ArtWorks for Freedom Presents:
Picturing Freedom
a nationwide juried poster contest hosted by VisArts
ArtWorks for Freedom brings artists together to use their talents to end human trafficking. This summer we launched “PICTURING FREEDOM,” a national poster competition to raise awareness of human trafficking with poster design submissions from professional and student artists, illustrators and graphic designers to create interpretations of human trafficking and the myriad issues related to its proliferation.
Winners of the “Picturing Freedom” contest will be exhibited at the New Project Studio of the Torpedo Factory in Old Town Alexandria, Va., November 1 – 20.
WINNERS!
Winners of “Picturing Freedom” were announced on Nov. 1, 2017. Thanks to everyone who participated!
Grand Prize ($1,000):
Justin Wynn, student, Chapel Hill, NC
First Prize, Professional ($400):
Karri Hemmig, Racine, WI, with team members Jon Anderson, Jon McGuire and Domenic Serena for Fight to End Exploitation.
First Prize, Student ($200):
Mary Catherine Young, Chapel Hill, NC
Honorable Mention, Professional ($50 Gift Certificate for Art Supplies):
Amy Junod Placentra, Collingswood, NJ
Honorable Mention, Student ($50 Gift Certificate for Art Supplies):
Janie Price, Chapel Hill, NC
JURORS
Alonzo Davis
ALONZO DAVIS’ art choices and worldviews have been inspired by travel and issues of social justice. Through travel, Davis seek influences, cultural centers, energies, new terrain and the power of both the spoken and unspoken. The magic of the Southwest United States, Brazil, Haiti and West Africa have penetrated his work. Southern California, home for thirty years, has also had an indelible impact and the colors and rhythms of the Pacific Rim continue to infiltrate. Social justice themes most recently addressed are “He Walked in the Light,” in homage to Julian Bond and “Targeted in the USA.” Primarily an abstract artist, Davis creates in a variety of media: bamboo, wood, paper and metal.
Caroline Diemar
CAROLINE DIEMAR is responsible for providing strategic oversight of the National Hotlines program, with a focus on strategic growth and efficient use of resources to maximize capacity and provide high quality service to victims and survivors of human trafficking and the anti-trafficking field through the National Human Trafficking Hotline and the BeFree Textline. Before joining Polaris, Caroline served as tri-chair of the Connecticut Human Anti-Trafficking Response Team, which is tasked with enhancing Connecticut’s response to child exploitation. She brings a wealth of experience working closely with law enforcement, child protective services, prosecution, mental health and victim advocacy.
Shamere McKenzie
SHAMERE MCKENZIE tells the inspiring story of a woman who survived a fate that is all too prevalent in the United States – sex trafficking. Turning her past adversities into an opportunity to liberate and protect others, Shamere has become an activist in the fight against human trafficking, bringing about social and political change in America and around the world. Currently, she serves on the speaker’s bureau for the Fredrick Douglas Family Initiative and Survivors of Slavery organizations. She is a subject matter expert consultant with Fox Valley Technical College Amber Alert TTA; a member of the National Survivor Network and the Survivor Leadership Institute; a mentor to survivors of sex trafficking.
Carol Smolenski
CAROL SMOLENSKI is one of the founders of ECPAT-USA and has been working in the field of children’s rights for over twenty years. She is a longtime nationally recognized leader working to stop the commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking of children. At ECPAT-USA Carol oversaw the development of the first research project on child trafficking to New York City and two other research projects about commercial sexual exploitation of children. She was the Project Director for the New York City Community Response to Trafficking Project in New York, a multifaceted ground breaking project to inform communities at risk for human trafficking about the federal anti-trafficking law and help obtain better protections for victims. She has developed and managed projects to stop the commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking of children in the United States, the Riviera Maya and Cancun sections of Mexico and in Belize and is currently overseeing a similar project in three cities in Brazil.
Kate Somers
KATHERINE A. SOMERS has been a curator and independent fine arts consultant since 1995. She is currently curator for the Bernstein Gallery at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. She was recently a consultant to the Princeton University Art Museum on campus arts and to the Borough of Princeton on public art. From 2000 to 2006 Ms. Somers was the director for the Sculpture Project and Fine Art Exhibition Program at The Gallery at Bristol-Myers Squibb’s corporate headquarters in Lawrenceville, NJ. She has been a consultant to other corporate and public collections as well as to artists’ estates. Her work has included art historical research, cataloguing, restoration and development for exhibition, internet auctions, and book publications. She earned MA and BA degrees in art history from Rutgers University and George Washington University.
QUESTIONS?
