IMAGINE ROTARY ART SHOWS TO END POLIO FOR GOOD

By Margaretta wa Gacheru (written July 22,2022)

DG Azeb Asrat launched her End Polio for Good Campaign in early August with the announcement of an Imagine Rotary Art Exhibition and Auction happening in November, from the 12^th to the 26^th. It will culminate during the Rotary Foundation dinner which she encourages Rotarians to attend.

The art exhibition will be a major fundraising event aimed at not only aligning our efforts with the Rotary International President’s theme to ‘Imagine Rotary’. It is to advance the Polio Plus campaign which RI initiated in the 1980s so successfully. Unfortunately, there are still small pockets of polio in several countries, which is why DG Azeb’s End Polio For Good campaign aims to give the final push to eradicate polio completely from the planet.

RI President Jennifer Jones has contributed to DG Azeb’s art exhibition in a major way, by sharing a fabulous painting, created by her brother, Darren, with the DG. The artwork to be auctioned during or just before the Rotary Foundation dinner will be a beautiful gold-framed print specially signed by the RI President.

Darren Jones, the RI President’s brother, is an acclaimed American artist whose works have been exhibited and collected all over the world. The work that DG Azeb plans to auction is entitled ‘Imagine One’s Dream’ and evokes a serene sense of radiant color, blended with an array of layered textures including everything from shredded paper and wood fiber to sand, plaster, and industrial staples. Hidden within the papers are words from the Four-Way Test meant to reflect the artist’s deep appreciation of Rotary.

The wider art exhibition will include paintings by artists from District 9291 countries, namely Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Sudan as well as from other countries in the region such as Uganda and Tanzania. And because DG Azeb’s vision of Ending Polio embraces the whole world, she invited artists everywhere to apply to be part of the exhibition.

The location of the exhibition and auction have yet to be finalized but they are likely to be in the City Centre of Nairobi in one of the city’s leading Hotels.

Simultaneously with the Nairobi exhibition, DG Azeb is also planning to have a fundraising Art Exhibition in Addis Ababa, organized by one of that country’s leading gallerists and curators. The rationale for having the second art exhibition is the same as the Nairobi show. It is to mobilize resources which will enable countries to vaccinate the most vulnerable in the society, namely the children. Imagining a world free from this disabling disease is a dream the DG wants to see come true.

The DG has been considering various strategies to enable all Rotarians in the district to contribute to this worthy cause, especially as it will amplify Rotary’s role in initiating the highly successful Polio Plus campaign. One proposal is to open an Imagine Rotary Art Account and everyone who contributes Sh50,000 would be entitled to one of any number of designated artworks in the show. Further details to follow in the September DG Newsletter.