SODIC Supports the Arts through the CARAVAN 2014 Project
By Hend Seif El Din
3D fiberglass statues in human form in a variety of poses of prayer, decorated them through painting, sculpting and other forms of artistic expression. All poses are meditative, contemplating the universe, human existence, human experience, and responding to that which is greater than us.
sedthe deep, fundamental power and hope in the universe for all people
A percentage of the proceeds from the sale and auction of the sculptures will be channeled towards Tawasol, an organization SODIC supports, to fund building and operating a school in Ezbet Khairallah within Istabl Antar in Old Cairo, one of the poorest slum areas in the City.
AMEN-A Prayer for the World is co-curated by CARAVAN founder, Rev. Paul-Gordon Chandler, and participating celebrated Egyptian artist Reda Abdel Rahman, who together co-curated the immensely successful 2013 CARAVAN exhibition, “In Peace and with Compassion: The Way Forward” in Cairo and London, showcasing 25 life-size painted donkeys.
The CARAVAN arts initiative comes out of a vision that Arts can be one of the most effective mediums to enhance understanding and encourage friendship between the faiths and cultures of the Middle East and West.
Within the CARAVAN arts initiatives there is a charitable component that seeks to bring hope to individuals that are in need (economically, socially and physically) within the Middle East through the support of charities assisting the poor.
Paul-Gordon Chandler is an author, interfaith advocate, arts activist & patron, U.S. Episcopal priest and social entrepreneur who has lived and worked in North Africa and the Middle East for many years. Currently based in Chicago, from 2003-2013, he was the Rector of St. John’s Church-Maadi/Cairo, the international English-speaking Episcopal church in Cairo, Egypt and a noted interfaith arts center. The author of several best-selling books on Muslim/Christian relations, he is the founder and president of CARAVAN, an international interfaith arts movement that seeks to build bridges through the Arts between the creeds and cultures of the Middle East and West.