Remembering in Film

I was very impressed by the documentary production entitled "The Phoenix" from Grand Island Films. (Update: sorry, it seems that this link is no longer public.  I hope it becomes available again). This representation of the Battle of Cassino is based on the history of the Benedictine abbey on Monte Cassino, and begins with the ancient Egyptian story of the Phoenix.

It is refreshing to see an informative documentary which is clear, balanced, and talks about history without creating heroes.   There are no winners in war.

Remembering Differently

While watching this video to find something I wanted to quote, I decided that this interview with Margherita Giampietri is well worth sharing again.  I was reviewing her words at around 6 minutes 28 seconds, but her comments about the difference between growing up in post-war Italy and being in a country that was not occupied coincide with another conversation I have been having on Facebook.

Margherita Giampietri at Legato, Italy 2010 from Nicola Blackmore on Vimeo.

Film and History

MONTECASSINO IN THE CIRCLE OF FIRE 

(Italy, 1946). Directed by Arturo Gemmiti.

There is no "real" history, only constructed history.  That is, apart from the dreadful and indisputable fact that in a war people are wounded and killed.  I don't mean to challenge with that statement, but recent events have set me thinking along those lines again.

When we read something published in a book we generally consider it to be fact.  If an entry on the web is from a reputable site we take it to be correct.  When we see something in a film it leaves an impression that is hard to erase.  How much truth is in what we have accepted as reality is open to debate.

Films such as Saving Private Ryan have become part of the social record of history.  They are creating a new  memory, a new history too.  In terms of raising social awareness they do an excellent job, bringing the "reality" of war to the general public.  But no matter how thorough the research, there is no "reality" in any production.

I return regularly to this quotation from New Zealand artist Michael Shepherd, referenced here.

…every time an action passes there is a memory and thereafter the memory is about the memory of the action. And slowly we have this fine silt, the stuff we call history.

We have many kinds of memory, gap filling memory, compensatory memory, episodic memory to name just a few.  It is well known that six people witnessing the same event will give six different accounts of it.  And so it is with "official and unofficial" history, with articles, books and films.

Now, as the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Cassino approaches (May 2014), we see many documentary makers and film makers scurrying to interview veterans and civilians, to record the memories before they are "lost".  I suggest that the memories are more like fine silt, difficult to capture and elusive in nature.  One veteran said "I can no longer tell what is my own memory and what parts of it are from things I have read or seen on telelvison".  In such instances the memory is the product of somone else's (possibly erroneous) writings or recordings.

A quick "google" shows up many documentaries, including (chosen at random) this one from 1943.  Images in many of these documentaries include staged footage, reconstructions, and of course the editorial bias of the film makers.

Researcher Perry Rowe has dedicated countless time to locating the sites of photographs published as "Cassino" or "near Cassino", differentiating between reconstructions and real footage in "Faking Monte Cassino"  (issue 142, After the Battle). His work is fascinating. Many of the reconstructions were for propaganda films "to support the war effort".

There are not so many films about Monte Cassino, and I have not yet seen the one in the poster above.  The poster was kindly loaned to Legato earlier this year by Alberto Mangiante. Mauro Lottici mentions the film in his article on the website Dal Volturno a Cassino.  He writes:

The film [MONTECASSINO IN THE CIRCLE OF FIRE Italy, 1946. Directed by Arturo Gemmiti] uses a heavy hand toward the Germans, and the velvet glove for the Allies. For the scene of the bombing of the monastery used a model, perhaps the original footage of the destruction was not yet available in Italy.

That it is not based on unbiased fact is clear, but does "unbiased fact" really exist? And, in light of all the divergent "memories" that emerge, is it not better to understand why we feel the need to alter facts rather than be too critical of those individuals who change things in memory to suit their own psychological and emotional needs?

Colours (and Memory) Never Die

This acrylic and oil on canvas by Rodolfo Losani has drawn much positive comment.  The title is "Mangiare Memoria" and he writes "I colori non muoiono mai, come la memoria va nutrita per non dimenticare il passato".

(Source, website: Rodolfo Losani )

The grey area of the painting represents the brain.  While time passes and life might change, the colours, emotions and memory are nourished and therefore do not fade. 

