We are very excited to announce the first-ever AtWork international exhibition, “I had a dream” that will be hosted in partnership with the newly opened Africa Center in Harlem and will run from May 31st to July 28th. The exhibition marks the launch of the Moleskine Foundation headquarters in the US in New York City .
It will feature 100 hand decorated notebooks, the majority of which were created by young creative minds who took part in our AtWork Tour 2018 “I had a dream”, held in Rome, N’Djamena, Kampala and Harare. The notebooks are the creative expression of the transformational process that the students have gone through during the workshop while debating their dreams and making concrete projects out of them. The exhibition will also feature notebooks created by celebrated authors and artists who have donated their work to Moleskine Foundation Collection, a collection that counts more than a 1000 notebooks, many of them crafted by internationally renowned creative minds. Spike Jonze, Pascale Marthine Tayou, Jean Claude Ellena, Joël Andrianomearisoa, Joana Vasconcelos, Carlo Stanga and Paula Scher are just a handful of the Collection authors ranging from film directors to perfume creators, whose work will be on display at the Africa Centre alongside those of young students.
Another exciting news is that we are taking “I had a dream” exhibition on-line together with Google Arts&Culture, the technological platform developed by Google to promote and preserve culture on-line. For the occasion of the International Museum Day Moleskine Foundation is launching the first part of its Digital Collection. 84 hand decorated notebooks produced during our AtWork educational Tour “I had a dream” have been digitalised and put on the platform. This is just the first step in putting our unique Collection on Google Arts&Culture, the Google platform that allows the users to explore the works of art of more than 1800 museums, archives and organizations that have worked with Google Cultural Institute to share their collections and stories on -line.
With the launch of “I had a dream” exhibition and the new US headquarters our commitment is to continue to grow our scope and give access to more youth across the globe to our unconventional educational experiences, inspiring a new generation of creative thinkers.
Make sure to visit the exhibition at The Africa Center if in New York or on Google Arts&Culture from wherever in the world!
Claude Bunny Massassa is a contemporary artist from Gabon. She created Bunny Studio in 2016, a start-up dedicated to photography production, which became DWABI Studio in 2021. As an artist, she has represented Gabon in many international exhibitions in Senegal, Uganda, France, the United States, and Italy. In her art, she denounces social stigmas around issues of identity and mental health, and explores themes of traditions and myths.
Executive Director Kimberly Aceves- Iñiguez has been passionately committed for over 20 years to social justice organizing and advocacy efforts that bring voice and power to youth, LGBTQ people, people of color, and working-class communities in the Bay Area. Before coming on as the Executive Director for RYSE, Kimberly served as the Executive Director for Youth Together, the founding organization of the RYSE Center.
Kanwarpal Dhaliwal is one of the co-founders of RYSE and currently acts as the Associate Director. She supports and guides the implementation and integration of healing-centered practices, grounded in racial justice and liberation, and also develops, promotes, and advocates for policies, investments, practices, and research that enliven healing, justice, and liberation. Kanwarpal believes that the purpose of her work and life is to contribute to movements, communities, and legacies of liberation that honor the ancestors who fought for her existence and survival, and to forge a world that is just and gentle for future generations.
Sagal Ali is the founder and executive director of SAF. After a few years in her career in heritage protection in the cultural sector, she decided to develop the initiative to directly support young creatives in Somalia by launching her own foundation. She hopes to bridge the social gaps and inequalities women face in Somalia, both in society and in the arts scene.
Co-founders Catherine Dunga and Marleen Palmaers created Kitambo to bridge the gap between the African diaspora in Colombia and the narratives from the continent. From Kinshasa and Antwerp respectively, they work to connect African artists from the continent and their peers from the Colombian diaspora.
Martha Kazungu is a curator, art Historian and Founder of Njabala Foundation, an organization that curates periodic exhibitions and organizes a public program of activities to create a safe space for female artists to thrive and blossom.
Alicia Hansen is a photographer and teacher from New York. She founded NYC SALT in 2008 and, beyond teaching valuable creative skills to her students, has developed a long-term support system to uplift them through school and into their early artistic careers.
