“Safeguarding lives and supporting the creative potential of refugees for the enrichment and mutual exchange of culture, diversity and perspectives.”
This is the message that the sailing boat, Kleronia – also known as “the human boat” – will bring to Trieste on 13 October during Barcolana 2019, the world’s largest regatta. The Kleronia will raise the flag of the UNHCR in support of seafaring culture and its binding laws regarding rescue and welcome, inviting other regatta participants to do the same. This is the second phase of Moleskine Foundation’s involvement with the “Rothko in Lampedusa” initiative. Implemented in partnership with the UNHCR, the project kicked off in Venice in September with an AtWork workshop dedicated to supporting the talent and creativity of young refugees in Italy.
Barcolana is a community festival for seafarers who get together year after year not only to compete, but also to share their passion, journeys, dreams and way of living the sea and therefore planet. To sum it up with the words of Roberto Casati, our regatta companion, “Today’s seafaring culture is built on thousands of years of marine tradition during which humans have explored the world’s watery deserts. This history has been marked by moment of both peace and war, with the opening of shared ocean-going routes alongside merciless maritime battles. Ultimately however, our relationship with the sea has been shaped by the imbalance between the limitless power of this natural element and the very human fragility of those who try to match themselves against it, those who make a living from it, and those who find themselves in its midst by pure misfortune..”
In the words of Carlotta Sami, UNHCR spokesperson aboard the Kleronia, “The UNHCR, the United Nations’ Refugee Agency, is excited to participate as a partner in this initiative, convinced that the Mediterranean Sea must once again become a basin of coexistence and not a symbol of tragedies and closures”.
At Barcolana, the Kleronia symbolically carries the message envisioned in Venice by the participants of September’s “Where is South?” AtWork workshop: “In this historic moment in which borders and walls are put up to divide us – increasing irrational fears and rewriting and/or deleting history – we hope that the experiences and stories we bring with us can enrich the lives of everyone, as well as spark new discourses to fill in the spaces that separate us.”
This powerful message is endorsed by several exceptional sailors, friends and partners from different fields: Vittorio Malingri, Ambrogio Beccaria, Matteo Miceli, Giovanni Soldini, Hamed Ahmadi, Nation25, Associazione Italiana Giovani per l’UNESCO, DLV BBDO, Freel, Tree, Venice Art Factory, Atelier Trame Libere, Puntoseta, Progetto Agata Smeralda Onlus, FUM Studio, Talking Hands, Fashion Revolution Italia, Cantina Vintinove, Anna Barbara, SenseLab, Ashoka and Comitato Pace e Convivenza Danilo Dolci.
We invite all to join us in spreading this message with one united voice, raising the flag of the UNHCR together – even if only symbolically!
The Kleronia will be moored at Bacino San Giusto, opposite the Bolina stand. Barcolana participants wishing to take part in this awareness campaign by raising the banner of the UNHCR should speak to the Kleronia crew.
We look forward to seeing you in Trieste, or on the high seas wherever you are. The sea, after all, belongs to everyone.
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.