Contributing Artists at Cassino, 2012

Legato 2012 Cassino, Italy 

For the third Cassino edition of Legato, the Monte Cassino Foundation's international exhibition for commemoration and peace, the artists from New Zealand, Canada and Italy were joined by a new artist from Canada and more Italian artists.  The New Zealand edition planned originally for Christchurch was cancelled after the devastating earthquake of 2011.

Next year the featured artist at Cassino is from Canada, and other international artists have been confirmed for Cassino in 2013 and 2014.

The following list of 2012 artists is from the guide to the works in the exhibition so some names are repeated where the work was hanging in different groupings.  Approximately 50 works by 24 artists were on display.

Entrance foyer and entry panels:

Prof Alessandro Nardone  -  Italy

Francesco Nardi   -  Italy

Ira Mitchell-Kirk  - New Zealand

Kay de Lautour  - New Zealand and Italy

Lorenzo Daniele Corsi  - Italy

 
Dr Danilo Salvucci  - Italy

Gail Boyle  - New Zealand

Raffaele D'Aquanno  - Italy



Side Wall 1:

Susan Edge  - New Zealand

Ann Fletcher  - New Zealand



Regan Balzer  - New Zealand

Bernadette McCormack  - Canada

Linda Dickens -  New Zealand



Kay de Lautour  - New Zealand and Italy

Pamela Barnard  - England and Italy

Margherita Giampietri  - Italy and New Zealand



Pamela Barnard  - England and Italy

Nancy Stevens  - Canada

Merv Appleton  - New Zealand

Peter Stott  - England and Italy



End wall:

Kay de Lautour  - New Zealand and Italy



Side Wall 2:

Sarah Scott  - New Zealand and USA

Alberto Mangiante  - Italy (original poster of the film "Monte Cassino")

Rocco Lancia - Italy



Anna Maria Corsi  - Italy

Agnes Presler  - Hungary and Italy

Sara Antonini  - Italy

Lorenzo Daniele Corsi  - Italy

Rocco Lancia  - Italy



Francesco Nardi  - Italy

Sara Antonini  - Italy

Rudolfo Rosani  - Italy



Dr Danilo Salvucci  - Italy

Gail Boyle  - New Zealand

Francesco Nardi - Italy



Art Book: Anzac Day Parade by Brenda Kane and Lisa Allen,  New Zealand

Reproductions of original wartime diary sketches and watercolour by the late Tom Howes, England

Copies of photographs from New Zealand wartime publications.

Organiser and Curator: Kay de Lautour Scott.

Publicity and opening event: Pro Loco Cassino. 

Strong Impact Work Entitled "RED"

Among the more powerful works in Legato this year is this sculpture, "RED", by Anna Maria Corsi.  She writes: 

Carissimi genitori,... se questo è un uomo...

Storia di un reduce dal lager...

L'opera ad una prima lettura potrebbe esser difficilmente compresa.  

E' un assemblaggio di vari oggetti, ma che nel insieme vuole rappresentare la tragicità della guerra e in particolare dei prigionieri dei lager tedeschi. 

Mio nonno paterno si chiamava Lorenzo Corsi, fu fatto prigioniero in Grecia nelle ultime battaglie prima dell'Armistizio del 8 settembre, (era nel reparto "Sanità") fu deportato direttamente in Germania nella Westfalia, dove visse in uno dei campi sterminio. 

Riusci a scappare insieme ad un suo amico di Veroli con l'aiuto di un soldato austriaco che era di guardia e tornarono in patria dopo la fine della guerra, camminando tutto a piedi, per paura di essere ritrovati e fucilati, non sapendo che la guerra fosse finita. 

Fu un soldato cosi detto "IMI" (internati militari italiani) ovvero quelli che in maggioranza preferirono la prigionia nei lager tedeschi al passaggio dalla parte nazi-fascista. 

la gavetta e la lettera che scrisse dal campo ai genitori che si trova sull'opera erano le sue.

Si può vedere inciso la parola "RED" (fu di fede socialista), 

il filo spinato è il coloro rosso perché rappresenta il sangue versato dai milioni di morti di diversa fede politica, religiosa ed etnica, 

dai suoi racconti, ricordo che diceva il camice era l'unico indumento che lui indossava e mangiava soltanto neve e bucce di patate. 

non ricordo se fosse di colore nero, ma qui vuole rappresentare inevitabilmente il colore della morte.  

dedicato a mio nonno, 

Anna Maria Corsi.  

