"I Am Syria" Exhibition

"I Am Syria" Exhibition  Rogue Foundation's art project with Syrian Children Opening Benefit Reception,  Thursday March 20 Rogue Space | Chelsea 508 W 26th St, 9th fl Continuing its mission working with children in conflict zones, Rogue Foundation completed an art project with Syrian refugee children in camps close to the Lebanese border in November. An exhibition of the children's paintings will be held at Rogue Space | Chelsea March 20-24 with all proceeds from art sales being returned to fund a program of trauma support for children who have been affected by the conflict.   The children are survivors from a siege by government troops that leveled the city of Qusayr, 10 Km from the Lebanese border.  In addition to the casualties inflicted by the bombing, even more refugees were killed at they fled towards neighboring Lebanon, snipered continuously from the air and by ground troops. Long Journey The 10km journey to the border took 8 days, mostly by cover of dark, as refugees crawled through underbrush to avoid detection.  Few families survived without at least one fatality.  On arrival in Lebanon, families were then arrested and imprisoned by Lebanese authorities and held for weeks in overcrowded prisons before being released to build their own camps.  They are not recognized as refugees by Lebanon where they now number over a million in a country with a population of 3 million.  The conflict in Syria is now being recognized as the worst genocide of the 21st century since fighting began in Syria, April 2011. The key image of the show is a 12 foot long canvas depicting the children's footprints in paint, more dense at the beginning and thinning towards the end to reflect the loss of lives incurred in their migration.      The children were asked to paint memories of their life in Syria and of the life they hoped to live in Lebanon. You are invited to an exhibition of their work.  Paintngs and drawings are priced between $100-$200 and all funds are returned directly to the children to further their education.      Rogue Foundation is socially conscious organization founded by Rogue Space | Chelsea gallery owner and documentary filmmaker Kevin O'Hanlon.  Its goal is to empower children in conflict zones and challenged environments around the world through creativity and creative solution finding.    Expanding on the "I Am Haiti" and "I Am Afghanistan" projects, the "I Am Syria" is a collaboration with and is in support of the NGO Relief and Reconciliation for Syria.      Rogue Foundation's mission is to empower children in conflict zones around the world by giving them the tools and encouragement to create art and, by extension, to seek creative solutions to their challenges.  Previous projects took art supplies and teachers to work with children in Haiti after the 2011 earthquake, with children living in homeless shelters in New York and in Kabul, Afghanistan.  Projects are forthcoming in Egypt, Burma, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Bangladesh.  Established by filmmaker and Rogue Space | Chelsea gallery owner Kevin O'Hanlon, Rogue Foundation is supported by shows and events at Rogue Space | Chelsea, a gallery in the heart of New York's Chelsea gallery district.   For further information please contact: Kevin O'Hanlon info@RogueFoundation.org  +1 212-751-2210 roguefoundation.org  Drawing Hope Documentary Series Promo Drawing Hope is a new documentary series from documentary filmmaker Kevin OHanlon focusing on creativity as a positive response in some of the world's most challenging environments. The series introduces us to political climates around the world through the daily personal experience of a selected creative. Each episode reveals their creative inclinations and processes and how they are shaped by the conflict they witness. Creative resilience is constantly reinforced as a message that hope endures.The series intends to illuminate the politics of conflict from a grassroots, personal perspective and cultivate an awareness that in the midst of great upheaval and challenge there is also a constant stream of creative innovation which empowers us and future generations. Upcoming projects take place in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Burma, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.       #fineartmagazine