Evocative “I AM: ISRAEL” exhibition of self-portraits gives children an opportunity for self-expression

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I AM: ITALY / I AM: ROMANIA
Interactive portraits by children of Milan & Sighet
Directed by Sasha Sicurella, I AM: International Foundation

In association with S.O.S. Bambini and CAF ONLUS

Opening Reception Thursday, November 17, 6:00-8:00pm
A Round-table Discussion will precede the event at 5:00pm
An Art Workshop for children will be offered in conjunction with the exhibition (details TBA).

VIAFARINI will host a unique exhibition of interactive photographs created by children of CAF ONLUS (Milan, Italy) and S.O.S. Bambini (Sighet, Romania) in collaboration with artist, Sasha Sicurella, the director and founder of the New York-based, I AM: International Foundation. The selection of works represent thirty children who participated in a three-day workshop centered around the notion of identity. Using photography as a tool to capture moments of ‘expressive play’, children portrayed emotion through their hands, feet, and shadows. Through a variety of artistic processes and media, an opportunity was created for each child to recognize the beauty and importance of his/her own form. Success of the I AM: projects lie not in their aim of ‘treatment’, but rather in their ability to create a set of immediate experiences: an insular time and space dedicated to individualized recognition, spontaneous expression, and authentic play.  Each hand, foot, and shadow presented in this exhibition tells a story of the past but was conceived in an impromptu moment. Brought into the gallery context, the photographs present an interesting convergence between social relations and art therapy, authorship and intent, health and illness, and contemporary art and its processes.

Prior to the opening reception, Sasha Sicurella, Wurmkos founder Pasquale Campanella, neuropsychiatrist Aleksandra Matakovic-Manca, and art therapist Simona Camisani will hold a round-table discussion aimed at comparing the I AM: project with the Italian project, Wurmkos. The goal is to explore the theme of mental and psychological disease by considering projects that deal, in different ways, with the relationships between contemporary art and psychosociological issues.

The I AM: International Foundation aims to give underprivileged children and/or children living in densely populated regions of the world hands-on opportunities to explore identity through art and self-portrait photography. Through nurturing workshops conducted in schools, communities, and non-government organizations, the hope is for each child to gain an understanding of his/her value, potential, and beauty as a unique person. Most recent exhibitions include: I AM: Israel, Tel Aviv University, Israel; I AM: Ethiopia, Addis Ababa University Alle School of Fine Art, Ethiopia; I AM: Interactive Self-Portraits by Children of India, Ethiopia, Jamaica, and Chatham, Spencertown Arts Academy, New York, USA; I AM: India, Hacienda Gallery, Mumbai, India; I AM: India, Omi International Arts Center, New York, USA. Sasha Sicurella is a Canadian-born artist/arts education specialist who founded the I AM: International Foundation in 2010. She is the Director of Education at Omi International Arts Center, a New York non-profit organization providing residency programs for visual, literary, and performing artists as well as arts education programming and The Fields Sculpture Park for the public. Educated in visual arts and photography, Sicurella received her MFA from New York University in 2002, and BFA from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada in 2000. She has taught art to students ages 3-18 in both public and independent American school systems and continues to develop arts enrichment programs at local schools in her community.

Press Links:
Times Union http://www.timesunion.com/entertainment/article/I-AM-Project-takes-self-portrait-photography-on-1420532.php
Tel Aviv University News http://www.aftau.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=14671
Chronogram Magazine http://www.chronogram.com/issue/2010/6/Parting+Shot/Parting-Shot-Sasha-Sicurella
Hindustan Times http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/525262.aspx
DNA India http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_bonding-with-other-kids-through-self-portraits_1365494
Nanhi Kali http://www.nanhikali.org/news/archivesdetails.aspx?strid=81