Pinoy kids’ Picasso-inspired artwork sent to Paris exhibition to promote peace
MANILA, Philippines — A collage of artworks by Filipino kids, including those under non-profit organization Project Pearls, was recently submitted by Uniqlo Philippines to be part of “Peace for All,” a global initiative to promote world peace.
The collage, drawn on-the-spot by the children participants in Museo Pambata in Manila, was inspired by “Bouquet of Friendship,” a lithograph created by Pablo Picasso for a peace demonstration in Stockholm, Sweden from July 16 to 22, 1958.
The “Bouquet of Friendship” is included in the UT shirts collection Uniqlo launched together with the Picasso UT designs earlier in the season in collaboration with the Spanish artist’s estate. All proceeds from shirt purchases are then donated to international organizations supporting those affected by violence, discrimination, armed conflict, and poverty.
Reichelle Vergara, Uniqlo Philippines’ Head of Public Relations and Sustainability, explained in an exclusive interview with Philstar.com that “Peace for All” started two years ago as both a main collection and a campaign.
”The reason why we have this campaign is because we really saw the need to help globally. With one shirt, all proceeds go to the organization. Globally, our partners are UNHCR (United Nations Refugee Agency), Save the Children, and Plan International. Each season or each year, we keep on adding to the designs. So the latest one is Picasso. Uniqlo is also partners with several museums all over the world,” Vergara expounded.
“The number one objective is really to spread peace because there are so many people affected by wars… And there are some people who are maybe not at peace. So what we really want is to convey that message. I think that's the number one objective of this whole project. It's really being able to use the shirt to announce, to communicate to people to love each other. Let's be kind to each other, let's spread peace.”
Project Pearls Education Partnership Manager Karen Viel Beblañas, in a speech, thanked Uniqlo for the opportunity for Project Pearls’ scholars to not only express their creativity through an art workshop, but also to be a part of a global movement for peace. The children’s collage has been submitted to join the artworks of other children from other countries like Japan, China, Korea, and Spain in a giant mural to be exhibited in front of Uniqlo Paris at the end of the month.
“Workshops like this are not always available for our scholars to join in… It's not always every day that they get to join something like this, and more importantly, that they also participate in a global movement for peace,” she said.
The partnership with Project Pearls, a non-government organization helping poor children in Tondo and in the Philippines “to have a better life through education, literacy, empowerment, nutrition and healthcare,” started two years ago when the Japanese lifestyle retailer started sending its scrap fabric as livelihood raw materials to the women of Tondo, Manila, said Vergara.
“Peace can also mean being kind to others, making your family happy, for example,” she said in her speech prior to the art workshop.
“So there's a lot of things that we can associate with peace… we can actually create that message of peace through a piece of art.”
