September 18, 2009: NOT FOR SALE art performance against child trafficking and in support of UNICEF programmes was held in MoscowFor the first time ever in Russia, an art performance against child trafficking was held on September 18, 2009 in Moscow. The event was arranged by the GMG Gallery, with all the proceedings from the event donated to UNICEF to support the agency’s programmes. This project was initially devised by Alicia Framis, a well known Spanish artist, and Michael Lin, an artist from Taiwan, to draw public attention to the problems of violence against children, their exploitation and trafficking. Children are abused on a world-wide scale: they are sold; they are exploited and subjected to violence. According to the UN estimates, about 1.8 million children all over the world are involved in prostitution. Alicia Framis and Michael Lin use modern art techniques in order to focus public attention on the facts which are otherwise rarely mentioned. The NOT FOR SALE project is a proclamation of the children’s right to be protected from violence and exploitation. The event included an exhibition of large-format photographs, a fashion parade and a ‘silent’ auction. 60 boys participated in the project, walking along the decorated podium designed by Michael Lin and proclaiming children’s freedom from all forms of violence and exploitation. The fashion was followed by a charity auction. The auction lots included the inscribed NOT FOR SALE necklaces, created by Spanish designers such as Chas Bure, Marthe Miguel, Alberto Leonardo and Carol Salazar. All the proceedings from the auction will be donated to UNICEF – a UN agency which provides assistance to children in 157 countries, including Russia. Last year, the NOT FOR SALE event was organized in Madrid, and in September 2009, with the invitation of the GMG Gallery and with the support of UNICEF, Alicia Framis and Michael Lin presented a revised and enlarged version of the project in Russia. For more information and accreditation contact:
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