Art with a Story

Art can be a powerful tool for social change – going beyond the borders that mark our lands or the languages we speak. It can capture the human stories behind social injustices and inspire action. It is with this premise that we are delighted to partner with the organisation ARTIVIST.  

Earlier this year, we moved to de Koepel in Haarlem offering us an exciting new space for us to continue our work on co-creating digital spaces to connect and engage with young people in places where their human rights are under threat. As with all office moves, we found the walls of our new office space rather bare. It is then that we discovered ARTIVIST, an organisation that offers an extensive collection of art inspired by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Every few months, ARTIVIST focuses on one of the SDGs and collaborates with artists to create related work. For now, the organisation is working on SDG 6 for clean water and sanitation.

Our office space has been filled with artwork looking at everything from the right to clean drinking water to access to sanitation facilities to taking action for change. One of our favourite pieces is ‘I Wanna Drink’ by artist Alexandra Pletnyova. The artwork showcases the basic human need to access clean and drinkable water. Alexandra, originally from Ukraine, was particularly emboldened to create this artwork after witnessing the blocking of clean water into Ukraine.

Find more information about ARTIVIST here. We’re delighted to offer a home to these engaging pieces of art focusing on social change!