Dear Parents, ... if this is a man ...
Story of a survivor of the camps ...

The work at first sight is not easily understood.
It is an assemblage of different objects, but the whole is meant to represent the tragedy of war and in particular the prisoners of German concentration camps.
My paternal grandfather's name was Lorenzo Corsi. He was taken prisoner in Greece in the last battles before the Armistice of September 8, (in the "Health Department") and was deported directly to Germany in Westfalia, where he lived in one of the extermination camps.
He managed to escape, along with his friend from Veroli, with the help of an Austrian soldier who was on duty. He returned home after the war, walking all the way for fear of being discovered and shot, not knowing that the war was over.
He was a soldier so-called "IMI" (Italian military internees) or those who preferred interment in the German prison camp to becoming a Nazi-Fascist.
He was a soldier when he wrote the letter to his parents which is in this work.
You can see the word "RED" (he was a believer in socialism),
The barbed wire is red because it represents the blood shed by the millions (who were) of different political beliefs, religions and ethnicities.
From his stories, I remember him saying the shirt was the only garment he wore and ate only snow and potato peelings.  I do not remember if it was black, but here I have chosen black to represent the color of death.

dedicated to my grandfather....

Anna Maria Corsi.

Can Art Change the World?

French graphiti artist JR reports on his amazing project "Inside Out" one year down the track.  It is inspirational.  No profit, no logos, no credits... just people, energy and glue.  Watch these two videos, and see if you agree.

The original project video (on changing the world)

One year on.

He says "Don't tell me people are not ready for peace out there".  

The Stories of the Civilians

Today the watercolour painting of civilians arrived at Legato from another exhibition in Cassino.  Artist (and blog writer) Kay de Lautour writes of this work: 

I hope that this work has enough ambiguity to allow different interpretations of what could be happening.  This painting is a test piece for a much larger work.  It is taken directly from a photograph, with some modifications.  The source photograph is less ambiguous. It is part of a larger photograph of local civilians being driven out of their homes, with some changes to make the composition work. The women and the children formed a long train of cold and hungry residents with nowhere to go. I wonder, what nationality was the person who took the photograph? I am guessing, from the fear in the faces of the children, that it was a soldier. The woman in the photograph has a strong, resolute but also haunted look. 

With this painting I would like to inspire more questions than answers. The boy on foot is wearing what looks like an army uniform. It is far too big for him, but the sleeves are rolled up, perhaps to keep them out of the mud when he picks grasses to eat along the way, leaving his hands frozen. Why is the mother carrying the bigger boy when the little girl is crying? Is the child in her arms wounded? Is the little girl turning back to look for her own mother?

In the photograph there are several children, and only one adult. There are sacks of possessions along the path, and one imagines that she is hoping that someone will come to assist in this weary journey. The mud, the children with bare feet, the desolute nature of the travel give a sad and haunting image. I hope that there is a little more hope in my painting, that the person they have turned to might be bringing some hope and assistance to the group.

Official Presentation of Legato 2012

Guest speaker  Cathie McGregor, New Zealand Embassy, Rome, 

Deputy Chief of Mission (on right) with Legato curator and artist Kay de Lautour Scott.

Guest Robert Triozzi delights the visitors with an energetic discussion (in both English and Italian) of the merits of the game of rugby as a means to peace. 

Americans and Canadians listen to the presentation of the Cassino artists to the visitors.

Proloco Cassino, Michele Di Lonardo, presents artists Prof. Alessandro Nardone, Rafaelle D'Aquanno and Francesco Nardi to the viewers.  

Sunday 20th May was the official presentation of Legato to the public and invited dignitaries.  Visiting Canadians and Americans out-numbered the Italians present this busy weekend.  

Guest speaker Cathie McGregor, Deputy Chief of Mission, New Zealand Embassy, Rome,spoke of the links forged between Italy and New Zealand many years ao, that survived and were strengthened by shared wartime experience, and which flourish today.  She outlined briefly the numbers of New Zealand casualties in Italy and in Cassino in particular, then reminded visitors "how precious and hard won peace is",  and why we must all strive to protect it.  She concluded with the following adaptation of the Walter De La Mare poem, "Peace".   

