World Humanitarian Day

On Saturday, August 19th, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) will commemorate 20 years since the formation of World Humanitarian Day, an international day dedicated to humanitarian personnel who save, protect, and improve the lives of people caught in crisis.

ExhibitsUSA provides several traveling exhibitions that highlight global humanitarian efforts through the art of photography:

War Toys: Ukraine

Since 2011, internationally recognized photographer Brian McCarty has been collaborating with specialized therapists and children who have been affected by conflict on a unique project titled War Toys, which is now active in and near Ukraine. The project invokes principles and practices of expressive art therapy to safely gather and articulate children’s accounts of warfare. Viewers of War Toys: Ukraine will see 30 of the children’s drawings presented alongside McCarty’s staged photographs.

A colorful children's drawing on a white background. Three blue clouds hang above a grassy field where two stick figures stand on the right side of the paper. On the left side of the drawing is a yellow bus with light blue windows.           A plastic yellow school bus, plastic toy jacks, a plastic Ukrainian flag and two plastic green 'army men' solider toys are scattered on the ground. The two soldier toys aim their weapons at the bus as it approaches. In the background sits a concrete brick with the words "STOP 100m" written on it in red paint.

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How We Rebuild

This penetrating and transformative photography exhibition draws from 12 years of work created by grant winners and finalists from The Aftermath Project, a nonprofit organization committed to telling the other half of war stories, after the conflicts have ended—what it takes for individuals to rebuild destroyed lives and homes, to restore civil societies, and to recover the heartbeat of humanity.

Photobooth strip is photographed next to a burning candle   Pictured is A Ma’afa ceremony, a remembrance of slavery   

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The Fourth Grade Project

In the past decade, acclaimed artist Judy Gelles interviewed and photographed more than 300 fourth-grade students from a wide range of economic and cultural backgrounds in China, England, India, Israel, Italy, Nicaragua, St. Lucia, South Africa, Dubai, South Korea, and multiple areas of the United States. She asked all of the students the same three questions: Who do you live with? What do you wish for? What do you worry about? Their varied stories touch on the human condition and urgent social issues.

       

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Image Credits:

“Pavlo” (Interviewed by Andriy Sydorenko), Checkpoint Ahead, Lviv (Settlement), Ukraine, July 2022; ink on aluminum, 19 x 27 inches; Courtesy of War Toys®.; Brian McCarty, Checkpoint Ahead, Zdvyzhivka, Ukraine, July 2022; ink on aluminum, 16 1/8 x 27 inches; Courtesy of War Toys®.; Jessica Hines, Untitled #11, I Pray For Your Spirit from the series My Brother’s War, United States of America, 2009; digital print on aluminum, 24 x 17 1/8 inches; Courtesy of the artist.; Glenna Gordon, A Ma’afa ceremony… from the series American Women, Montgomery, Alabama, July 13, 2019; digital print on aluminum, 28 x 21 inches; Courtesy of the artist.; Jessica Hines, The Reconciliation #13 from the series My Brother’s War, United States of America, 2018; digital print on aluminum, 24 x 18 inches; Courtesy of the artist.; Judy Gelles, Be Murdered, South Africa, Public School, 2015; digital print on Diabond; 25 x 20 inches, Courtesy of Pentimenti Gallery, Philadelphia.; Judy Gelles, Is Mean, Israel, Public School, 2017; digital print on Diabond; 25 x 20 inches, Courtesy of Pentimenti Gallery, Philadelphia.