Issued by: Government Communications (GCIS)
Deputy President Thabo Mbeki has described HIV/AIDS "as the most serious crisis yet to face South Africa." He has announced that the AIDS epidemic was "no longer only a health problem, but had the potential to devastate economic and social reform and had to be tackled on all fronts".
As part of the government's commitment to creating an awareness of HIV and AIDS, and in keeping with the government's aim to educate people about the disease and its ramifications, the Department of Arts, Culture, Science & Technology (DACST), working with the Department of Health, has undertaken the Paper Prayers Project with Artist Proof Studio.
The Paper Prayers Project extends across all nine provinces and addresses the needs of both rural and urban communities. The project unites government, HIV/AIDS initiatives and non-governmental organizations across the country in empowering people to challenge the ravages of the disease. It is a multi-faceted and participative approach to the HIV/AIDS issue. The project aims to make a contribution in offering hope and in uniting people in the fight against HIV/AIDS and its allies - intolerance and fear.
Art centres in each province have adopted the Campaign using diverse approaches. Western Cape will produce a limited edition of screenprints by artists. Moffat Mission is printing linocuts by printmakers on the oldest press in South Africa. In Northern Province and Mpumalanga, sewing projects are making quilts of the "Prayers". In addition newly established Papermaking Projects will supply the handmade paper fro the campaign. Other initiatives include exhibitions, auctions, sales of portfolios and workshops in each Province.
The National Paper Prayers Campaign strives to find a more interactive and creative way of dealing with the AIDS issue. Paper Prayers developed from the ancient Japanese custom of presenting painted or printed strips of paper as a gesture of compassion and hope to heal the sick.
In the National Paper Prayers Campaign, education through creative expression is encapsulated in the making of each paper prayer, transcending the barriers of illiteracy and socio-economic disadvantage. Each prayer creates a space in which people can explore their own preconceptions and ideas about HIV and AIDS.
The combination of the paper prayer making exercise and an educational presentation on HIV/AIDS will ensure that workshop participants gain a new awareness of HIV and AIDS and the context of the disease.
According to Deputy Minister of Arts & Culture Brigitte Mabandla - "The project meets the broader vision of the Department of combining creativity, practical know-how artistic endeavor, and scientific and technological education through the production of the paper prayers. People from all sectors of South African society will be provided with the opportunity to learn new skills in terms of papermaking and art, while receiving essential information on HIV and AIDS. Paper Prayers give a creative expression and promote a spirit of activism and healing through art".
It is hoped that the National Paper Prayers Project will also lead to capacity building in disadvantaged areas and the establishment of enabling mechanism through which communities can organize self-sustaining and viable papermaking projects. These projects will have long-term benefits by enabling communities to recycle waste paper and produce marketable and useful paper products.
The project engages not only with the disease itself, but also with the environment in which it occurs. By linking HIV/AIDS education to a practical, income-generating activity, this project will pave the way for the exchange of knowledge and the empowerment of communities across the country.
"The Paper Prayers express our hope for both a medical and social cure for the disease that is eating away the fabric of our society" (Mabandla).
Many people experience the visual arts as marginal or as a means to decorate walls. Yet this project perhaps reveals a power of art that impacts on lives.
The support for this project by the DACST and their condition that it reaches into all nine provinces acknowledges that the visual arts have a role to play in facing AIDS as a serious threat to the fabric of our society.
For a listing of Worlds Aids Day Events, Paper Prayers workshops and activities contact Carol or Zanele at Artist Proof Studio (011) 492-1278