ART WITH HEART

A KID TO KID EFFORT ON THE PRESERVATION OF ART AND ANTIQUITIES

WHAT:

Primary education schools located in Marin County, San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, Palo Alto and Fremont are hereby invited by the Association for the Protection of Afghan Archaeology (hereinafter, “APAA”) to participate in an art contest and the production of a 2008 ART WITH HEART kid-to-kid calendar fostering an understanding of Afghanistan’s art, history and cultural identity through the study of its archaeology.

Since March 2005, APAA Founder and Executive Director, Nadia Tarzi (on occasion accompanied by APAA Director and CBS5 Eyewitness News anchor Dana King) present San Francisco Bay Area children with slides and commentary regarding the archaeological history of Afghanistan through the present day, with an overall goal to raise much-needed awareness on the unique and endangered heritage of Afghanistan.

WHO:

Since its inception in 2002, APAA seeks to promote an understanding of the Afghan archaeological and cultural heritage through its teachings in schools and public venues across the world including Afghanistan and the multi-cultural San Francisco Bay Area. APAA assists in the education of the international public about the inherent value of archaeological treasures to cultural identity, specifically focusing on the plight of Afghan people and the loss of their cultural heritage. Finally, APAA is concerned with the lack of professional training in the sciences of archaeology, restoration and conservation and aims at providing thorough assistance in these areas.

Through these educational presentations, which are grade and age appropriate, we introduce the children and their teachers to the history of Central Asia and the many fascinating unknown treasures and gorgeous landscapes found there.

How does it work:

Our approach is interactive and unique as it draws upon each individual child’s artistic skills and abilities while educating a child with respect to another country’s art and archaeology. Each participating child will choose one artifact or landscape that inspired him/her during the slide presentation and will try to recreate it in a colorful drawing. Two drawings will be chosen from each participating school. All the drawings will be entered into a final contest, and the 12 finalist drawings will be included in the calendar.

THE CALENDAR:

Each of the twelve drawings will be paired with one month on the calendar along with the name of the student, school and the picture of the artifact or landscape which inspired the student (with a brief description of the object, origin, date, and style of sculpture).

The calendars will be available for sale after publication. We have the support of many including the Asian Art Museum, the Embassy of Afghanistan and KQED, all of whom will assist us in promoting our calendar.

USE OF PROCEEDS:

The proceeds raised will be used to a) supply orphanages in Kabul with art supplies such as clay, water color, rulers, paper, and crayons, and b) to assist with paying teachers’ salaries. APAA will be recruiting arts and crafts teachers and volunteers from Europe and the U.S. to provide personal training for Afghan teachers and students. The subject matter taught will have a direct relationship with Afghan craftsmanship (e.g. pottery form Istalif, mosque tile painting, basics of drawing which includes study of perspective and still life)

12 FINALISTS RECEIVE:

• Guided tour of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco with Donna Strahan, Head of Conservation at the Museum, (http://www.asianart.org/ );
• Guided tour by CBS5 anchor Dana King in person at the CBS5 station in San Francisco, (http://www2.cbs5.com/);
• Guided tour of the Haas-Lilienthal House, a Bay Area landmark (www.sfheritage.org), with Director Tom Lewis, President and OFunder of Lewis Restoration;
• Finalists will be treated for lunch preferrably at a Marin or San Francisco Afghan Restaurant

WHY PARTICIPATE:

The children of Afghanistan have a three generation gap in all domains including education and art and have neither awareness nor understanding of the value, importance and plight of their own cultural heritage. In addition, the orphans of Afghanistan have no one and nothing to build their future, a bleak future indeed. In order to give them and children here the incentive to protect and preserve their national heritage (objects, sites, paintings, books) we believe that giving them the experience of discovering and creating art, the joy, the pride, the sense of accomplishment and ownership that comes with it, will in turn empower them to be open to comparison and appreciation to ancient works of art.

In the long run this project will also give the children in Afghanistan true skills for their future such as ceramic, embroidery, carpentry, etc. These valuable skills will be offered for them to discover, own and use professionally.

But for now, the heritage of Afghanistan is in grave peril of disappearing all together. It is up to the Afghans themselves to protect their heritage, and we can help them do it. Please join our efforts to give the Afghan orphans the tools they need to achieve the challenge. Education is the world’s most empowering tool.

THE DRAWINGS NOT INCORPORATED INTO THE CALENDAR

The APAA Art with Heart Committee including Mrs. Shamim Jawad wife of D.C. Afghan Ambassador S. T Jawad and Roya Hosseini, wife of Khaled Hosseini (author of the New York Times and National Bestseller, The Kite Runner) hope to facilitate the production of a children’s book incorporating the drawings that were not placed in the calendar. The proceeds from the sale of the book shall be used in furtherance of the Art With Heart project, namely to promote, foster and fund the art education of orphaned children in Afghanistan with an eye toward preservation of Afghan culture and archaeology.