W+K interactive producer curates art show for Mozambique
London-based artist Mat Maitland’s contribution to Imagining Mozambique.
What would a country look like through the eyes of someone who’s never set foot on its soil? It’s a question that weighs on the mind of Jamie Kim. Though the 32-year-old Wieden+Kennedy, Amsterdam interactive producer has never been to the African nation of Mozambique, remedying its social ailments has captured her imagination for the better part of five years.
To raise awareness and money, Kim curated Imagining Mozambique, a charitable art exhibition that opened at the Maxalot Gallery in August. After a two-week run, the show moved to the agency’s Amsterdam office and will tour New York, Tokyo, London and Portland.
The show features original art works inspired by Mozambican children from 14 artists, including Dutch graphic artist Parra, photographer Carlos Serro, mixed-media artist Balint Zsako, character artist Akinori Oishi and creative studio Happycentro. Proceeds from sales of the prints will go to ASEM, a non-profit organization that helps the children and orphans of Mozambique dealing with the effects of natural disaster, HIV/AIDS and civil war.
Kim, who is a board member of ASEM, reached out to artists considered tastemakers in urban art, design and illustration in order to attract an audience unfamiliar with the country’s social issues.
“Having worked in advertising agencies and production companies, I’ve had a lot of contact with designers,” says Kim. “I thought it might be interesting to do something with like-minded people.”
Last December, Kim vowed to focus her energy on this exhibition. W+K copywriter Greg Clampffer helped compose an artist brief and interactive studio Cartelle created a website to showcase and sell the limited edition prints.
Next year, Mozambique and its social ills will leave Kim’s imagination and become reality when she travels to do aid work with ASEM. “I could just think, ‘Ok, I have to move here now.’ I have that kind of character so I’m a little bit afraid, but I know I need to do it,” she says. “I know the way my heart works.”
Boards has partnered with Wieden+Kennedy, Amsterdam and MassMarket to present the New York premiere of Imagining Mozambique on Sunday, October 25. More details via the Boards Summit website.
Check out more Imagining Mozambique prints below:
A print by Dutch graphic artist Parra.
A print by Marcos Chin.
A print by Catalina Estrada.
