In order to talk about Art Relief International (ARI), one should firstly mention Cultural Canvas. Cultural Canvas has been established in 2008 and aims at connecting local NGOs seeking volunteers for support and people seeking volunteer positions in different areas.
Four years after Cultural Canvas has been created, Art Relief International was found by the Cultural Canvas staff and current volunteers who realised that they all share a common interest: Art. Instead of placing art-loving volunteers in other NGOs, Art Relief organises its own workshops around art and offers volunteer positions. Today, Cultural Canvas and Art Relief remain closely linked.
The goal of Art Relief is to transform the lives of struggling social groups by offering them the opportunity to express themselves through art. ARI organises artistic workshops for different NGOs and associations and works with children, disabled, struggling and traumatised young people, as well as elderly people.
The workshops include different artistic fields like painting and drawing, dancing and drama, music and other forms of art. ARI believes that art can come from anybody and that art can be a powerful means of expression and even a therapy.
The ARI staff in Chiang Mai includes five permanent workers, but is mainly based on the work of volunteers. Hence, volunteers from all over the world can join Art Relief and conduct artistic workshops in fields they are interested in. Art Relief has a weekly schedule for workshops; the content of the workshop can change according to the volunteers (but does of course fit the NGO’s specificities).
Thus, every week, an ARI staff or volunteer goes to Wildflower Home – a women shelter we have visited previously – in order to work with the women. > Read blog article on Wildflower Home
Most of the workshops are conducted at the facilities of the NGOs and associations ARI works with, but we were lucky and could attend a workshop at the ARI office. Every Tuesday after school, Art Relief organises a workshop for children from the neighbourhood to play and be creative. This week, the children designed a hand football field to play on with capsules as players. See the pictures:
We have met with the Assistant Director Dan Hales and the Art Director Emma Yella who we both have met previously at the NGO Chiang Mai meetup. We love the idea of making art accessible to everybody. Art can be an important way of communication especially for traumatised children and adults. Art Relief works, for example, with Urban Light, an NGO for boys that have been rescued from abuse, exploitation and trafficking.
If you are interested in art and seeking a volunteer position, think about contacting Art Relief. You can also contact us for more information.
