International Art Forum 2013
The World Youth Alliance is an international, non-governmental, non-profit youth organization which works to promote the dignity of the person at the international and grassroots level founded on 1999 at the United Nations.
I had been encouraged to apply to the International Art Forum 2013 by one of my friends, Zars, who was interning in the WYA Head Quarters in Manhattan, New York. After an interview with their Director of Cultural Programs, Alexis Kende, I was told that I was going to be one of the 12 participants for the IAF 2013 to both exhibit some of my artworks and speak in front of the other international delegates. At 18 years old, I was the youngest participant for this year’s event.
My favorite artwork is always going to be the one I made when I was a Junior in high school. A 40x30cm black and white attempt to create unstructured forms from structured materials. It was a palimpsest, layers upon layers of 3 months worth of daily emotions.
We spent a lot of time debating on a lot of issues regarding the role of art in building communities, the definition of beauty and our role as artists in society to help unite people through the expressions of our inherent human experiences.
I was able to meet a lot of different artists coming from all over the world. It was an enjoyable experience, and made me realize that struggles we all face in the creative community are similar no matter where we come from.
At the time, I was working on a project designed to increase awareness on Philippine art culture and I was also on the road to leaving Management Engineering to study a Fine Arts degree. At the crossroads of my major shift in direction, I found that the IAF was a great experience in learning how art and culture are necessary elements in the creation of policies and laws used to defend human dignity.
We spent our last night together watching a private concert by Juliard students at the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office in New York. Meeting Anna Halpine, the founder and CEO of WYA, was probably a highlight for me. For such a simple looking woman, she is quite the amazing woman. In the picture below, she is at the most left.
At the end of the day, I guess that my experience with WYA was a wonderful one. I hope that I’ll be able to take an internship with them after graduation because the organization is filled with wonderful people who are fighting for the cause that they believe in.
*All photos in this post are from the official World Youth Alliance page