PEACE Night is o'er (this place), and the winds are still; Jasmine and honeysuckle steep the air; Softly the stars that are all Europe's fill Her heaven-wide dark with radiancy fair; That shadowed moon now waxing in the west Stirs not a rumour in her tranquil seas; Mysterious sleep has lulled her heart to rest, Deep even as theirs beneath her churchyard trees. Secure, serene; dumb now the night-hawk's threat; The guns' low thunder drumming o'er the tide; The anguish pulsing in her stricken side.... All is at peace....But, never, heart, forget: For this her youngest, best, and bravest died, These bright dews once were mixed with bloody sweat. "Peace" from Memory and Other Poems (1938)

(Link to this poem above in original form is here.  Thank you also to a visiting New Zealander for supplying the top photograph). 

Coming Together

The last paintings were hung this morning, and the works are looking wonderful.

               

The exhibition will be open daily until 31 May.  

Mother's Day is a Peace Movement.

                        
Yesterday Italy, along with many other countries, celebrated Mother's Day.  This too began as a peace movement, started by Julia Ward Howe in 1870.  The proclamation is copied below.

Mother's Day Proclamation

Arise, then, women of this day!

Arise, all women who have hearts, Whether our baptism be of water or of tears!

Say firmly: "We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies, Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience. We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."

From the bosom of the devastated Earth a voice goes up with our own. It says: "Disarm! Disarm! The sword of murder is not the balance of justice." Blood does not wipe out dishonor, nor violence indicate possession. As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war, Let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel.

Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead. Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means Whereby the great human family can live in peace, Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar, But of God.

In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask That a general congress of women without limit of nationality May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient And at the earliest period consistent with its objects, To promote the alliance of the different nationalities, The amicable settlement of international questions,

The great and general interests of peace.

*****

Perhaps it is appropriate that Legato, an exhibition promoting education for peace, was started by a woman profoundly affected seeing all the graves of the young men at Cassino, who could only think, trying to hold back her tears, "each one of these young men had a mother". Out of the devastation of war we must build international bridges, strive for reconciliation when we remember the history, and honour those who died by working for peace.




Governments find all the money they need to go to war; peace movements ask for little in comparison. Women, you are voters and politicians. You can make a difference on mother's day and every day. Unite with other women, and like-minded men, and teach your children that education, tolerance, and the equitable distribution of resources is more important than military power. "Charity, mercy and patience" wrote Julia Ward Howe. These words are no longer in fashion. Let's bring them back again.

"It will be a great day when our schools get all the money they need and the air force has to hold a cake stall to buy a bomber" (Author unknown).




Some might argue that historically some of the toughest politicians leading countries into war were women, but I would argue that the peace movement begins in the home, where the mothers have the most influence on their children.

*****

My thanks go to blog writer Alison Sampson for her inspirational post Cake Stalls and Fighter Jets.

(Peace rose image and tea towel images from google images search, owners of the original images unknown).

From Film to Canvas

Agnes Preszler's powerful and challenging portraits for Legato are drawn from the film "La Ciociara", or as it is known in English, "Two Women".

She writes: "Two women" scenes (2 pieces 40x50cm) remind us that in every war both parts may commit vile actions as the war pulls out the violent self of the man, brutalizes mankind. Also, the civilian population has always to pay an enormous price, especially the helpless: women, children and old people.

Motivazione: Le due scene del film "La Ciociara" ci ricordano che nella guerra entrambi le parti possono commettere azioni vili, in quanto la guerra tira fuori dall'uomo il suo lato peggiore, rende brutali. La popolazione civile in particolare deve pagare un altissimo prezzo, specialmente i deboli: donne, bambini, anziane.

Agnes Preszler

Agnes Preszler was born in 1961 in Budapest, where in 1988 she obtained the ITA (Information Technology Architect) degree at the Financial and Computistic Academy. In Hungary she worked in computer centres and at the Hungarian State Television.

In 1990 she married an Italian citizen and now lives in Veroli (Lazio), 80 km from Rome.
She is a webmaster. Among her clients are the Museum of the Ancient Book in Villa d'Este, Tivoli and the Casamari Abbey.

She is also a correspondent for Ciociaria Oggi and collaborates with the Civis cultural magazine. In 2005 she won the Inars Ciociaria international journalism prize.

