Since 2002, Abigail Smith has worked with a host of arts and non-profit organizations. After seeing and being involved in many humanitarian efforts, she has now shared a collection of some of the most attention grabbing ones with us.
Access to Life – The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
Created in partnership with Magnum Photos, this traveling exhibition has visited major cities all over the world including Tokyo, Paris, New York, and Rome. Highlighting the lives of HIV-infected persons throughout one year of antiretroviral treatment, the resultant photo-essays are poignant and provocative. In some instances, we see a person near death radically transformed by the treatment into a healthy member of society. In another, we are confronted with a stark black and white photograph of a casket, because the treatment has come too late. Either way, what remains is an incredibly accurate portrayal of the battle against this life-threatening pandemic. View the online exhibition at: http://www.theglobalfund.org/accesstolife/en/
Greenpeace – VW Darkside
With this short one-minute video, Greenpeace compares the Volkswagen car empire to… Darth Vader and the Death Star. Gimmicky? Sure, but what else would be expected from the people that brought you Kleenex Kleercut and the KitKat Killer? Gimmicky or not, these viral video campaigns have yielded real success, mobilizing hundreds of thousands around the world to speak up against big brands, highlighting corporate irresponsibility that might have otherwise gone unnoticed. In the instance of the two aforementioned campaigns, this public outcry led to a concrete change in policies from the corporate giants. What’s to come from the Darkside is yet to be revealed. http://vwdarkside.com/
2015 Quilt – Product (RED) and the One Campaign
A fine piece of interactive design, this digital AIDS Quilt aims to far out-square its real-world counterpart. With just a moment of internet slacktivism, you can add your name to the quilt, and somehow contribute to the nebulous goal of eliminating AIDS by 2015. While the site may lack clear political goals, it makes up for that with its aesthetic value that any designer could appreciate. Worth a gander for Justin Bieber’s square alone. http://www.2015quilt.com
D’une toile de tente à un toit (From a Canvas Tent to a Roof) – Médecins du Monde
Image copyright Alain Bachellier
This little-known French humanitarian organization quickly climbed to international headlines when they decided to start distributing tents to homeless persons in the streets of Paris. By spraying a simple logo onto these prefabricated tents, the organization was able to make visible the problem of homelessness in the city, as communities began to utilize the tents on the streets and along the banks of the Seine. The Parisian public mobilized, and by the 4th month of distribution, the organization won an impressive 50 million Euros from the French government for their cause. Proof that you don’t need a big communications budget to achieve powerful results. Learn more about the effort here.
Abigail Smith specializes in interactive digital environments for arts and non-profit organizations. After a brief stint with the UN, she relocated to Berlin where she maintains an international roster of clients. Visit her website at www.abigailsmith.net.
Great collection and onservations, Abs!
Another recent campaign that I thought was really effective was Greenpeace’s Detox campaign against international clothing manufacturers such as H&M that dump toxic waste into local water supplies.
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/toxics/water/detox/
Seems so much more effective when these campaigns develop into real-world public interventions as opposed to remaining only digital.. agree?