Save the Forest, Save the Culture
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 25th, 2010
Gabarron Foundation to Display International Year of Forests Photo Exhibition on Cemusa Newsstands in Times Square
The Gabarron Foundation Partners With The United Nations to Promote the International Year of Forests Through Photographs of Amazon Rain Forest
Today, the Gabarron Foundation unveiled a "digital exhibition" that will be presented during the next two months in Time Square on Cemusa’s Digital Newsstands. The photo exhibit was created to
celebrate the United Nations Forum on Forests and the International Year of Forests, 2011.
The photographs will be exhibited sequentially on 16 screens every 8 minutes. A new selection of 5 photographs will be presented every week. In total, the photographs will have been shown 152,000
times and displayed for 6 million people circulating through Times Square over the next two months. The photographs were taken by world-renowned photographers Attila Lorant and Antonio
Briceño.
Attila Lorant, born and living in Hungary, began exhibiting his work as a photographer in 2002. His photographs have been featured by many organizations and
magazines, including National Geographic, and have been exhibited worldwide on numerous occasions. He has received many awards as a writer, filmmaker and photographer. His documentary photographs
currently on show were shot during 7 different expeditions to the Amazon rain forests.
Antonio Briceño was born in Caracas, Venezuela, where he now lives. His photography represents people of different cultures in the Amazon. His studies of
biology, and interests in ethno-culture and anthropology, have had enormous influence on his work as a photographer. He has won numerous awards for his photography and represented his country at
the 52nd Venice Biennial.
Founded in 1984, Cemusa represents 111 cities and municipalities throughout Europe and the Americas, and is quickly gaining a presence within the U.S. Cemusa has run the New York City street
furniture franchise since June of 2006 and will pay the City almost $1.4 billion in monetary and other compensation over the twenty-year term of the contract. Cemusa has designed, built,
installed and maintained more than 100,000 urban furniture elements, which include bus shelters, clocks, public information panels, newsstands, automatic toilets, special trash containers and
electronic panels. Cemusa is an affiliate of Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC).
The Gabarrón Foundation - Carriage House Center for the Arts is a private, nonprofit Foundation, located in the heart of Manhattan in a building declared a historic-artistic interest in 1997.
Since its inception in 2002, our headquarters has emerged as a meeting place for exchange between Spanish and American cultures. The main objective is to unite both cultures, materialized by
organizing various cultural events and exhibitions, resulting in a first-class showcase for the promotion of Spanish culture in America.
Additional information about the exhibition:
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“Save the Forest, Save the Culture” Exhibition and Project Presentation
Opening Reception - January 18, 2011, 6pm – 8pm
Location: The Gabarron Foundation - Carriage House Center for the Arts
149 East 38th Street, New York NY 10016
www.gabarronfoundation.org
Attila Lorant was born in Hungary, where he currently lives and oversees the Disappearing Cultures Foundation. He began exhibiting his work as a photojournalist in 2002. Mr. Lorant has been commissioned as an independent photographer by many organizations and magazines, including National Geographic. He is a published writer and has received multiple awards for his photographs. The central aim of his work and foundation is to “to seek and save knowledge about native and traditional cultures through photography, film and audio recordings,” a mission that he has communicated internationally through lectures and exhibitions.
Antonio Briceño was born in Caracas, Venezuela where he lives. He graduated with a degree in biology, which greatly influences his work. His photographic approach is guided by his combined interests in biology, ethno-culture and anthropology. He has exhibited his work extensively in solo and group exhibitions throughout the world, winning numerous awards and grants. Among his achievements, he was the 2008 Green Leaf Award recipient for artistic excellence and the Representative for Venezuela at the 52nd Venice Biennial.
The “Save the Forest, Save the Culture” Project was co-founded and developed by Alessandra Mattanza and Ana Santos as a platform where the relationship between indigenous cultures and their forest environments can be presented and discussed. This exhibition joins the “Save the Forest, Save the Culture” Project as part of a larger initiative that will feature additional events. The Project also will include a photography book with multimedia DVD featuring interviews with thinkers, actors, environmentalists, activists, scientists, etc. The works of Briceño and Lorant will be included with “100 visions, ideas and interviews on forests and indigenous cultures” (Fall 2011).
Augusto Ferretti is an Italian architect and designer who was invited by Ms. Mattanza to curate the “Save the Forest, Save the Culture” Exhibition. Mr. Ferretti curates and organizes art and photography exhibits, including most recently the exhibition of Bernardo Bertolucci’s “Images” in tandem with the director’s retrospective at MoMA. Mr. Ferretti currently lives in New York City, where he recently co-formed crAft, a studio that focuses on interior and exhibition design.
The United Nations General Assembly declared 2011 as the International Year of Forests (Forests 2011) to raise awareness on sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests. The United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) Secretariat of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) is the focal point for implementation of the Year, in collaboration with Governments and relevant organizations. In Forests 2011, we will honor the functions that forests provide to people and the vital role they contribute to achieving any meaningful sustainable development.
The artists’ works selected for this exhibition reflect the “Save the Forest, Save the Culture” Project vision, and the International Year of Forests 2011 initiative, by capturing the unique qualities and traditions of indigenous forest cultures in complex and chromatically rich detail. These images and the exhibition’s importance are rendered ever more poignant by the effects of deforestation that threaten the forests’ existence and its dependents.
The Gabarron Foundation-Carriage House Center for the Arts is a non-profit institution and an exclusive international center specialized in art exhibitions and other cultural activities. From 2002, we have achieved to be an excellent platform in the United States to spread the Spanish culture, above all contemporary art. At the same time our organization has promoted the exchange and understanding between Spanish and American cultures, providing a space for interaction and enhanced appreciation of emerging and established cultural figures from both countries.
For further information and/or images:
Megan Arazi
Curatorial and Exhibitions department
Tel: 212 573 6968 ext. 10