‘Art for Freedom’ Challenge Receives Overwhelming Response from Artists & Youth
Mumbai: The ‘Art for Freedom’ Challenge has received more than 200 registrations under the artist & non-artist categories from creative professionals and students across India with equal gender representation. Participants have submitted a rich variety of works in the form of paintings, posters, videos, songs, poems, animations, and digital art, in different languages.
A panel of 8 eminent jury members will now deliberate on the entries to identify and announce nominations during a first-of-its-kind Virtual Art Showcase being held on the World Art Day on April 15, 2021 at 4pm IST. On the day of the event, nominees will also get an opportunity to present their works of art to the jury by presenting to a live audience. Top 3 winners from both categories will then be decided by the jury.
Launched as part of #DNAFightsRape–Save the Evidence citizen awareness drive, this initiative seeks to unleash the power of creativity to transform the way our society deals with survivors of rape & sexual violence, thereby shifting the accountability to the perpetrator and bringing them to book with the power of forensic DNA science.
The jury panel includes celebrated names from the world of fashion & art like iconic designer Ashish Soni and popular street artist Hanif Kureshi. They will be joined by Nishtha Satyam, Deputy Country Representative, UN Women India; legal luminaries Pinky Anand & Vivek Sood; leading academic Neeti Banga representing NIFT; along with Ritu Sharda, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy North, and Arneeta Vasudeva, National Head, Public Relations & Influence, Ogilvy India.
This initiative has been organised by Gordon Thomas Honeywell-GA & Ogilvy India in partnership with UN Women India and Girl Up (UN Foundation), along with reputed academic institutions like National Institute of Fashion Technology, Delhi (NIFT) and Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune (SIMB).
While evaluating the entries, jury members will use 5 parameters namely – relevance to the brief, originality of idea, creativity & innovation, emotional quotient, and power to move people to action. All winners will be recognised with commemorative trophies & certificates. Students nominated in the non-artist category also stand a chance to intern with Ogilvy India, provided they are pursuing their college degrees.
‘Art for Freedom’ is a part of the larger #DNAFightsRape–Save the Evidence citizen awareness drive that was launched November 25th, 2019, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, in partnership with the Delhi Police, AIIMS, UN Women India, and Red FM. Its aim has been to educate people on their role in saving crucial DNA evidence in sexual offense & rape cases to strengthen India’s criminal justice system. It has today become a movement with several members of the civil society stepping forward to spread the message of “Don’t Wash, Don’t Clean. Save the Evidence”.