World Art Day

World Art Day is an international celebration of the fine arts which was declared by the International Association of Art (IAA) in order to promote awareness of creative activity worldwide.[1][2]

Establishment

A proposal was put forward at the 17th General Assembly of the International Association of Art in Guadalajara to declare April 15 as World Art Day, with the first celebration held in 2012. This proposal was sponsored by Bedri Baykam of Turkey and co-signed by Rosa Maria Burillo Velasco of Mexico, Anne Pourny of France, Liu Dawei of China, Christos Symeonides of Cyprus, Anders Liden of Sweden, Kan Irie of Japan, Pavel Kral of Slovakia, Dev Chooramun of Mauritius, and Hilde Rognskog of Norway. It was accepted unanimously by the General Assembly.[1][3][4]

The date was decided in honor of the birthday of Leonardo da Vinci. Da Vinci was chosen as a symbol of world peace, freedom of expression, tolerance, brotherhood and multiculturalism as well as art’s importance to other fields.[2][4]

Past celebrations

The first World Art Day on April 15, 2012, was supported by all IAA national committees and 150 artists, including those of France, Sweden, Slovakia, South Africa, Cyprus and Venezuela, but the intention of the event is universal.[3][4] Events varied from special museum hours to conferences and more.[1] For example Venezuela held outdoor art exhibitions with paintings, sculptures, prints, video and more, as well as a Florentine cooking demonstration in honor of Da Vinci.[4]

More events were held in 2013 all over the world including the Mbombela municipal art museum in South Africa.[5] However, there was controversy at celebrations in Sweden when the Swedish minister of Culture, Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, cut into the genitals of a cake representing a black African woman. The performance art was meant to be a statement against genital mutilation but many found the depiction racist.[6]

World Art Day has also been supported online, especially by the Google Art Project.[7]

See also

References
  1. "Why World Art Day?". International Association of Art. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  2. Gerry La Roux (April 7, 2013). "Celebrating art and creativity on World Art Day". New Zealand: Science Lens. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  3. "World Art Day to be celebrated April 15". Hürriyet Daily News. Istanbul. April 11, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  4. "Día Mundial del Arte se celebra este sábado en Caracas". Caracas: El Universal. April 12, 2012. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  5. ""World Art Day" Exhibition" (PDF). South Africa: MBombela Art Gallery. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  6. Yacine Simporé (April 22, 2013). "Swedish Minister celebrates World Art day by slicing into a Black woman, cake". New York: Amsterdam News. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  7. Elizabeth Palermo (April 15, 2013). "Van Gogh's 'Starry Night' Most-Loved Painting on Google". TechNewsDaily. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
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