A few weeks ago, while en route to London, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that a mural celebrating activists WITNESS’ worked with through the years was in production by none other than long-time partners and friends of WITNESS, Pentagram. (See more about our longtime relationship with Pentagram partner Harry Pearce in this blog post.)
While I was there on personal holiday, I was traveling with former WITNESS colleagues. Equally excited to see what was in store and post-red eye flight, we made our way to the Shoreditch Art Wall.
I looked at the email and needed to ask for a ‘Sean’ once I arrived at the site. My dear friend (and former WITNESS colleague) yelled, “Sean? We’re looking for Sean Chilvers! I’ve never met Sean!” Roughly at the same time we made that connection, I hear, “I’m Sean.” We made our introductions and long-time collaborators were connected again.
Human Rights Channel logo design by Pentagram
My travel companion had worked with Sean from Pentagram for five years while she was at WITNESS, yet they had never met one another. Working in close collaboration with Harry Pearce, Sean and others on Harry’s team designed many of the materials our supporters have come to know and recognize through our work (e.g. The Human Rights Channel).
As the mural was about halfway finished and the artists were painting away, Sean gave us a tour of the mural, “Louisa and Stephanie are working on Ashley (TRUST campaign), and there’s Antonieta from the Brazil campaigns. Danny finished his piece yesterday, he was really fast.”
For me, street art has always been a powerful form of expression and commentary for the communities they represent – especially when it comes to political and social unrest. That day was an inspiring reminder that in a truly global and connected world, there are countless “witnesses” working behind the scenes on behalf of WITNESS – exposing our work to new audiences.
It was a beautiful moment across the Atlantic and I’m sure glad the stars aligned, allowing me to experience it.
Browse this gallery to learn more about the activists featured on the mural:
This wall was made possible by the immense generosity of Shoreditch Art Wall and the artistic skills of llyanna Kerr, Danny O’Connor, Akse, CodeFC , Luisa Crosbie and Stephanie Unger.
Syrian activist Rami Jarrah has worked tirelessly to document the Syrian uprising and civil war since early 2011, talking to international media outlets even after he was arrested and tortured while filming a protest. He formed a media collective (ANA New Media Association) of citizen journalists who publish video and radio reports, providing honest accounts of citizens on the front lines. His portrait is stencilled by #codefc.
Kweh Say grew up in Burma, where his family had to flee from the army – first living in a jungle, and then a refugee camp. He worked for WITNESS partner Burma Issues to document human rights abuses, including the burning of his own home. Despite it being very dangerous, he has crossed the border many times to film government atrocities. He produced several videos about the suffering of minority Burmese people who were forcibly displaced. His portrait is sprayed by Akse.
Kuda Chitsike is a lawyer and advocate based in Zimbabwe. She works at The Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU), which partnered with WITNESS in 2008 to create advocacy videos about politically motivated gender-based violence. At the time, this was a taboo subject and advocates were arrested and beaten for making it a political issue. The videos included interviews with survivors and were screened in communities throughout the country – raising awareness of and making it easier to talk about gender-based violence. Her portrait is painted by Ilyanna Kerr.
Ashley Funk is a 20-year-old climate change activist. As a high school student she led litter pick-ups within the coal mining town where she grew up. Now a student at Wellesley College, she recently petitioned the Department of Environmental Protection in her home state of Pennsylvania to limit and regulate CO2 emissions. Her portrait is painted by Luisa Crosbie and Stephanie Unger
Antonieta Rodrigues Simões is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. After being forcibly uprooted from losing the home she shared with her daughter Ludimila in 2011, she became an outspoken advocate against forced evictions. Antonieta is committed to sharing her story to bring attention to the thousands of other families who lost their homes in the lead-up to the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. Her portrait is painted by Danny O’Connor.
This wall was made possible by the immense generosity of Shoreditch Art Wall and the artistic skills of llyanna Kerr, Danny O’Connor, Akse, CodeFC , Luisa Crosbie and Stephanie Unger.
Street Artists and Pentagram discuss mural on Storify:
Photo of the Shoreditch Art Wall mural for WITNESS, courtesy Lisa Robinson
Lisa Robinson is the External Relations Coordinator at WITNESS.