She has translated poetry into Italian, and in 2007, on commission of the Kalligram Editor (Bratislava - Budapest) she translated into Hungarian "Impure acts - Amado mio" by Pier Paolo Pasolini. This is the first literary work of Pasolini ever published in the Hungarian language.

(Source: http://www.pagnes.tk/ )

New Work from Canada

This mixed media collage by Nancy Stevens will feature in the 2012 Legato exhibition at Cassino.  It draws on the rich cultural history of Italy, as well as the geographical extremes linked forever by the history of the Battles of Cassino.

The work has a mixture of relief and textured work, with contrasting colours and materials coming together to tell a fascinating tale using metaphor and historical references.

NANCY STEVENS

Nancy Stevens was a scholarship student at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and completed her art education at Mount Allison University with the degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts.

Employed by CBC Television as a graphics artist she continued to work part time after her marriage and while raising two daughters.  When time permitted she painted and began to exhibit her realistic acrylics. During the 1980’s she was represented by a major Toronto gallery where she had sell-out shows every two years.

Stevens left that successful career to experiment with media and methods which resulted in HORIZON PAINTINGS, a 1995 exhibition of abstract paintings at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, and IN TRANSIT, an exploration of autobiography in 2001.  Her most recent exhibition, PATHWAYS, opened at the Art Gallery at St. Frances Xavier University in January 2010.  Her work is represented in significant private and public collections in Canada.

After a 15-year career of teaching drawing and painting, creative and critical thinking, Stevens lives in Antigonish County, Nova Scotia where her studio overlooks the ocean and her vineyard.

                                               ------------

Collage seemed like an appropriate medium to explore the meaning of Montecassino.   Layer upon layer, century after century, its history and culture evolved from a pagan temple to the richly embellished spiritual home of the Benedictines. More recently, Montecassino became a memorial to the tragic events in WWII which caused its destruction.  A tourist attraction today, the restored abbey is a reminder that in “the global village” war is not an option.

Cassino, 17 - 31 May 2012

The works that arrive early for the next Legato exhibition in Cassino will be published on this blog in the next three weeks.  This year there will be a section for photographs to complement the art works, and artists will be painting on site during the exhibition.

Also on display will be the beautiful and most sensitively written and illustrated children's book "Anzac Day Parade" by Glenda Kane and Lisa Allen, and the recent publication "The Battles for Cassino Then and Now" by Jeff Plowman and Perry Rowe.  Artists who travelled to Italy in 2010 were lucky enough to have Perry guide them through some of the history of the Battles of Cassino as they toured the area by bus.

Michele Di Lonardo (Proloco, Cassino) has kindly offered to organise the photographic section and the inauguration of the exhbition this year, and this assistance is much appreciated.  Last year Michele translated the floor talk by featured artist Regan Balzer for French visitors.

The exhibition will be in the Sala Pietro Malatesta at the Biblioteca Comunale, the same venue as in 2010 and 2011.

There are no artists travelling from overseas to participate this year, a sign of the financial times and also a result of people waiting for the bigger commemorations on the 70th anniversary of the battles in 2014. My thanks go to those who have already delivered or sent artworks for this year's exhibition.  

Super Heroes and Mere Mortals.

by Kay de Lautour (December 2011) for Cittadino Globale Global Citizen,
YAP (Youth Action for Peace, Italy).


Just as the most talented artists are often employed by advertising agencies, working to a formula and thereby denying the world the full benefit of their creative abilities, so the most talented tacticians are often employed by governments and the military, working for power and control over others. Would they make a greater contribution if employed elsewhere? Fundamental to the system which gives greater reward to our best brains and talents in warfare, business, commerce and politics is the belief that wealth and control equal success. Recent research suggests that this position needs review.

In their book “The Spirit Level; Why Equality is Better for Everyone” Wilkinson and Pickett provide significant evidence that an equal distribution of wealth and assets in fact benefits all sectors of society. Thus if we are to benefit individually, nationally, and globally, it makes sense to use the best talent and minds available to promote equality ahead of supremacy, altruism ahead of greed, peace ahead of war.

John Foster Dulles, a former USA Secretary of state, said at the end of the war: "The world will never have lasting peace as long as men reserve for war their finest human qualities. Peace, no less than war, requires idealism, self-sacrifice, and a righteous and dynamic faith".

