WCPUN

Addressing the Invisible Labour behind the Cobalt Industry

Monday, 15 April, 15:00 – 16:30 United Nations Headquarters, Conference Room 12

WCPUN is pleased to partner with the International Labour Organization, the Permanent Mission to the United Nations of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the University of Bath in presenting Cobalt Rush, a film by Roy Maconachie, and a panel discussion on how to improve the working conditions of the women and men who are the “invisible face” of the multi-billion-dollar cobalt industry, critical to electric vehicles and consumer electronics. The event is held in the margins of the first-ever UN General Assembly Sustainability Week, convened by the President of the General Assembly to advance Sustainable Development Goal 7 on affordable and sustainable energy for all.

Speakers: Ms. Cynthia Samuel-Olonjuwon, ILO Special Representative to the UN; H.E. Mr. Zenon Ngay Mukongo, Permanent Representative, Democratic Republic of the Congo to the UN; Ms. Cristina Duarte, Under-Secretary-General and Special Advisor on Africa, UNOSAA; Mr. Roy Maconachie, Director, Cobalt Rush and Researcher, University of Bath; Mr. Casper Edmonds, Head, Manufacturing, Mining, and Energy Unit, ILO; Mr. Glen Mpufane, Mining Director, IndustriAll Global Union; Ms. Patricia Veringa Gieskes, Fédération des Entreprises du Congo, DRC; with closing remarks by Shamina de Gonzaga, Vice-President, WCPUN and Chief Editor, Centerpoint Now.

WCPUN welcomes the forthcoming installation of Undercurrent, 2023, by Inner Mongolian artist Zheng Lu, in Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza. Facing United Nations Headquarters, the 2,500 kg (2.75 ton) stainless-steel sculpture evoking streams of water suspended in mid-air, was created specifically for the site. Underscoring the significance of water as a symbol of change, self-reflection, and the passage of time, the work also draws attention to climate change and water scarcity. The installation is made possible with the support of the Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York, and the New York City Parks Department of Art and Antiquity, and facilitated by WCPUN, as part of its mission to raise public awareness about the United Nations’ goals, in this case UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 on access to clean water and sanitation, and SDG 13 on climate change.

18 May marks International Museum Day. WCPUN is pleased to highlight the work of Artist and WCPUN Cultural Adviser, Gema Alava, whose book How to Be Fearless in a Museum (Cómo Perder el Miedo Dentro de un Museo, Editorial El Ojo de la Cultura, 2020) was recently presented at the Museum of Anthropology and Contemporary Art (MAAC) in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Alava’s work is an example of how museums can engage directly with communities via relational art projects inside their gallery space. “Museums, institutions and foundations can serve as bridges between the ancestral knowledge of native cultures, the communities that live in the land of the museums, and contemporary artists who work on achieving a better and more sustainable future for all,” Alava states.

In advance of International Women’s Day, WCPUN is pleased to highlight the work of Judith Peck, whose installation, “Ladies of Steel,” is now on display at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, the Gateway to the United Nations. On her piece “River Flow” (featured below), Peck notes “the river is powerful in itself but always reflecting the turbulent shifts of weather, changing its contour, its pace and rhythm, as it touches the changing shoreline. I like to think of the sculpture, like a woman, relaxed in its soft curves but confident even with its internal divisions, to make the journey, go with the flow.”

A sculptor and Professor Emeritus of Art at Ramapo (State) College, during her 42 year tenure, Dr. Peck instituted an on-going program training college students to conduct art workshops in jails, homes for abused children, psychiatric centers, domestic violence shelters, and nursing homes. jpecksculpture.com

29 September – Museum of Contemporary Art, Antwerp WCPUN/Centerpoint Now Chief Editor Shamina de Gonzaga, will join M HKA and Gaston Meskens, in a discussion on how the ideology of modernity still shapes our world today, with a presentation on Inequality and interdependence. The event is held on the occasion of the M HKA INBOX show ‘Gaston Meskens – What’s Wrong With Ideology? Life and work at the Institute of Idle Curiosity for Elements of Seduction’.

Indocumentales: Documenting Narratives on migration, organized by WCPUN Executive Director Shamina de Gonzaga and conducted with filmmaker Samuel Sebastian, with the support of the Polytechnic University of Valencia (UPV) Center for Development Cooperation. The workshop raised awareness about migration experiences and how they relate to various UN SDGs, situating individual migration experiences in a global context. See work generated by Participants at Indocumentales.com

Sunday, 17 July, 12 – 4pm, Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, NYC

Gema Álava, Artist and Cultural Adviser to World Council of Peoples for the United Nations (WCPUN), will be part of the DISABILITY UNITE FESTIVAL 2022 as an advocate for Disability Rights, and for being an artistic and educational reference promoting interactive and Relational Art projects inspired by and developed with the participation of individuals with disabilities. “My projects not only deal with the idea of tearing down barriers in culture and society but also breathe from the strength and unique vision of individuals with disabilities” says Alava, whose Studio will be featured in the Festival’s “Creation Row.” www.gemaalava.com

Focused on the theme “A Future of Inclusion,” the Festival marks the 32^nd Anniversary of The Americas with Disability Act. www.disabilityunite.org

14 – 27 May – The SOCIALMED VALÈNCIA Festival will present film related to Water and Climate Change in connection with inequality in the Mediterranean. A collaborating organization in the WCPUN INDOCUMENTALES “An Encounter Beyond Borders” program, the SOCIALMED Festival will also participate in the forthcoming INDOCUMENTALES immigration film workshop to be held in October 2022 at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain (UPV). festivalsocialmed.org

Un encuentro más allá de las fronteras Experiencias migratorias en Latinoamérica, el Mediterráneo y el mundo

Hybrid In-person / Online Immigration Film and Discussion forum hosted in Valencia, Spain with Filmmakers, Migrant and Refugee Organization Representatives, Journalists and Artists from the Mediterranean and Latin America. Organized by WCPUN with the collaboration of SocialMed Festival; Valencian Institute of Culture; SGAE Foundation; and the United Nations Plural + Youth Film Festival.

To mark COP 26, WCPUN and Streaming Museum are pleased to present works of art that address sustainability challenges and climate change in their many dimensions and expressions. From photography, video and sound art documenting previously inaccessible changes of nature, to visionary architecture and infrastructure solutions, these works both underscore both today’s reality and shed light on possible scenarios for the future. See Instagram @wcpun; streamingmuseum.org; and CENTERPOINT NOW “Are we there yet”? WCPUN © 2020.