano present, "WELCOME TO GULU"
"Welcome to Gulu" was a unique art event benefiting and raising monies for children in Uganda. For years, these children were subjected to the horrors of rape, human trafficking and child soldiering. The idea of helping these children through art therapy came about when renowned artist and UN Goodwill Ambassador, Ross Bleckner spent time in Uganda to teach the children to create their own paintings, yielding extraordinary results. The 200 plus paintings were for sale and display at the UN in New York this past May 19, 2009 at the first ever "WELCOME TO GULU" exhibit. Proceeds from the sales of the paintings go to helping the Ugandan children.
By special invitation, I attended the event. I was so moved by viewing the paintings that the UN Project Director, Simone
Monasebian, asked me if St. Thomas would be interested in hosting
this same show. The US Virgin Islands has long standing ties to Africa and has
recently developed a relationship with Rwanda through the First Lady, Cecile deJongh's "Project Rwanda". Governor and First Lady deJongh offered to host the art show at a cocktail reception at
Estate Catharineberg on Saturday, December 12, 2009.Paul Horovitz, Head of Antilles School, Dee Baecher-Brown,
President of the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands and Joan Amerling,
Community Liaison at Antilles School and Executive Director of the Forum all assisted to make this event a success. - Tony Romano
Image:
BLACK TIE MAGAZINE ARTICLE
PRESS RELEASE
On Saturday,
December 12, 2009, "Welcome to Gulu", an art exhibit presented and curated
by local artist and restaurateur, Tony Romano on behalf of the U.N.O.D.C.
(United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime), U.N. Good Will Ambassador, Ross
Bleckner was unveiled at Governor John P. deJongh Jr.'s Catherineberg mansion.
The unprecedented event which was hosted by Gov. deJongh and his wife, First
Lady Cecile deJongh came about when Tony Romano, who attended the initial
"Welcome to Gulu" event at the United Nations in New York on May 12,
2009 was asked by UN officials if he thought the Virgin Islands would be
interested in hosting the same event on St.Thomas. The evening of December 12,
2009 was the first time a U.N. Flag has ever flown outside of an official United
Nations base station and also the Virgin Islands. The fundraiser featured 150
paintings done by the Ugandan Children as part of the art therapy program. The
inspiration for the art rehabilitation program was described by UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon in his opening remarks at the New York event, "Two
years ago, my wife opened another exhibition sponsored by the United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime here at UN Headquarters called "Human Trafficking:
Images of Vulnerability." She decried the trade in people, and she said, "Thanks to this exhibit, it is staring us in the face." Then she called for
action. "Let us not just look at these pictures and walk away," she said. "Let
us be moved to act." There was a renowned artist in the audience that day who took
those words to heart. His name is Ross Bleckner, and we see today the results
of his passionate activism. That "passionate activism" led
Mr.Bleckner to Uganda where he conducted a week long art therapy program for
kids who had never held a paint brush before. These children were abducted from
their families and conscripted into the Lord's Resistance Army, a rebel army in
northern Uganda, as child soldiers or sex slaves and the resulting images are
both haunting and hopeful. That hopefulness shined through in St.Thomas as
visiting celebrities, local dignitaries and philanthropists gathered together
and raised a net donation sum of more than $37,600.00.These funds go directly to benefit the kids
with on going education and rehabilitation of these child soldiers and abducted
girls.