How can that be achieved? What does idealism, self-sacrifice, and a righteous and dynamic faith look like? The works of people like Florence Nightingale, Mother Teresa, Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr come to mind. Nightingale gave up her privileged life and chose to remain single to dedicate her life to improving medical standards, following her ideals. Mother Teresa similarly felt called to serve the poor, hungry and homeless, seeking nothing for herself. Gandhi, reverred for his non-violent activism, was prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for peace. His birthday is marked by the International Day of Non-Violence. Martin Luther King Jr displayed a righteous and dynamic faith in his civil rights activism.

For most of us, however, such dedication requires a commitment too great for modern family and working life. Perhaps it is more useful to look at how humanitarian worker Paul Hewson (Bono of U2) uses his talents to bring awareness and change. Believing that Music can change the world because it can change people, he built his beliefs and his desire to make a difference into his career as a rock musician. Pop music often tells you everything is OK, while rock music tells you that it’s not OK, but you can change it. His beliefs are simply expressed: "To be one, to be united is a great thing. But to respect the right to be different is maybe even greater". Bono continues to work for change through music and political activism, and moves easily between busking on the streets for charity (Dublin, 24 December 2011) to talking with heads of state about “a wide range of issues”.

Where do you, the reader, stand as an individual interested in world peace? Are you active, proactive, reactive, or a bystander? Too often the task looks too big; the effort needed is too great, it is much easier to use empty words, placebos, but in reality do nothing. The oft-quoted maxim "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing" warns us that this is not enough. So do we leave the work to our famous people, or take a stand as individuals, the mere mortals that we are?

We do love our famous people and our heroes. We teach our children about Superman, Spiderman, and the newer X-Men fighting to save humanity, acting for the greater good. We have a basic desire to be saved by our humanitarian super-powered figures, and also a willingness to leave all the important work to them. When faced with a difficult situation we can ask “what would Superman (or my real life hero) do?” That answer is a good guide to making a positive and humanitarian choice.

If this feels too far removed from our everyday lives we need to look closer to home. All around us in society are people who are unsung heroes. They are the people who make positive change at a local level. Identifying them is not always easy if they value their privacy and shy away from attention. Perhaps, after all, it is easier to choose a star to follow. Ask yourself honestly “who do I most want to be like?” and consider the choices that person makes.

The Equality Trust, an online-organisation based on the principles discussed in “The Spirit Level”, urges us to take action, beginning in our local areas. Mother Teresa brings it even closer to home. Her message for world peace is both simple and profound. On receiving the Nobel Peace Prize Mother Teresa was asked, "What can we do to promote world peace?" She replied "Go home and love your family". Similarly, Gandhi said  "If we are to teach real peace in this world, and if we are to carry on a real war against war, we shall have to begin with the children". When we apply the Dulles quote to this task and bring to our families and communities our finest human qualities, then peace will be the winner.

World Art Games

New Zealand artist Sharlene Schmidt has had an exciting time since her visit to Italy for Legato in 2010. Last year, 2011, saw her participating in cultural (art) exchanges in India, Abania and finally Croatia. She is recently back from a conference for the World Art Games, a new initiative which will see the inaugural art games held in Croatia in the European summer of 2013.

The initiator and organiser of this project is interviewed here (click for link)

This article from scoop.co.nz talks a little about New Zealand's involvement in the new and exciting project.

New Zealand Artists to attend World Art Games

November saw prominent New Zealand artist and President of the New Zealand Committee of the World Art Games attend the first International Conference of the World Art Games (WAG) in Zagreb, Croatia. Sharlene was one of 22 representatives from around the globe who came together for the Conference which was live streamed to an additional 47 countries. Sharlene’s presence at the conference confirmed NZ’s place in history as one of the founding countries of this global phenomenon which is rapidly gaining momentum throughout the world.

The Games are seen as a universal bonding tool to develop relationships regardless of political views, race, sexuality and religious views. The declaration signed by the 25 founding countries bonds all nations to the same mission of tolerance, peace and participation found in the organisation and hosting of the games. It is envisioned that the Games will be hosted by a different country every two years.


The inaugural WAG will be held in Croatia in 2013 between June 29th and July 10th. It is expected upwards of 60 countries will take part in this festival of international art culture. The International Games committee propose to hold a number of events within a two week period spread across three cities. There will be an international exhibition for painters and sculptors, a week of theatre, dance and musical performances.